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Salario base, minimum wage and the exchange rate: the reference values behind Costa Rican rules

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

Many Costa Rican fines, fees and taxes are set as a share of the salario base, a monthly amount the judiciary publishes every year: ₡462,200 for 2026. The private sector minimum wage is fixed yearly by executive decree on the advice of the tripartite Consejo Nacional de Salarios; the lowest monthly category is ₡373,092.30 in 2026 and all minimums rise 1.70 percent from 1 January 2027. For dollar figures, contracts and tax conversions, the Banco Central publishes buying and selling reference rates every day; on 29 October 2026 they were ₡449.44 and ₡454.82.

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. Amounts set by reference to the salario base use the 2026 value of ₡462,200 (Circular 246-2025 of the Consejo Superior del Poder Judicial). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Salario base 2026	462200 CRCCircular 246-2025; Ley 7337 art. 2, as of 2026-01-01 · in force
Minimum monthly wage, unskilled generic occupation (2026)	373092.30 CRCDecreto 45303-MTSS art. 1(b), as of 2026-01-01 · in force
Minimum daily wage, unskilled (2026)	12436.41 CRCDecreto 45303-MTSS art. 1(a), as of 2026-01-01 · in force
Minimum monthly wage, unskilled, in US dollars	820.31 USDDecreto 45303-MTSS art. 1(b); BCCR 29 October 2026, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Minimum wage increase from 1 January 2027	1.70 %Consejo Nacional de Salarios, 28 October 2026, as of 2026-10-29 · pending
BCCR reference selling rate	454.82 CRC per USDBCCR indicator 318, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
BCCR reference buying rate	449.44 CRC per USDBCCR indicator 317, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Registry fee per recorded company document (2026)	46220 CRCLey 4564 art. 2(d), as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. The salario base used to set penalties under the Código Penal and every other law that refers to Ley 7337 is ₡462,200 from 1 January 2026, as communicated by the Consejo Superior del Poder Judicial (session 113-2025 of 16 December 2025) under art. 2 of Ley 7337.
Example: One salario base: ₡462,200. Half a salario base, the late filing fine of CNPT art. 79: ₡231,100. / One salario base: US$1,016.23; half: US$508.11.Circular 246-2025, Consejo Superior del Poder Judicial; Ley 7337 art. 2, Sole provision, 2025-12-17 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. The tax on legal entities is a percentage of one monthly salario base: 15 percent for entities not registered with the tax administration, and 25, 30 or 50 percent for income taxpayers by prior year gross income below 120, from 120 to below 280, and 280 or more salarios base.
Example: 2026 bands: gross income under ₡55,464,000 pays ₡115,550; from ₡55,464,000 to under ₡129,416,000 pays ₡138,660; ₡129,416,000 or more pays ₡231,100; inactive entities pay ₡69,330. / Income bands of about US$121,947.14 and US$284,543.34; taxes of US$254.06, US$304.87, US$508.11 and US$152.43.Ley 9428, Impuesto a las Personas Jurídicas, Art. 3, 2017-03-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Recording the formation, appointments, extensions, powers and amendments of a commercial company in the Registro Mercantil, including capital increases, costs a single fee per document equal to one tenth of the salario base.
Cost to do it: ₡46,220 (US$101.62) per document in 2026.Ley 4564, Ley de Aranceles del Registro Público, Art. 2(d), 1970-04-29 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Failure to file a taxpayer registration, deregistration or change of legal representative or tax domicile on time costs 50 percent of a salario base for each month or part of a month, up to 3 salarios base; failure to file a self assessed return on time costs 50 percent of a salario base.
Cost to do it: ₡231,100 (US$508.11) per month, capped at ₡1,386,600 (US$3,048.68); late return ₡231,100.Ley 4755, Código de Normas y Procedimientos Tributarios, Art. 78 and art. 79, 1971-05-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Private sector minimum wages from 1 January 2026, per ordinary daily shift: unskilled ₡12,436.41, semi skilled ₡13,523.69, skilled ₡13,991.86 and specialised ₡16,244.50. Generic monthly occupations: unskilled ₡373,092.30, semi skilled ₡405,710.70, skilled ₡419,755.80, specialised ₡487,335.00; university graduates (licenciatura) ₡796,921.00.
Example: Unskilled worker on the monthly minimum: ₡373,092.30. / About US$820.31 a month.Decreto Ejecutivo 45303-MTSS, Art. 1(a) and 1(b), 2025-11-08 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. On 28 October 2026 the Consejo Nacional de Salarios unanimously approved a general increase of 1.70 percent for all private sector minimum wages from 1 January 2027 (domestic work still under review on that date). For a full monthly shift that adds ₡6,342.57 for unskilled workers.
Example: Unskilled monthly minimum from 1 January 2027: ₡373,092.30 plus ₡6,342.57 = ₡379,434.87. / About US$834.25 a month at today's rate.Consejo Nacional de Salarios decision, Ministerio de Trabajo press release COP-MTSS-PRE-022-2026, Press release, 2026-10-28 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: The 2027 increase was approved on 28 October 2026 and applies from 1 January 2027; the implementing executive decree had not been located in SCIJ on the verification date.

