Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 5. FX and capital controls › FX and capital controls in Costa Rica: free convertibility, managed float, no approval to send money abroad

FX and capital controls in Costa Rica: free convertibility, managed float, no approval to send money abroad

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Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Status: Stable

Costa Rica has no capital controls: the Banco Central must guarantee free conversion of the colón and cannot restrict the sale of foreign currency except as its organic law allows. Since 2 February 2015 the exchange rate floats under a managed float in which the Banco Central intervenes in MONEX to smooth volatility and to serve the non banking public sector. Dividends, loan repayments, capital and sale proceeds move abroad without central bank approval or registration; the real costs are withholding tax, bank compliance and the narrow emergency powers in Ley 7558.

USD figures use the Banco Central de Costa Rica reference selling rate of ₡454.82 per US dollar (buying rate ₡449.44) published for 29 October 2026 (indicators 318 and 317 on bccr.fi.cr), rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Exchange rate regime	Managed float (flotación administrada) since 2 February 2015 textBCCR session 5677-2015, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Capital controls	None; free conversion guaranteed by law textLey 7558 art. 85, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Access to FX to pay dividends abroad	Free, no central bank approval textLey 7558 art. 85, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
BCCR reference selling rate	454.82 CRC per USDROCC art. 9, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
BCCR reference buying rate	449.44 CRC per USDROCC art. 9, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Penalty for unauthorised FX dealing	25 % of amount tradedLey 7558 art. 92, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Maximum term of temporary FX measures	1 yearLey 7558 art. 82 to 84, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. The Banco Central's main objectives are to keep the internal and external stability of the colón and to ensure its conversion into other currencies; its essential functions include maintaining the external value and conversion of the currency and defining exchange rate policy.Ley 7558, art. 2 and art. 3(a) and (c), 1995-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. The Junta Directiva sets the exchange regime by at least five votes, but any regime must guarantee free conversion of the colón into other currencies and may not restrict the sale of foreign currency except as the law itself provides.Ley 7558, art. 85, 1995-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Since Monday 2 February 2015 Costa Rica runs a managed float: the market sets the exchange rate freely, and the Banco Central may participate to meet its own needs and those of the non banking public sector and, at its discretion, to avoid violent fluctuations, operating in MONEX.BCCR Junta Directiva, session 5677-2015, art. 5, part I(a) to (c), 2015-01-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Replaced the exchange rate band in force since 17 October 2006 with a managed float from 2 February 2015.

4. Foreign currency may be traded in Costa Rica only through the Banco Central, financial entities supervised by SUGEF and other entities authorised by the Junta Directiva (securities brokers and exchange houses). Buying or selling foreign currency as a business without legal or Banco Central authorisation is penalised with 25% of the total amount traded.
Example: Unauthorised dealing of ₡22,741,000: penalty ₡5,685,250. / US$50,000.00 traded: penalty US$12,500.00.Ley 7558; Reglamento para las Operaciones Cambiarias de Contado, Ley 7558 art. 86 and 92(a); ROCC art. 2, 2024-10-10 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Emergency tools are temporary and bounded: for up to one year the Junta may require authorised entities to trade only for the Banco Central's account (art. 82, while still guaranteeing free conversion), may require exporters to sell their export proceeds to authorised entities if there is a balance of payments imbalance (art. 83), and may impose import surcharges of up to 10% of CIF value (art. 78). These need five votes, must be reported to the Legislative Assembly (art. 77) and cannot be extended without a special law (art. 84).Ley 7558, art. 77, 78, 82, 83 and 84, 1995-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. The capital inflow tools of Ley 9227 of 2014 (an unremunerated deposit of up to 25% on non resident portfolio inflows in Ley 7558 art. 80 bis and higher withholding rates in Ley 7092 art. 59 bis) were repealed by Ley 9635.Ley 9635, Title II, point 18(e), and Title IV art. 38, 2018-12-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Ley 9635 of 3 December 2018 repealed Ley 9227 and Ley 7092 art. 59 bis; no capital inflow deposit can be applied under that law.

7. The non banking public sector buys and sells foreign currency through the Banco Central or the state commercial banks; daily trades above US$100,000 or monthly needs above US$10,000,000 must be done only with the Banco Central.Ley 7558; ROCC, Ley 7558 art. 89; ROCC art. 10 and 10 bis, 2022-11-29 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. Everyone, resident or not, must supply free of charge and on time the statistical data that institutions of the Sistema de Estadística Nacional request for official statistics; late or missing data is fined from 1 to 4 salarios base, and 5 to 7 when it seriously harms the service.
Cost to do it: Fines of ₡462,200 to ₡1,848,800 (about US$1,016.23 to US$4,064.90) for a minor breach at the 2026 salario base of ₡462,200.Ley 9694, art. 16, 62, 63 and 64, 2019-06-04 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Flow	Central bank approval	Tax	Reporting
Dividends and branch profits out	None	15% withholding (treaty 5% to 15%)	Monthly withholding return; bank registers transfers of US$10,000 or more
Foreign loan in or out	None for non financial companies	15% on interest (5.5% supervised lenders)	Interest operations reportable to the tax administration and BCCR
Capital contribution or sale proceeds	None	Capital gains tax where Costa Rican source	Bank registers transfers of US$10,000 or more
Export proceeds	None, no surrender	Normal income tax	Prove liquidation or entry on BCCR request
Cash at the border	None	None	Declare US$10,000 or more

What needs approval or reporting when money moves across the border (Ley 7558, Ley 7092, Ley 7786).

Worked example

A US parent wires US$500,000 of capital to its Costa Rican S.A.: no central bank filing; the bank records the transfer in its US$10,000 register and asks for the source of funds. Converting at the ₡449.44 buying rate gives ₡224,720,000.
Two years later the subsidiary pays a US$100,000 dividend: it buys dollars at about ₡454.82 (₡45,482,000), withholds US$15,000 and wires US$85,000 without any FX approval.

Step by step

Open a colón and a US dollar account with a SUGEF supervised bank; expect know your customer and source of funds checks.
Decide the functional currency of contracts (dollars are allowed, see the foreign currency contracts page).
Buy or sell dollars with your bank or an authorised exchange house at its posted rate; large companies can shop rates across banks that quote in MONEX.
Withhold and file the remittance tax by the 15th of the following month before or when you pay abroad.
Keep board minutes, invoices and loan agreements to support each outbound transfer.

Common traps

Free convertibility is not a tax exemption: withholding on dividends, interest, royalties and services applies even though no FX permit is needed.
Do not change money through unlicensed dealers; the 25% penalty applies to the amount traded.
The Junta can still use one year emergency powers (export proceeds surrender, trading for BCCR account, import surcharges); build contract clauses for that tail risk even though none is in force.

Sources

Related: Costa Rica country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide

← Setting up a company in Costa Rica: official fees, the notary, La Gaceta, the registry and the statutory deadlines after registrationPaying dividends and profits out of Costa Rica: no FX approval, 5% legal reserve, 15% withholding →

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