Countries › Guatemala › Guide › 5. FX and capital controls › Foreign exchange and repatriation in Guatemala: free FX market, free capital mobility, reference rate, central bank participation rule, withholding on outbound payments and cash thresholds

Foreign exchange and repatriation in Guatemala: free FX market, free capital mobility, reference rate, central bank participation rule, withholding on outbound payments and cash thresholds

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Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

Guatemala has no exchange controls: any person, resident or not, may hold, buy, sell, remit and collect foreign currency and keep foreign currency accounts in Guatemalan or foreign banks, and the law declares the external convertibility of the quetzal and the mobility of capital free. Foreign investors are guaranteed free transfer abroad of capital, profits, dividends, foreign debt service, royalties and technical assistance fees, with no prior approval or registration step in these laws; the costs are the income tax withholdings on outbound payments (5 percent on dividends and branch remittances, 10 percent on interest, 15 percent on royalties and technical fees). The quetzal floats, with the Banco de Guatemala stepping in only through auctions when market rates move more than 1.05 percent from the five day average of its reference rate, which is Q7.64427 per US dollar on 28 October 2026.

USD figures use Q7.64427 per US dollar, the Banco de Guatemala reference rate for 28 October 2026, retrieved from the Banguat exchange rate web service on the verification date (the rate for 2 January 2026 was Q7.66536). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Foreign exchange regime	Free: holding, buying, selling and remitting foreign currency unrestricted; quetzal floats with rules based central bank auctions textDecreto 94-2000 art. 1; Resolución JM-135-2025, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Access to foreign currency to pay dividends abroad	Free, no prior approval textDecreto 9-98 art. 8, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Repatriation of invested capital and sale or liquidation proceeds	Free textDecreto 9-98 art. 8 literal a); Decreto 17-2002 art. 9, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
External convertibility of the quetzal and capital mobility	Free by law textDecreto 17-2002 art. 9, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Foreign currency deposits and accounts in local and foreign banks	Allowed textDecreto 94-2000 art. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Contracts and pay agreed in foreign currency	Allowed and enforceable by courts textDecreto 17-2002 art. 6, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Banco de Guatemala reference rate, quetzales per US dollar, 28 October 2026	7.64427 GTQDecreto 94-2000 art. 4, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Central bank auction trigger: deviation from the five day moving average of the reference rate	1.05 %Resolución JM-135-2025, Anexo 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum size of each central bank FX auction (up to three a day per side)	50 USD millionsResolución JM-135-2025, Anexo 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
VAT and stamp tax on purchases and sales of foreign currency	Exempt textDecreto 94-2000 art. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Cross border cash, traveler's checks and bearer securities must be declared to customs above	10000 USDDecreto 15-2026 art. 81, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Cash transactions recorded daily and reported to the IVE by obligated persons, from	10000 USDDecreto 15-2026 art. 31, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Withholding on dividends paid to nonresidents	5 %Decreto 10-2012 art. 93 and 104 numeral 1 literal e), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Withholding on branch transfers to the foreign head office	5 %Decreto 10-2012 art. 104 numeral 1 literal e), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Withholding on interest paid to nonresidents (regulated foreign bank and multilateral loans excepted)	10 %Decreto 10-2012 art. 104 numeral 2, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Withholding on royalties, fees and technical or financial advice paid to nonresidents	15 %Decreto 10-2012 art. 104 numeral 3, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Withholding on other taxable income of nonresidents not specified	25 %Decreto 10-2012 art. 104 numeral 4, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Holding, contracting, remitting, transferring, buying, selling, collecting and paying in and with foreign currency is free, and the profits, losses and risks of those operations are borne by each individual or company, national or foreign. Holding and managing deposits and accounts in foreign currency, and financial intermediation in foreign currency, are equally free in Guatemalan and in foreign banks. Foreign currency lending, deposit taking and trust business of local banks and private financial companies follow the banking laws and Junta Monetaria and Superintendencia de Bancos rules, and their issues of foreign currency securities need prior Junta Monetaria authorization. The central government and all State entities carry out their foreign currency purchases, sales and transfers through the Banco de Guatemala. Purchases and sales of foreign currency are exempt from VAT and from the stamp tax, and the import, export, holding, purchase and sale of gold coins and bars are free.
Cost to do it: No government fee, permit or tax applies to buying or selling foreign currency; the only cost is the bank or exchange house spread and transfer charges, which the law leaves to the market.
Example: A company converting Q764,427 into dollars at its bank pays no VAT (which would otherwise be 12 percent) and no stamp tax on the exchange operation itself. / About US$100,000 bought with no tax on the purchase.Decreto Nº 94-2000 del Congreso, Ley de Libre Negociación de Divisas (issued 19 December 2000, published 17 January 2001, in force 1 May 2001), Art. 1 and art. 5, 2001-01-17 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. The institutional foreign exchange market is made up of the Banco de Guatemala, banks, private financial companies, stock exchanges, authorized exchange houses and any other institutions the Junta Monetaria designates. For statistical control these institutions must report their exchange operations to the Banco de Guatemala every day, in the form the Junta Monetaria sets. Exchange houses are non bank sociedades anónimas that need Junta Monetaria authorization, follow the regulation it issues and are supervised by the Superintendencia de Bancos. The reporting duty therefore sits with the intermediaries: the law sets no approval, registration or surrender requirement for companies or individuals who buy, sell or remit currency through them.