7. The colón's exchange regime is set by the Central Bank board and must guarantee free conversion. The Central Bank publishes a daily reference buying and selling rate; on 29 October 2026 these were ₡449.44 (buying) and ₡454.82 (selling) per US dollar.Ley 7558, Ley Orgánica del Banco Central de Costa Rica; BCCR indicators 317 and 318, Art. 85, 1995-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. Acts, contracts and obligations in foreign currency are valid, effective and enforceable, but the debtor may choose to pay them in colones at the effective commercial value of the currency on the payment date, defined as the average exchange rate the Banco Central calculates for foreign exchange market operations. Obligations payable from Costa Rica abroad or vice versa, and the other cases listed in art. 49, may be agreed in foreign currency and must then be paid in it.Ley 7558, Ley Orgánica del Banco Central de Costa Rica, Art. 48 and art. 49, 1995-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Item	Share of salario base	CRC	Approx. USD	Legal basis
Registry fee per company document	10%	46,220	101.62	Ley 4564 art. 2(d)
Tax on legal entities, not registered for income tax	15%	69,330	152.43	Ley 9428 art. 3(a)
Tax on legal entities, gross income under 120 salarios base	25%	115,550	254.06	Ley 9428 art. 3(b)
Tax on legal entities, 120 to under 280 salarios base	30%	138,660	304.87	Ley 9428 art. 3(c)
Tax on legal entities, 280 salarios base or more	50%	231,100	508.11	Ley 9428 art. 3(d)
Late tax return fine	50%	231,100	508.11	CNPT art. 79
Late taxpayer registration, per month (cap 3 salarios base)	50%	231,100	508.11	CNPT art. 78
Beneficial ownership fine, minimum	300%	1,386,600	3,048.68	CNPT art. 84 bis
Beneficial ownership fine, maximum	10,000%	46,220,000	101,622.62	CNPT art. 84 bis

Common amounts tied to the 2026 salario base (₡462,200; ₡454.82 per US dollar)

Worked example

A company that reported a change of legal representative two months late pays ₡462,200 under CNPT art. 78 (two months at half a salario base), about US$1,016.23, while one that missed the 15 March income tax return pays ₡231,100 under CNPT art. 79. In January 2027 the tax on legal entities will be computed on the 2027 salario base, which the judiciary normally announces in December; until then budgets should use the 2026 figure as a floor.

Step by step

1. Each December, check the new salario base circular in SCIJ (search "salario base" among circulars) and update fees, fines and the January tax on legal entities.
2. Each year, check the minimum wage decree for 1 January and adjust payroll for every occupational category, not only the unskilled rate.
3. For any dollar figure in a contract, state which BCCR rate and date apply, and check whether the obligation falls within a Ley 7558 art. 49 exception that requires payment in the foreign currency itself.
4. Keep the BCCR rate of the transaction date in your accounting file for tax conversions.

Common traps

The salario base used for fines is not the minimum wage: ₡462,200 versus ₡373,092.30 for an unskilled worker in 2026. Mixing them understates penalties and fees.
The tax on legal entities for a given year is due in January but uses that year's salario base, which may be published only weeks earlier.
The minimum wage depends on the occupation and qualification of the employee; a graduate hired for a role that requires the degree must receive the graduate minimum (₡796,921 a month for licenciatura in 2026) (Decreto 45303-MTSS art. 1).
Unless an art. 49 exception applies, a debtor may pay a dollar obligation in colones at the Central Bank's average market rate on the payment date (Ley 7558 art. 48), so creditors who need dollars should check whether their contract falls within an art. 49 exception.

Sources

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