Countries › Colombia › Guide › 5. FX and capital controls › Borrowing from abroad into Colombia: what counts as a foreign loan, the loan report before disbursement, peso loans, the 0 percent deposit, interest withholding and thin capitalization

Borrowing from abroad into Colombia: what counts as a foreign loan, the loan report before disbursement, peso loans, the 0 percent deposit, interest withholding and thin capitalization

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Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Any loan between a Colombian resident and a non resident is a foreign loan (crédito externo): it may be agreed, disbursed and repaid in pesos or foreign currency, but it must be reported to Banco de la República through a Colombian bank before the money is disbursed, and disbursements and repayments go through the FX market. The Board's deposit on foreign borrowing is set at 0 percent, so it costs nothing today but remains a policy lever; loans disbursed in pesos are reported within 15 business days and use special peso accounts. On the tax side, interest paid abroad bears 20 percent withholding, 15 percent for loans of one year or more, and interest on debts with related parties is deductible only up to twice the borrower's prior year net equity.

USD figures use the TRM (tasa representativa del mercado) of COP 3,158.43 per US dollar, valid 24 to 26 October 2026, from the official TRM series certified by the Superintendencia Financiera and published on the national open data portal. Amounts in UVT use the 2026 UVT of COP 52,374 (DIAN Resolución 000238 de 2025). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Deposit with Banco de la República on foreign borrowing	0 %Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 48, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Foreign loan report to Banco de la República	Before disbursement, through an FX intermediary textDCIP-83 num. 5.1.2, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Deadline to report a foreign loan disbursed in pesos	15 business days after disbursementDCIP-83 num. 5.1.11, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Currency in which foreign loans may be agreed and repaid	Pesos or foreign currency, as agreed textResolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 45, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Withholding on interest paid to non residents (general)	20 %Estatuto Tributario art. 408, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Withholding on interest on foreign loans of one year or more	15 %Estatuto Tributario art. 408, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Thin capitalization limit on related party debt	2:1 average related debt to prior year net equity ratioEstatuto Tributario art. 118-1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Loans between residents (or FX intermediaries) and non residents are foreign loans, as are loans in foreign currency from Colombian FX intermediaries to residents. They must be channelled through the FX market. Foreign loans between residents and non residents may be agreed, disbursed and repaid in pesos or foreign currency as the parties agree; loans from Colombian intermediaries must be agreed in foreign currency but may be disbursed and paid in either. Multilateral lenders count as non residents.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 of the Board of Banco de la República, Art. 44 and art. 45 (inciso 1 and 2, parágrafo 4), 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. A deposit with Banco de la República is a precondition for disbursing and channelling foreign loans obtained by residents and transfers into non resident peso accounts reserved for foreign lending; the deposit rate is 0 percent. Exempt from the deposit are, among others, loans to finance Colombian investment abroad, credit card debt, concessional government loans, margin financing on foreign exchanges, loans disbursed in pesos from the exclusive accounts, loans arising from reorganizations without disbursement, and leasing.
Cost to do it: 0 percent of the loan today (art. 48).Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 of the Board of Banco de la República, Art. 47, art. 48 and art. 49, 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Foreign loans to residents must be reported to Banco de la República by the resident borrower through an FX intermediary, using the Informe de Crédito Externo Otorgado a Residentes, before disbursement. The bank checks the loan contract (or capitalization advance document), the deposit where applicable and the lender type, and assigns the loan number. No report is needed for credit card debt, overdrafts on residents' foreign accounts, and loans to finance imports and exports of goods (save exceptions). Loans assumed through a reorganization or other act without disbursement are reported before the first payment and in any case within six months of the act.Circular Reglamentaria Externa DCIP-83 de 2023, num. 5.1.2 as amended by Circular DCIP-83 of 23 November 2023, Num. 5.1.2 and 5.1.2.2, 2023-11-23 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Disbursements and payments in foreign currency are made with the FX declaration for foreign loans quoting the loan number. Payments in pesos go from the debtor's account to the bank or to the creditor's non resident peso account, and the debtor gives the FX declaration to the bank within 15 business days after payment.Circular Reglamentaria Externa DCIP-83, num. 5.1.4 as amended by Circular DCIP-83 of 19 December 2024, Num. 5.1.4, 2024-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Residents may borrow from non residents and Colombian intermediaries with disbursement in pesos. The non resident lender disburses from its special peso account for foreign lending, and the debtor files the foreign loan report within at most 15 business days after disbursement, together with the FX declaration. These loans may be repaid in pesos or foreign currency.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 45 par. 2; DCIP-83 num. 5.1.11 as amended on 19 December 2024, Res. Ext. 1 art. 45 par. 2; DCIP-83 num. 5.1.11, 2024-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Disbursements may be made directly abroad, without converting through the FX market, in listed cases such as loans to fund investment abroad, lender deductions for interest and taxes at disbursement, replacement of one loan by another and loans to pay import credits; the loan report and deposit still come first and the FX declaration with the reason for non channelling is given within 15 business days after disbursement. Changes to amount, term, rate, lender or debtor are reported as corrections; replacing, splitting or consolidating loans follows specific procedures.Circular Reglamentaria Externa DCIP-83, num. 5.1.5 and 5.1.6 (num. 5.1.6.4 as amended by Circular DCIP-83 of 16 December 2025), Num. 5.1.5, 5.1.6.1, 5.1.6.3, 5.1.6.4 and 5.1.6.5, 2025-12-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Advances for future capitalization by non residents are foreign debt, reported before disbursement with purpose 43. If capitalized, the foreign investment is registered; if not, the money is repaid through the FX market. A foreign company may not lend to its own Colombian branch.Circular Reglamentaria Externa DCIP-83 de 2023 (compiled), Num. 7.2.1.1 lit. d and num. 7.2.1.5, 2023-09-12 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. Interest paid to non residents bears income tax withholding of 20 percent of the payment. Interest on loans obtained abroad for a term of one year or more, and the financial component of leasing with foreign lessors, bear 15 percent. Interest on loans of eight years or more financing public private partnership infrastructure under Ley 1508 de 2012 bears 5 percent. Treaties may reduce these rates.
Cost to do it: Withholding on US$160,000 of annual interest on a loan of one year or more: 15 percent, COP 75,802,320 (about US$24,000).Estatuto Tributario, art. 408 as amended by Ley 2010 de 2019, Art. 408, incisos 1, 3 and 5, 2019-12-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

