Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 6. Taxes › Withholding tax on payments abroad from Costa Rica: 15% on dividends, branch profits and interest, 25% on royalties and services, treaty rates

Withholding tax on payments abroad from Costa Rica: 15% on dividends, branch profits and interest, 25% on royalties and services, treaty rates

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

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

Costa Rican payers withhold a final tax when they pay, credit or make available Costa Rican source income to persons domiciled abroad: 15% on dividends, branch profit remittances and most interest, 5.5% on interest paid by supervised financial entities to supervised foreign lenders, 25% on royalties, technical and financial advice and independent services, and 30% on other income. Credits from multilateral development banks are exempt. The tax is paid by the 15th of the following month, the payer is jointly liable, and treaty residents of Spain, Germany, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates can claim lower rates.

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

Withholding on dividends to non residents	15 %Ley 7092 art. 59(g), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Withholding on branch profit remittances	15 %Ley 7092 art. 23(c), 27 ter, 31 ter, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Withholding on interest to non residents (general)	15 %Ley 7092 art. 59(h), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Interest paid by SUGEF supervised entities to supervised foreign entities	5.5 %Ley 7092 art. 59(h), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Withholding on royalties	25 %Ley 7092 art. 59(j), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Withholding on technical, financial and other advice	25 %Ley 7092 art. 59(j), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Withholding on independent personal services	25 %Ley 7092 art. 59(c), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Withholding on other Costa Rican source remittances	30 %Ley 7092 art. 59(l), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Buyer withholding on real estate sold by a non resident	2.5 % of priceLey 7092 art. 28 ter, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Payment deadline	15th calendar day of the following month Ley 7092 art. 60, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. The tax on remittances abroad applies to all income of Costa Rican source paid, credited or otherwise made available to persons domiciled abroad; the base is the full amount remitted, credited, transferred, offset or made available (art. 52, 53 and 58). Payers in Costa Rica are jointly liable and are subrogated in all obligations of the foreign recipient (art. 56 and 57).Ley 7092, Title IV, art. 52, 53, 56, 57 and 58, 1988-04-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Dividends and profit distributions to non residents bear 15% (art. 59(g)); the payer withholds as a final tax (art. 23(d)). Branches and other permanent establishments withhold on behalf of the head office on 100% of the disposable income credited or remitted to it (art. 23(c) and art. 27 ter(2)(a)(iv)).
Example: Dividend of ₡45,482: ₡6,822 withheld, ₡38,660 net. / US$100.00 dividend: US$15.00 withheld, US$85.00 net.Ley 7092, art. 23(c) and (d), art. 27 ter and art. 59(g), 2018-12-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Interest, commissions, other financial expenses and leases of capital goods paid to entities or individuals abroad bear 15%; interest paid by entities supervised by SUGEF to supervised foreign entities bears 5.5%; credits from multilateral and bilateral development banks and exempt non profit organisations are exempt; interest on registered domestic government debt paid to non residents bears only this tax as a single final tax (art. 59(h), as amended by Ley 10335).
Example: Interest of ₡10,000,000 to a foreign parent: ₡1,500,000 withheld. / About US$3,298.01 on US$21,986.72.Ley 7092, art. 59(h) as amended by Ley 10335, art. 59(h) and (i), 2022-12-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Technical, financial or other advice and payments for the use of patents, formulas, trademarks, privileges, franchises and royalties bear 25% (art. 59(j)); fees, commissions and other independent personal services 25% (art. 59(c)); transport and communications 8.5%; reinsurance and insurance premiums 5.5%; films, television, recordings and international news 20%; radio and television soap operas 50%; occasional public shows 15%; salaries and pensions 10%; any other Costa Rican source remittance 30% (art. 59).
Example: Licence fee of ₡10,000,000: ₡2,500,000 withheld. / About US$5,496.68 on US$21,986.72.Ley 7092, art. 59 as amended by Ley 9635, art. 59(a) to (l), 2018-12-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. The tax is assessed when the taxable event occurs and paid within the first fifteen calendar days of the following month; it is a single and final payment for the recipient abroad (art. 60). Withholding agents file a monthly sworn return with the same deadline (art. 23, last paragraph).Ley 7092, art. 23 and art. 60, 2001-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. When a non resident sells real estate in Costa Rica, the buyer withholds 2.5% of the total price as a payment on account of the capital gains tax; for other assets and rights located in Costa Rica the withholding applies when the buyer is an income taxpayer. If it is not paid, the Registro Nacional will not record the transfer (art. 28 ter).
Example: Sale price ₡200,000,000: ₡5,000,000 withheld. / About US$10,993.36 on US$439,734.40.Ley 7092, art. 28 ter added by Ley 9635, art. 28 ter, 2018-12-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. Treaty limits on withholding: dividends 5% for companies holding at least 20% directly under the treaties with Spain, Germany, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates (otherwise 12% Spain and Mexico, 15% Germany and UAE); interest 5% Germany, 10% Mexico, and 5% or 10% for Spain and the UAE depending on whether the loan runs at least five years; royalties 10% Spain, Germany and Mexico, 12% UAE (art. 10, 11 and 12 of each treaty).Ley 8888 (Spain); Ley 9345 (Germany); Ley 9644 (Mexico); Ley 9963 (UAE), art. 10, 11 and 12, 2021-03-24 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Payment	Domestic rate	Spain	Germany	Mexico	UAE
Dividends, 20%+ direct company holding	15%	5%	5%	5%	5%
Dividends, other	15%	12%	15%	12%	15%
Interest	15% (5.5% supervised lenders)	5% (5+ year loans) or 10%	5%	10%	5% (5+ year loans) or 10%
Royalties	25%	10%	10%	10%	12%
Tax on US$100,000 royalty	US$25,000	US$10,000	US$10,000	US$10,000	US$12,000

Domestic rates on payments to non residents and treaty caps (US$100,000 payment; treaty rates require residence and beneficial ownership).

Worked example

A Costa Rican subsidiary pays its foreign parent a US$100,000 royalty (₡45,482,000). With no treaty it withholds 25%, US$25,000 (₡11,370,500), by the 15th of the next month. If the parent is resident in Germany and the beneficial owner, the cap is 10%, US$10,000.
An Argentine parent has no Costa Rica treaty to rely on, so the domestic rates apply; the Argentine side of foreign tax credits is covered in The Argentine Thread guide.

Step by step

Classify each payment (dividend, interest, royalty, service, other) under art. 59.
Before applying a treaty rate, obtain the recipient's tax residence certificate and confirm beneficial ownership and holding thresholds.
Withhold on payment, credit or making available, whichever occurs first.
File the monthly withholding return and pay by the 15th of the next month.

Common traps

Crediting an amount to an intercompany account triggers the tax even without cash payment (art. 53).
The payer is jointly liable for unpaid withholding, surcharges and interest (art. 56 and 60).
Interest is not deductible if the withholding was not made (art. 8(d)).
Payments to non cooperative jurisdictions are also non deductible unless proven real (art. 9(k)).

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

← Corporate income tax in Costa Rica: 30% on Costa Rican source profits, small company brackets from 5%, prepayments and the 15 March returnVAT in Costa Rica: 13% on goods and services, reduced rates of 4%, 2%, 1% and 0.5%, reverse charge on services from abroad and monthly returns →

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