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Tax and compliance calendar for a company in Colombia

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

Colombia's national tax calendar is permanent: since Decreto 2229 de 2023 the same business day windows repeat every year, and each taxpayer's deadline falls between the seventh and the sixteenth business day of the month according to the last digit of its NIT. Monthly, the company files and pays withholding for the prior month; VAT is filed every two months if gross income reached 92,000 UVT (COP 4,818,408,000 in 2026) or the company is a large taxpayer, otherwise every four months; income tax for ordinary companies is filed in May with payment in two instalments, May and July, and transfer pricing filings fall in September. The corporate and payroll year adds the matrícula renewal by 31 March, the ordinary shareholders' meeting within three months of year end, the service bonus in June and December, and the severance fund deposit before 15 February.

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. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Basis for national tax deadlines	Last digit of NIT, 7th to 16th business day of the month textDecreto 1625 de 2016 art. 1.6.1.13.2.12 (Decreto 2229 de 2023), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Income tax return, ordinary companies	May (first instalment), July (second instalment) textDecreto 1625 de 2016 art. 1.6.1.13.2.12, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Income tax instalments, ordinary companies	2 instalmentsDecreto 1625 de 2016 art. 1.6.1.13.2.12, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
VAT filing frequency	Bimonthly from 92,000 UVT of prior year gross income or large taxpayer; otherwise every four months textDecreto 1625 de 2016 art. 1.6.1.13.2.30 and 1.6.1.13.2.31, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Gross income threshold for bimonthly VAT	92000 UVTDecreto 1625 de 2016 art. 1.6.1.13.2.30, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Withholding return frequency	Monthly textDecreto 1625 de 2016 art. 1.6.1.13.2.33, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Transfer pricing return and documentation	September textDecreto 1625 de 2016 art. 1.6.1.13.2.28 and 1.6.1.13.2.29, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Matrícula mercantil renewal	31 March dateCódigo de Comercio art. 33, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Severance fund deposit	Before 15 February dateLey 50 de 1990 art. 99, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Interest on severance paid to worker	12 % per yearLey 50 de 1990 art. 99 num. 2, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Service bonus payment dates	30 June and first 20 days of December textCódigo Sustantivo del Trabajo art. 306, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Deadlines are set by the last digit of the NIT (tax ID) shown in the RUT certificate, ignoring the check digit. For ordinary companies the windows run from the seventh business day of the month (digit 1) to the sixteenth business day (digit 0), and the tables state that they apply from 2024 onwards for each following year.
Example: A company whose NIT ends in 4 (before the check digit) files each monthly withholding return by the tenth business day of the following month.Decreto 1625 de 2016 (single tax regulation), Book 1, Part 6, Title 1, Chapter 13, Section 2, as replaced by Decreto 2229 de 2023, Art. 1.6.1.13.2.12, 1.6.1.13.2.30, 1.6.1.13.2.31 and 1.6.1.13.2.33, 2023-12-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Companies that are not large taxpayers file the income tax return and pay the first of two equal instalments of tax and advance payment in May, and pay the second instalment in July, within the NIT digit window. Foreign companies with their effective place of management in Colombia that also have a Colombian branch file a single consolidated return.Decreto 1625 de 2016 (single tax regulation), Book 1, Part 6, Title 1, Chapter 13, Section 2, as replaced by Decreto 2229 de 2023, Art. 1.6.1.13.2.12 and par. 1, 2023-12-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Companies classified by DIAN as large taxpayers (grandes contribuyentes) pay income tax and the advance in three instalments, in February, April and June, and file the return in April, within the NIT digit windows.Decreto 1625 de 2016 (single tax regulation), Book 1, Part 6, Title 1, Chapter 13, Section 2, as replaced by Decreto 2229 de 2023, Art. 1.6.1.13.2.11, 2023-12-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. VAT is filed and paid every two months (January and February, March and April, and so on) by large taxpayers, by responsible persons whose gross income at 31 December of the prior year was 92,000 UVT or more, and by exporters and other responsible persons under Estatuto Tributario art. 477 and 481. All other VAT responsible persons file every four months (January to April, May to August, September to December), with deadlines in May, September and January.
Example: 92,000 UVT x COP 52,374 = COP 4,818,408,000 of gross income in the prior year. / About US$1.53 million.Decreto 1625 de 2016 (single tax regulation), Book 1, Part 6, Title 1, Chapter 13, Section 2, as replaced by Decreto 2229 de 2023, Art. 1.6.1.13.2.30 and 1.6.1.13.2.31, 2023-12-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Withholding agents for income tax, stamp tax and VAT, including those withholding on payments abroad, and income tax self withholders file and pay the withholding of each month in the following month within the NIT digit window; December's return is due in January of the next year.Decreto 1625 de 2016 (single tax regulation), Book 1, Part 6, Title 1, Chapter 13, Section 2, as replaced by Decreto 2229 de 2023, Art. 1.6.1.13.2.33, 2023-12-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Taxpayers subject to transfer pricing rules that transact with related parties abroad or with non cooperative, low or no tax jurisdictions file the transfer pricing informative return, and the local file (plus the master file for multinational groups), in September within the NIT digit window.Decreto 1625 de 2016 (single tax regulation), Book 1, Part 6, Title 1, Chapter 13, Section 2, as replaced by Decreto 2229 de 2023, Art. 1.6.1.13.2.28 and 1.6.1.13.2.29, 2023-12-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Companies and branches renew their matrícula mercantil every year within the first three months, that is by 31 March, and report to the chamber of commerce any change of domicile and other changes subject to registration.Código de Comercio (Decreto 410 de 1971), Art. 33, 1971-03-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. The service bonus (prima de servicios) equals 30 days of salary a year, paid half by 30 June and half within the first twenty days of December, in proportion to time worked.
Example: A worker on the 2026 minimum wage of COP 1,750,905 receives COP 875,452.50 by 30 June and the same by 20 December, before including the transport allowance in the base. / About US$277.18 each time.Código Sustantivo del Trabajo art. 306, as amended by Ley 1788 de 2016 art. 1, Art. 306, 2016 official text · verified 2026-10-26

