Costa Rica Tax Optimization

---
name: costa-rica-tax-optimization
description: "Use this skill whenever asked about reducing tax in Costa Rica, tax planning, or legal strategies to minimise tax for a small business or self-employed person in Costa Rica. Trigger on phrases like \"reduce tax Costa Rica\", \"régimen simplificado Costa Rica\", \"RTS\", \"territorial taxation\", \"PYME exemption\", \"Costa Rica dividends 15%\", \"save tax Costa Rica\", \"tax planning Costa Rica\". This skill covers the Régimen de Tributación Simplificada, the territorial system (only CR-source income taxed), the traditional ISR regime and exempt minimum, dividends, and the eligibility/anti-avoidance red lines. ALWAYS read this skill before advising on any Costa Rican tax optimisation."
license: "AGPL-3.0-or-later (code) / OpenAccountants Guide License v1.0 (content)"
metadata:
  source: openaccountants
  openaccountants_url: "https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/costa-rica-tax-optimization"
  jurisdiction: "CR"
  tax_year: "2025"
  last_updated: "2026-07-13"
---

# Costa Rica Tax Optimization

## Costa Rica Tax Optimization Skill v0.1

**Tier 2 — research-verified. Sources: Ministerio de Hacienda / DGT, PwC Costa Rica. Figures must agree with `costa-rica-income-tax.md` / `costa-rica-social-contributions.md`. NOT yet signed off by a Costa Rican tax adviser. Aggressive positions are never advised; every suggestion must be reviewed.**

## Section 1 -- Quick Reference

**Quick Reference table**

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Country | Republic of Costa Rica |
| Currency | CRC (colón, ₡) |
| Headline levers | **Territorial system** (only CR-source income taxed); Régimen Simplificado for small business; exempt minimum |
| ISR (self-employed/individual) | Progressive; **exempt up to ~₡10,104,000/yr** (~USD 19,800) |
| Dividends / passive income | 15% |
| Anti-avoidance | Régimen Simplificado eligibility; substance |

> **Costa Rica is TERRITORIAL — only Costa-Rica-source income is taxed.** Genuinely foreign-source income is outside scope. Plus a **Régimen de Tributación Simplificada** for qualifying small businesses and a sizeable exempt minimum.

## Section 2 -- Territorial System (the big lever)

- **Territorial taxation scope** — Only Costa-Rica-source income is subject to ISR; genuinely foreign-source income is generally not taxed. Important for residents with international income — but the source rules are fact-specific and increasingly scrutinised (passive-income / shell rules).

**AUDIT FLASH POINT — confirm the income is genuinely foreign-source; "Costa Rican economic structure" can drag income into scope.**

## Section 3 -- Régimen de Tributación Simplificada (RTS)

**RTS feature table**

| Feature | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Who | Small taxpayers meeting the limits |
| Limits (2026) | Annual purchases up to ~₡85,969,200; **max 5 employees**; single establishment; fixed assets ≤ 350 base salaries |
| VAT | RTS taxpayers **do not charge VAT** on sales |
| ISR | Computed by applying a "rent factor" to the quarterly purchase base (form D-105-2) |

Simple and low-admin for qualifying micro-businesses. (PwC; Hacienda) The 2025 reform took effect 13 Oct 2025.

## Section 4 -- Traditional Regime & Extraction

- **Exempt minimum usage** — Self-employed/individual ISR is progressive with an exempt minimum (~₡10.1m) — ensure it's used.
- **Dividends / passive income rate** — 15% (A company pays corporate ISR, then 15% on distribution.)

PYME registration can unlock graduated/SME reliefs. **[RESEARCH GAP — reviewer to confirm current PYME income-tax relief.]**

## Section 5 -- Red Lines (do not cross)

- **Source rules red line** — Foreign-source exemption only applies to genuinely foreign income — don't relabel Costa-Rican-source income.
- **RTS eligibility red line** — RTS eligibility (purchases, employees, single establishment, asset cap) — confirm before electing.
- **Substance requirement** — Substance for any structure.

## PROHIBITIONS

- **Territorial exemption unconfirmed** — NEVER assert the territorial exemption without confirming the income is genuinely foreign-source.
- **RTS limits omission** — NEVER present RTS without its purchase/employee/establishment limits.
- **Rate contradiction** — NEVER contradict the rates in `costa-rica-income-tax.md` / `costa-rica-social-contributions.md`.
- **Research gap as fact** — NEVER present [RESEARCH GAP] figures as confirmed, nor optimisation as definitive advice — route to a licensed Costa Rican tax adviser.

## Disclaimer

This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Open Accountants and its contributors accept no liability for any errors, omissions, or outcomes arising from the use of this skill. All outputs must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified professional (such as a licensed tax adviser in Costa Rica) before acting upon.

## Today's figures and who stands behind this skill

This file is an AI skill (tax rules your AI follows) from OpenAccountants, copied on 2026-07-13. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. For the current version of this skill, its official sources and the named accountant (if any) who stands behind it, call `get_skill` with slug `costa-rica-tax-optimization` on the OpenAccountants connector (https://www.openaccountants.com/connect), or read https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/costa-rica-tax-optimization. If neither is available, confirm every figure against the official source pages cited above before relying on it.