Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 16. What is normal abroad but not here › An annual tax just for keeping a company registered: ₡69,330 to ₡231,100 in 2026

An annual tax just for keeping a company registered: ₡69,330 to ₡231,100 in 2026

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

Abroad, a dormant company usually costs only a small registry renewal fee. In Costa Rica every registered sociedad mercantil, EIRL and branch of a foreign company pays the impuesto a las personas jurídicas each year, from 15% to 50% of a salario base depending on tax registration and gross income, due within thirty days after 1 January. Companies in arrears cannot get registry certificates or register documents, cannot contract with the State, and three unpaid years trigger dissolution.

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; conversions are for orientation only. Amounts tied to the salario base use the 2026 figure of ₡462,200 (Circular 246-2025 of the Consejo Superior del Poder Judicial, under Ley 7337 art. 2).

Key facts

Annual tax on legal entities, lowest rate (not in tax registry), 2026	69330 CRCLey 9428 art. 3(a); salario base ₡462,200 (Circular 246-2025), as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Annual tax on legal entities, highest rate (gross income 280 salarios base or more), 2026	231100 CRCLey 9428 art. 3(d); salario base ₡462,200 (Circular 246-2025), as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Annual tax on legal entities due date	Within 30 calendar days after 1 January textLey 9428 art. 4, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. The tax applies to all commercial companies, branches of foreign companies or their representatives and EIRLs registered in the Registro de Personas Jurídicas.Ley 9428, Impuesto a las Personas Jurídicas, art. 1, 2017-03-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. The tax accrues on 1 January each year, and for new entities on filing the incorporation deed, in which case the inactive rate applies pro rata to the remaining part of the year; the period is the calendar year.Ley 9428, art. 2, 2017-03-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Annual rates as a share of one monthly salario base: 15% for entities not registered in the tax registry (RUT); 25% for income tax payers with gross income below 120 salarios base in the prior return; 30% from 120 to below 280 salarios base; and 50% at 280 salarios base or more.
Cost to do it: 2026: ₡69,330 / ₡115,550 / ₡138,660 / ₡231,100.
Example: An operating subsidiary with gross income of ₡200,000,000 (above 280 salarios base, ₡129,416,000): ₡231,100. / About US$508.11.Ley 9428, art. 3, 2017-03-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Payment is due within the first thirty calendar days after 1 January, through the means set by the Dirección General de Tributación.Ley 9428, art. 4, 2017-03-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Late payers face Código de Normas y Procedimientos Tributarios penalties; the Registro Nacional may not issue legal standing or literal certificates or register any document for them; they cannot contract with the State or any public institution; and the debt is a preferred legal mortgage or pledge on the entity's assets.Ley 9428, art. 5, 2017-03-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Three consecutive unpaid periods are grounds for dissolution: the tax administration reports the entity, the Registro publishes the dissolution notice in La Gaceta and cancels the registration, and the last registered partners become jointly liable for the tax.Ley 9428, art. 7, 2017-03-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Category	Share of salario base	₡	US$
Not registered in the RUT	15%	69,330	US$152.43
Gross income below 120 SB (₡55,464,000)	25%	115,550	US$254.06
Gross income 120 to below 280 SB (₡129,416,000)	30%	138,660	US$304.87
Gross income 280 SB or more	50%	231,100	US$508.11

2026 tax on legal entities (Ley 9428 art. 3; salario base ₡462,200).

Worked example

A holding S.R.L. with no tax registration incorporated in 2026 pays ₡69,330 (US$152.43) a year; an operating S.A. with ₡300,000,000 of gross income pays ₡231,100 (US$508.11).
A shelf company left unpaid for 2024, 2025 and 2026 can be dissolved and its last registered partners pursued for the debt.

Step by step

Calendar the payment for January every year for each entity and branch in the group.
Classify each entity by its prior income tax return to apply the right rate.
Check the payment status before any registry filing or public tender, since arrears block both.
Wind up unused shells formally instead of leaving them unpaid.

Common traps

The tax is owed even with no activity and no income.
Unpaid years follow the last registered partners after dissolution.
A notary certificate for a company in arrears must state that status, which surfaces in due diligence.

Sources

← Dollar contracts are valid, but the debtor may usually pay in colonesLeases run at least three years, renew automatically and dollar home rents cannot be raised →

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