9. Severance (cesantía) is liquidated on 31 December for the year and deposited before 15 February of the following year in the fund chosen by the worker; the employer pays the worker 12 percent annual interest on it. Late deposit costs one day of salary for each day of delay.Ley 50 de 1990, Art. 99 num. 1 to 3, 1990-12-28 official text · verified 2026-10-26

10. Beneficial ownership data in the DIAN RUB register must be updated whenever it changes, and companies formed from 1 June 2023 make their initial filing within two months after RUT registration.DIAN Resolución 164 de 2021 as amended by Resolución 1240 de 2022 (compiled as art. 1.4.1.10 and 1.4.1.11 of Resolución 227 de 2025), Art. 10 and art. 11, 2021-12-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

11. Any change in a registered control situation or business group, such as a new foreign parent after an acquisition, must be registered in the commercial registry; a new control situation is registered within thirty days.Ley 222 de 1995, Art. 30 and par. 2, 1995-12-20 official text · verified 2026-10-26

When	Obligation	Legal basis
Every month	Withholding return and payment for the prior month (December's in January)	Decreto 1625 art. 1.6.1.13.2.33
January	VAT for September to December (four monthly filers)	Decreto 1625 art. 1.6.1.13.2.31
Before 15 February	Deposit prior year severance in each worker's fund; pay 12 percent interest to workers	Ley 50 de 1990 art. 99
By 31 March	Renew the matrícula mercantil	Código de Comercio art. 33
Within three months of year end (S.A. default)	Ordinary shareholders' meeting approving the accounts	Código de Comercio art. 422
Bimonthly (Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Nov, Jan)	VAT for the prior two months if bimonthly filer	Decreto 1625 art. 1.6.1.13.2.30
May	Income tax return and first instalment; VAT for January to April (four monthly filers)	Decreto 1625 art. 1.6.1.13.2.12 and 1.6.1.13.2.31
By 30 June	First half of the service bonus	CST art. 306
July	Second income tax instalment	Decreto 1625 art. 1.6.1.13.2.12
September	Transfer pricing informative return, local file and master file; VAT for May to August (four monthly filers)	Decreto 1625 art. 1.6.1.13.2.28, 1.6.1.13.2.29 and 1.6.1.13.2.31
First 20 days of December	Second half of the service bonus	CST art. 306
31 December	Close the books and liquidate the year's severance	Ley 50 de 1990 art. 99 num. 1
Whenever data changes	Update RUT and RUB; register changes in control	Res. DIAN 164 de 2021 art. 11; Ley 222 de 1995 art. 30

A typical year for an ordinary Colombian company (not a large taxpayer) with a 31 December year end. National tax deadlines fall between the 7th and 16th business day by last NIT digit (Decreto 1625 de 2016 as replaced by Decreto 2229 de 2023). Municipal ICA calendars are set by each municipality and are not shown.

Worked example

A Colombian SAS with NIT ending in 7 and 2025 gross income of COP 3 billion (below 92,000 UVT, COP 4,818,408,000 in 2026; about US$949,839 against US$1.53 million) files VAT every four months and files and pays its income tax first instalment by the thirteenth business day of May, the second by the thirteenth business day of July, and each month's withholding by the thirteenth business day of the next month.
A company with ten minimum wage workers deposits each worker's 2026 severance before 15 February 2027; one day late costs one day of salary per worker, at least COP 583,635 in total on a 30 day month basis (10 x COP 1,750,905 / 30), about US$184.79.

Step by step

1. Read the last digit of the NIT on the RUT certificate (without the check digit) and map the seventh to sixteenth business day window to each month.
2. Check whether prior year gross income reached 92,000 UVT, or whether DIAN classified the company as a large taxpayer, to fix the VAT frequency and income tax instalments for the year.
3. Set up the monthly withholding cycle before the first payment to a supplier or non resident.
4. Diarise the corporate year: close 31 December, matrícula renewal by 31 March, ordinary meeting, deposit of approved statements, and any Supersociedades reporting the company is required to file.
5. Diarise the payroll year: severance deposit before 15 February, service bonus by 30 June and 20 December.
6. Add each municipality's ICA calendar where the company operates.
7. Recheck each January, when the new UVT changes the peso value of thresholds.

Common traps

Deadlines are counted in business days, so the calendar date shifts every year with weekends and public holidays.
The VAT frequency depends on gross income at 31 December of the prior year; crossing 92,000 UVT moves the company to bimonthly filing the following year.
Large taxpayer status is a DIAN classification, not a size test the company applies itself; a classified company pays income tax from February, three months earlier than other companies.
December withholding is due in January of the next year, not in December.

Sources

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