9. Some foreign credits are not Colombian source income and their interest is not taxed or subject to withholding: short term credits of up to six months from imports of goods and services and bank overdrafts, credits financing or prefinancing exports, and credits obtained by listed financial entities and supervised lending companies.Estatuto Tributario, art. 25 lit. a as amended by Ley 2010 de 2019, Art. 25, literal a, 2019-12-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

10. Interest on debts with related parties, directly or indirectly, is deductible only to the extent the average related party debt of the year does not exceed twice the taxpayer's net equity (patrimonio líquido) at 31 December of the prior year; interest on the excess is not deductible. For unrelated debt the taxpayer must be able to prove, with a sworn lender certificate, that it is not a back to back or guaranteed related party loan. Entities supervised by the Superintendencia Financiera, qualifying factoring companies and companies in an unproductive period are excluded.Estatuto Tributario, art. 118-1 as amended by Ley 2010 de 2019, Art. 118-1, incisos 2 and 3, parágrafos 1 to 4, 2019-12-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

11. The Superintendencia de Sociedades supervises the exchange rules on foreign borrowing by companies, and DIAN those on financing of imports and exports. Breaches of loan reporting and channelling are fined up to 200 percent of the amount by the Superintendencia de Sociedades; failing to constitute a required deposit on DIAN supervised financing is fined at 100 percent of the deposit.Decreto 1736 de 2020 art. 7 num. 12 as amended by Decreto 1380 de 2021; Decreto 1746 de 1991; Decreto Ley 2245 de 2011, Decreto 1746 de 1991 art. 3; Decreto Ley 2245 de 2011 art. 3 num. 11, 2011-06-28 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Situation	Report	Deadline	Deposit
Loan from a foreign parent or bank disbursed in foreign currency	Informe de Crédito Externo through a Colombian bank	Before disbursement	0%
Loan from a non resident disbursed in pesos	Informe de Crédito Externo plus FX declaration	Within 15 business days of disbursement	Exempt
Advance for future capitalization	Informe de Crédito Externo, purpose 43	Before disbursement	0%
Supplier credit for imported goods	No loan report; FX declaration for imports at payment	At payment	Not applicable
Loan assumed in a merger or similar act without disbursement	Informe de Crédito Externo	Before first payment, at most six months after the act	Exempt
Repayment in pesos	FX declaration to the paying bank	Within 15 business days of payment	Not applicable

Foreign loan paperwork at a glance (Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 44 to 50; DCIP-83 ch. 5)

Worked example

A US parent lends its Colombian SAS US$2,000,000 for three years at 8 percent. Before the wire, the SAS files the Informe de Crédito Externo through its bank, attaching the loan agreement; the deposit is 0 percent. The disbursement is converted at about COP 6,316,860,000 with an FX declaration quoting the loan number.
Annual interest is US$160,000, about COP 505,348,800. Because the term is one year or more, the SAS withholds 15 percent, COP 75,802,320 (about US$24,000), instead of the general 20 percent (COP 101,069,760).
The SAS had net equity of COP 3,000,000,000 at the prior year end, so related party debt up to COP 6,000,000,000 carries deductible interest. Its average related debt is COP 6,316,860,000, so the excess share of interest, about COP 25,348,800 (about US$8,026), is not deductible (art. 118-1).
Interest and principal are paid through the FX market with FX declarations quoting the loan number; the related deduction also requires the withholding to have been made.

Step by step

1. Decide currency and form (foreign currency loan, peso loan, capitalization advance) and check thin capitalization headroom for related party debt.
2. Sign the loan agreement; for related parties prepare transfer pricing support on the interest rate.
3. Before disbursement, file the Informe de Crédito Externo through a Colombian bank; get the loan number. For peso loans, file within 15 business days of disbursement.
4. Receive the disbursement through the bank or a registered compensation account with the FX declaration quoting the loan number.
5. On each interest payment, withhold 20 or 15 percent (or the treaty rate) and file the monthly withholding return; pay interest and principal through the FX market.
6. Report any change in amount, term, rate, lender or debtor as a correction to the loan report; close the loan with the final repayment declaration.

Common traps

Receiving the money first and reporting later. For foreign currency loans the bank files the loan report before disbursement, and the disbursement declaration must quote the loan number it assigns (DCIP-83 num. 5.1.2 and 5.1.4).
Calling an equity injection a loan or vice versa. Advances for future capitalization are debt until capitalized and must be reported as loans first (DCIP-83 num. 7.2.1.1 lit. d).
Lending from a foreign head office to its own Colombian branch. This is not an authorized transfer; fund the branch with supplementary capital (DCIP-83 num. 7.2.1.5).
Assuming 15 percent applies to any loan. The reduced rate requires a term of one year or more; short loans bear 20 percent (Estatuto Tributario art. 408).
Ignoring back to back structures. Bank loans guaranteed by a related party count toward the 2:1 thin capitalization limit, and lenders that cover the real creditor become jointly liable (Estatuto Tributario art. 118-1 par. 1 and 2).

Sources

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