Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 15. Exiting › Taking money out before or instead of exiting Costa Rica: dividends at 15%, capital reductions with a three month creditor window, and free conversion

Taking money out before or instead of exiting Costa Rica: dividends at 15%, capital reductions with a three month creditor window, and free conversion

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

Dividends to foreign shareholders bear 15% withholding and branches are taxed on 100% of profits remitted to head office; dividends to Costa Rican companies are outside the recipient's gross income. A capital reduction is not a gain, but any return of capital is charged first to accumulated undistributed profits, which are taxed like dividends, unless the contributions are recorded in the books. A reduction affects third parties only three months after its third Gaceta publication, during which creditors may oppose it, and the money can be converted and remitted without any exchange permit.

USD figures use the Banco Central de Costa Rica reference selling rate of ₡454.82 per US dollar published for 29 October 2026 (indicator 318 on bccr.fi.cr), rounded to the cent. The salario base for 2026 is ₡462,200 (Circular 246-2025 of the Consejo Superior del Poder Judicial, under Ley 7337 art. 2).

Key facts

Withholding on dividends paid abroad	15 %Ley 7092 art. 59(g), as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Branch profits taxable on remittance	100 % of disposable incomeLey 7092 art. 27 ter(2)(a)(iv), as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Capital reduction effective against third parties after	3 months from third publicationCódigo de Comercio art. 31, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Access to FX for dividends	Free conversion guaranteed by law Ley 7558 art. 85, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Distributions of disposable income as dividends, profit shares and any benefit similar to dividends are capital income; 100% of the disposable income that branches and other permanent establishments of non residents credit or remit to their head office is taxable income.Ley 7092, art. 27 ter(2)(a)(iv), 2018-12-03 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Dividends, profits and profit shares paid to persons domiciled abroad bear the remittance tax under art. 59(g), paid within the first fifteen calendar days of the month after payment or credit as a single and final tax.
Example: ₡10,000,000 dividend: ₡1,500,000 withheld at 15%. / US$21,986.72 gross, US$18,688.71 net.Ley 7092, art. 59(g) and art. 60, 2018-12-03 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Profits and dividends paid or credited to taxpayers of the profits tax (Costa Rican companies) do not form part of their gross income.Ley 7092, art. 6(c), 1988-04-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. A reduction of share capital produces no capital gain or loss, but where the reduction returns contributions, the part corresponding to accumulated undistributed profits is capital income; if accumulated profits exist, any return of capital is charged first to them, except for contributions recorded in the accounts, which are not taxed and whose legitimacy the tax administration may verify.
Example: Reduction paying ₡30,000,000 when undistributed profits are ₡20,000,000 and no contributions beyond nominal capital are recorded: ₡20,000,000 treated as distributed profits, ₡3,000,000 tax at 15%. / US$65,960.16 paid, US$6,596.02 tax.Ley 7092, art. 27 ter(3)(c), 2018-12-03 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Capital may be reduced by reimbursing partners or releasing unpaid contributions, or by absorbing losses; the reduction affects third parties only three months after its third publication in La Gaceta, during which any creditor showing prejudice may oppose it, and the registry will not record a reduction that breaches these rules.
Cost to do it: Registry fee for amendments to the articles: one tenth of a salario base per document, ₡46,220 (US$101.62) in 2026 (Ley 4564 art. 2(d)).Ley 3284, Código de Comercio, as amended by Ley 7201, art. 31, 1990-10-10 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Exchange regimes must guarantee free conversion of the colón and cannot restrict the sale of foreign currency beyond Ley 7558.Ley 7558, art. 85, 1995-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. Argentine investors: the investment agreement guarantees transfer of dividends and of sale or liquidation proceeds without delay in freely convertible currency, within two months of a duly filed request, subject to measures to enforce tax obligations.Ley 8068 (Costa Rica Argentina investment agreement), art. 7, 2001-02-14 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Worked example

A US$100 dividend out of a Costa Rican S.A. to its foreign parent: US$15 withheld, US$85 received (Ley 7092 art. 59(g)). In colones, ₡45,482 gross and ₡6,822.30 withheld. Whether the parent's country credits the US$15 depends on its own law; Costa Rica's treaties are listed on the tax treaties page.

Step by step

Approve accounts and the legal reserve, then the dividend, at the shareholders' meeting.
Withhold 15% and pay within the first 15 calendar days of the next month.
For a capital reduction, check the recorded contributions to avoid dividend treatment, publish three times and wait three months.
Buy dollars at any bank; no permit is needed.

Common traps

Without recorded contributions, a capital reduction is taxed first as distributed profits.
Creditors can block a reduction in the three month window.
Art. 59(g) still reads 15% or 5% by reference to art. 18 and 19, which Ley 9635 repealed; plan on 15% unless a treaty lowers it.

Sources

← Selling a Costa Rican business as a going concern: three Gaceta notices, 15 day creditor call, deposited price, and buyer liability for tax and employeesMerging, converting or moving the seat of a Costa Rican company: one month opposition window, tax neutral reorganisations and retransfer of a foreign seat →

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