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Tax authorities

Ministerio de Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica
Apartado 96-2050, San José, Costa Rica
Tel: +506 2299 4700
Email: pep@comex.go.cr
Website: www.comex.go.cr

Tax rates at a glance

(As of September 2011)

• The 30% rate for corporate income, capital gains and branch profits is reduced to 10% or 20% for companies whose annual gross income is not more than specified amounts.
• Withholding tax on dividends applies to dividends paid to nondomiciled business entities and to domiciled and nondomiciled individuals (see Section B). The withholding tax is considered a final tax.
• Withholding tax on interest; royalties from know-how and technical services; transportation and telecommunications; salaries and pensions; fees and commissions; reinsurance; news services, videos and films; and other is a final withholding tax that is imposed on nondomiciled companies and nondomiciled individuals.
• Interest paid by qualified banks and financial institutions registered with the Banco Central de Costa Rica (central bank) is exempt from withholding tax.
• Nondomiciled companies engaged in transportation and telecommunications; reinsurance and news services, videos and films through a permanent establishment in Costa Rica that do not comply with requirements to report income or file an income tax return may be subject to an imputed amount of taxable income equivalent to 10.5%, 15% or 30% of their total gross income derived in Costa Rica. The applicable percentage depends on the type of business activity. Imputed taxable income is subject to the ordinary corporate income tax rate.
• Industrial companies may carry forward net operating losses incurred in their first five years of operations for five years, and they may carry forward net operating losses incurred in subsequent years for three years. Agricultural companies may carry forward net operating losses for five years.

Source: Ernst & Young