Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 6. Taxes › Payroll taxes in Costa Rica: CCSS health 9.25% and pensions 5.58% for employers in 2026, FODESAF, IMAS, INA, Banco Popular and the salary tax

Payroll taxes in Costa Rica: CCSS health 9.25% and pensions 5.58% for employers in 2026, FODESAF, IMAS, INA, Banco Popular and the salary tax

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

Employers pay CCSS health insurance at 9.25% and pension (IVM) contributions at 5.58% of salaries from 2026 to 2028, plus FODESAF 5%, IMAS 0.5%, INA 1.5% (employers with at least five permanent workers), Banco Popular 0.5% and the labour capitalisation fund 1.5%, among other charges collected by the CCSS. Workers contribute 5.50% for health, 4.33% for pensions and 1% to Banco Popular. Employers also withhold the monthly salary tax, which in 2026 exempts the first ₡918,000 a month and rises from 10% to 25%.

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

Employer CCSS health (SEM)	9.25 %Reglamento del Seguro de Salud art. 62, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Worker CCSS health (SEM)	5.5 %Reglamento del Seguro de Salud art. 62, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Employer CCSS pensions (IVM), 2026 to 2028	5.58 %Reglamento IVM transitory XI, as of 2026-01-01 · in force
Worker CCSS pensions (IVM), 2026 to 2028	4.33 %Reglamento IVM transitory XI, as of 2026-01-01 · in force
Employer IVM from 1 January 2029	5.75 %Reglamento IVM transitory XI, as of 2029-01-01 · pending
Employer FODESAF	5 %Ley 5662 art. 15(b), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Employer IMAS	0.5 %Ley 4760 art. 14(a), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Employer INA (5+ permanent workers)	1.5 %Ley 6868 art. 15(a), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Employer Banco Popular	0.5 %Ley 4351 art. 5(a), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Worker Banco Popular	1 %Ley 4351 art. 5(b), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Employer labour capitalisation fund	1.5 %Ley 7983 art. 3, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Monthly salary exempt from salary tax (2026)	918000 CRCDecreto 45333-H art. 1, as of 2026-01-01 · in force
Top salary tax rate	25 %Decreto 45333-H art. 1, as of 2026-01-01 · in force

The rule

1. Health insurance (SEM) contributions for salaried workers: workers 5.50% of salary, employers 9.25%, and the State 0.25%, on ordinary and extraordinary pay including salary in kind (art. 62).Reglamento del Seguro de Salud de la CCSS, art. 62, 1996-12-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Pension insurance (IVM) contributions rise by steps under transitory XI: from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028 employers pay 5.58%, workers 4.33% and the State 1.75% (11.66% in total); from 1 January 2029 employers 5.75%, workers 4.50% and the State 1.91% (12.16%).Reglamento del Seguro de Invalidez, Vejez y Muerte de la CCSS, transitory XI as reformed in session 9038, transitory XI, 2019-06-20 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: From 1 January 2026 the employer IVM rate rose from 5.42% to 5.58% and the worker rate from 4.17% to 4.33%; the next step, on 1 January 2029, takes them to 5.75% and 4.50%.

3. Public and private employers pay 5% of total monthly salaries to FODESAF; splitting payrolls through nominees or group companies to avoid it is fraud of law and group companies are jointly liable (art. 15(b) and art. 16).Ley 5662, Ley de Desarrollo Social y Asignaciones Familiares, art. 15(b) and art. 16, 2009-10-13 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Private employers pay 0.5% of monthly remuneration to IMAS (Ley 4760 art. 14(a)); employers with at least five permanent workers pay 1.5% of monthly payroll to INA, and farm employers with more than ten permanent workers 0.5% (Ley 6868 art. 15(a)).Ley 4760 (IMAS); Ley 6868 (INA), Ley 4760 art. 14(a); Ley 6868 art. 15(a), 2000-02-16 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Banco Popular: employers contribute 0.5% and workers 1% of monthly salaries (Ley 4351 art. 5); new free zone companies outside the Greater Metropolitan Area pay 0.25% for their first ten years. Employers also pay 1.5% of each worker's monthly salary to a labour capitalisation fund (Ley 7983 art. 3), and the mandatory complementary pension regime is funded under Ley 7983 art. 13.Ley 4351 (Banco Popular); Ley 7983, Ley de Protección al Trabajador, Ley 4351 art. 5; Ley 7983 art. 3 and art. 13, 2020-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Employers withhold the salary tax each month (Ley 7092 art. 23(a)); for 2026 monthly salary up to ₡918,000 is exempt, 10% applies to ₡1,347,000, 15% to ₡2,364,000, 20% to ₡4,727,000 and 25% above; credits are ₡1,710 per child and ₡2,590 for a spouse a month. Salaries not reported to the CCSS are not deductible for the employer (Ley 7092 art. 9(h)).
Example: Monthly salary ₡1,500,000: salary tax ₡65,850. / About US$144.78 on US$3,298.01.Ley 7092 art. 33 and 34; Decreto Ejecutivo 45333-H, Decreto 45333-H art. 1 and art. 2, 2025-11-10 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Decreto 45333-H of 10 November 2025 lowered the 2026 brackets and credits by 0.38%.

Item	Rate	CRC	USD
SEM health (CCSS)	9.25%	₡138,750	US$305.07
IVM pensions (CCSS)	5.58%	₡83,700	US$184.03
FODESAF	5%	₡75,000	US$164.90
IMAS	0.5%	₡7,500	US$16.49
INA (5+ workers)	1.5%	₡22,500	US$49.47
Banco Popular	0.5%	₡7,500	US$16.49
Fondo de Capitalización Laboral	1.5%	₡22,500	US$49.47
Employer subtotal of items above	23.83%	₡357,450	US$785.92
Worker SEM health	5.5%	₡82,500	US$181.39
Worker IVM pensions	4.33%	₡64,950	US$142.80
Worker Banco Popular	1%	₡15,000	US$32.98
Salary tax withheld	10% and 15% brackets	₡65,850	US$144.78

Charges verified in this page on a monthly salary of ₡1,500,000 (US$3,298.01). The mandatory complementary pension employer charge and the occupational risk insurance premium are not included.

Worked example

For a ₡1,500,000 monthly salary (US$3,298.01) the employer pays at least ₡357,450 (US$785.92) on the items in the table, and withholds ₡162,450 of worker contributions and ₡65,850 of salary tax.

Step by step

Register as an employer with the CCSS and the INS occupational risk insurance before hiring.
Report the payroll monthly through the CCSS centralised collection system, which collects SEM, IVM, FODESAF, IMAS, INA, Banco Popular and the Ley 7983 funds.
Withhold and pay the salary tax monthly.
Update rates on 1 January 2029 for the next IVM step.

Common traps

INA's 1.5% applies only from five permanent workers, but the threshold is easy to cross.
Splitting payroll across group companies to avoid FODESAF is void and creates joint liability (Ley 5662 art. 16).
Unreported pay is not deductible for income tax (Ley 7092 art. 9(h)).

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

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