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Interest rate caps, usury and loan terms in Costa Rica: BCCR maximum rates, microcredit, default interest and fees

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

Since Ley 9859 of 2020 every lender in Costa Rica, bank or not, is bound by maximum annual interest rates that the BCCR computes and publishes each January and July. For contracts made July to December 2026 the caps are 36.48% in colones and 30.11% in dollars for general credit, 51.51% and 42.65% for microcredit (up to 1.5 salarios base, ₡693,300 in 2026) and 7.27% in other currencies. All fees and charges count toward the rate except a collection charge of up to 5% of the overdue principal, capped at US$12 a month. Charging above the cap is treated as usury.

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.

Key facts

Maximum annual interest rate, general credit in colones, contracts Jul to Dec 202636.48 %Ley 7472 art. 36 bis, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Maximum annual interest rate, general credit in US dollars, contracts Jul to Dec 202630.11 %Ley 7472 art. 36 bis, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Maximum annual interest rate, microcredit in colones, Jul to Dec 202651.51 %Ley 7472 art. 36 bis, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Maximum annual interest rate, microcredit in dollars, Jul to Dec 202642.65 %Ley 7472 art. 36 bis, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Maximum annual interest rate, other currencies, Jul to Dec 20267.27 %Ley 7472 art. 36 bis, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Default interest cap, non bank commercial loansOrdinary rate plus 30% of it textCódigo de Comercio art. 498, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Legal interest rate absent agreementBCCR tasa básica pasiva (colones); prime rate (US dollars) textCódigo de Comercio art. 497, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Rate used for USD conversions (BCCR reference selling rate published for 29 Oct 2026)454.82 CRC per USDBCCR indicator 318, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. The general cap is (12 month simple average of the BCCR's negotiated lending rate of the Otras Sociedades de Depósito group, in the contract currency, plus 12.8 points) times 1.5; the microcredit cap is (the same average plus 13.18 points) times 2.085. Other currencies use the dollar average.Ley 7472, art. 36 bis (added by Ley 9859), 2020-06-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30
2. The BCCR publishes the caps in La Gaceta and on its website in the first week of January and July; they apply to every contract made in the following semester.Ley 7472, art. 36 bis, 2020-06-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30
3. Caps for contracts made 1 July to 31 December 2026 (published 3 July 2026, computed on July 2025 to June 2026 data): general credit 36.48% in colones and 30.11% in dollars; microcredit 51.51% in colones and 42.65% in dollars; other currencies 7.27%.
Example: ₡10,000,000 one year colón loan signed in November 2026: total interest and fees at most ₡3,648,000. / US$20,000 one year dollar loan: at most US$6,022 in interest and fees.Ley 7472 art. 36 bis; BCCR CP-BCCR-017-2026, art. 36 bis, 2026-07-03 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: From January to June 2026 the caps were 36.27% (colones), 30.39% (dollars), 51.21% and 43.03% (microcredit) and 7.50% (other currencies); the July 2026 update raised the colón caps and lowered the others.
4. Microcredit is any credit not exceeding 1.5 times the salario base of the Poder Judicial's oficinista 1 (Ley 7337); credit cards are excluded. Splitting a regular loan into microcredits to charge the higher cap is prohibited.
Example: Microcredit ceiling in 2026: 1.5 × ₡462,200 = ₡693,300. / About US$1,524.34.Ley 7472, art. 36 bis, 2020-06-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30
5. Costs, expenses, penalties and commissions may not push the effective rate above the cap; the only charge outside the rate is a documented administrative collection charge, from the fifth day of delay, of at most 5% of the overdue principal installment and never more than US$12, once a month.Ley 7472, art. 36 bis, 2020-06-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30
6. Charging above the BCCR cap is a disproportionate pecuniary advantage under the usury offence of Código Penal art. 243; SUGEF must check monthly that no supervised loan above the microcredit size exceeds the general cap and report breaches to prosecutors.Ley 7472, art. 36 bis, 2020-06-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30
7. For non bank lenders, default interest equals ordinary interest unless agreed, and when agreed may not exceed the ordinary rate by more than 30%; the legal rate, used absent agreement, is the BCCR tasa básica pasiva in colones and prime rate in dollars.Código de Comercio, art. 497 and 498, 1995-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-30
8. Bank loans in installments may be accelerated on one missed payment, and default interest on the overdue installment may be up to two points above the agreed rate; early repayment is allowed and unearned prepaid interest must be refunded.Ley 1644, art. 70, 1953-09-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30
9. Lenders must disclose before signing how interest is calculated, show principal, interest, default interest, charges and commissions separately in statements, show the rate charged, and may not change terms unilaterally.Ley 7472, art. 44 bis, 1998-12-14 official text · verified 2026-10-30
Credit typeJan to Jun 2026Jul to Dec 2026
General credit, colones36.27%36.48%
General credit, US dollars30.39%30.11%
Microcredit, colones51.21%51.51%
Microcredit, US dollars43.03%42.65%
Other currencies7.50%7.27%

BCCR maximum annual interest rates by semester of contract (Ley 7472 art. 36 bis; BCCR communiqués CP-BCCR-001-2026 and CP-BCCR-017-2026).

Worked example

  • A non bank lender signs a ₡10,000,000 (US$21,986.72) one year colón loan in November 2026 with an 'origination fee' of ₡400,000 and interest of 33%. The fee counts toward the rate: 33% plus 4% is 37%, above the 36.48% cap, so the structure breaches art. 36 bis. Dropping the fee to ₡300,000 brings it to 36%, within the cap. A US$500 late installment can attract a collection charge of at most US$12 (5% would be US$25).

Step by step

  1. Identify the semester in which the contract is signed and take that semester's cap.
  2. Compute the all in annual cost including every fee and commission.
  3. Classify the loan: microcredit up to ₡693,300 in 2026, otherwise general credit.
  4. Draft default interest within Código de Comercio art. 498 (non banks) or Ley 1644 art. 70 (banks).
  5. Disclose the rate mechanics and itemise statements as art. 44 bis requires.

Common traps

  • The cap binds private and foreign lenders lending in Costa Rica, not only banks.
  • Labelling a cost as a fee, insurance or penalty does not take it outside the rate.
  • Loans in euros or other currencies have a very low 7.27% cap because the formula uses the dollar average without the spread.
  • The cap applies by contract date; a refinancing signed later is tested against the cap of its own semester.

Sources

Related pages

Related: Costa Rica country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X

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