Cost to do it: No cost for the client; supervision costs of exchange houses are set by the Junta Monetaria and borne by the exchange houses.Decreto Nº 94-2000 del Congreso, Ley de Libre Negociación de Divisas; Junta Monetaria resolutions JM-131-2001 (exchange house regulation) and JM-135-2001 (reporting of exchange operations), Art. 2 and art. 3, 2001-01-17 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Unless the parties expressly agree otherwise, the quetzal is the unit of account and means of payment in any transaction and discharges debts; whatever currency the parties agree, courts and administrative bodies must respect and enforce it. Any individual or company may freely agree to pay or be paid fees, salaries, wages or commissions in foreign currency. The external convertibility of the quetzal and the mobility of capital are free.
Cost to do it: No cost: dollar denominated contracts, leases, loans and pay need no approval.
Example: A lease priced at the equivalent of Q38,221.35 a month can be written directly in dollars, and a Guatemalan court must enforce payment in dollars. / A lease of US$5,000 a month payable in dollars.Decreto Nº 17-2002 del Congreso, Ley Monetaria (published 13 May 2002, in force 1 June 2002), Art. 6 and art. 9, 2002-05-13 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. A foreign investor has free access to buy and sell available foreign currency and to free convertibility on equal terms with Guatemalan investors and may, among other things, freely transfer abroad its invested capital or the proceeds of dissolution, liquidation or voluntary sale of the investment; remit any profit or gain generated in Guatemala; pay and remit dividends, debts contracted abroad and their interest, royalties, rents and technical assistance; and remit compensation for expropriation.
Cost to do it: No permit or registration fee for remittances; outbound payments bear the income tax withholdings in the rule on withholding below.Decreto Nº 9-98 del Congreso, Ley de Inversión Extranjera, Art. 8, 1998-02-04 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. For tax obligations, any other payment to or by the State and its entities, and the resolution of administrative and court disputes, the applicable rate is the reference rate of the quetzal against the US dollar that the Banco de Guatemala calculates and publishes every day. Its calculation method, and the method for reference rates against other currencies, must be approved by Junta Monetaria resolution on criteria that reflect market behavior. The rate for 28 October 2026 is Q7.64427 per US dollar.
Cost to do it: Free to consult on the Banco de Guatemala website and web service.
Example: A US$10,000 service invoice paid on 28 October 2026 is Q76,442.70 at the reference rate for tax purposes. / US$10,000 at Q7.64427.Decreto Nº 94-2000 del Congreso, Ley de Libre Negociación de Divisas; Banco de Guatemala reference rate web service, Art. 4, 2001-01-17 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. The Banco de Guatemala's participation rule in the institutional FX market is active permanently on both sides. If any of the weighted average rates of purchases settled with the public or of settled interbank operations, within the hours the Comité de Ejecución sets, is equal to or below the moving average of the reference rate over the last five business days minus a 1.05 percent fluctuation margin, the bank calls the market institutions to an auction to buy US dollars of up to US$50.0 million; if a selling rate is equal to or above that average plus 1.05 percent, it calls an auction to sell up to US$50.0 million. It may call further auctions of the same size, up to three purchase or three sale auctions a day, settled immediately through the real time gross settlement system. Separately, the bank may buy or sell foreign currency exceptionally to counter unusual volatility, with Comité de Ejecución approval and a report to the next Junta Monetaria session. The resolution states that monetary policy pursues no exchange rate objective and that the rule moderates volatility without affecting the trend.
Cost to do it: No direct cost to companies; only market institutions take part in the auctions.
Example: If the five day average reference rate were Q7.64427, the purchase auction trigger would be about Q7.56401 and the sale auction trigger about Q7.72453; three auctions of US$50.0 million in one day equal about Q1,146.6 million at that rate. / Up to US$150 million a day on each side through three auctions of US$50.0 million.Junta Monetaria Resolución JM-135-2025, amending Anexo 1 of Resolución JM-171-2011 (Política Monetaria, Cambiaria y Crediticia), published in the Diario de Centro América on 16 December 2025, Resolución JM-135-2025 numeral 2 (Anexo 1, Regla de participación del Banco de Guatemala en el Mercado Institucional de Divisas) and numeral 5, 2025-12-16 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Resolución JM-135-2025, adopted on 10 December 2025 and in force from 1 January 2026, set the 2026 fluctuation margin at 1.05 percent and the auction size at up to US$50.0 million, with a maximum of three auctions a day on each side; its recitals describe the change as a further step toward greater exchange rate flexibility.

7. Money leaving Guatemala is free of exchange controls but not of income tax. Distributions of dividends, profits and gains, however named or booked, are taxed at 5 percent. Payments to nonresidents without a permanent establishment are taxed by final withholding on the amount paid or credited: 5 percent on dividends, profit distributions and other transfers or credits by a permanent establishment to its foreign head office without consideration; 10 percent on interest, except interest on loans from banking and financial institutions duly authorized and regulated in their home country and from multilateral institutions to persons domiciled in Guatemala, as the article sets out; 15 percent on royalties, fees and scientific, economic, technical or financial advice; and 25 percent on other taxable income not listed. The payer withholds and pays the tax to SAT by sworn return within the first 10 days of the month after payment or crediting and issues a withholding certificate; if no withholding is made, the nonresident must self assess within the same term and the payer remains jointly liable.
Cost to do it: Withholding of 5, 10, 15 or 25 percent of the gross amount paid, plus the bank's transfer and FX spread; no FX tax or remittance fee.
Example: A dividend of Q1,000,000 to a foreign parent bears Q50,000 of withholding and Q950,000 is remitted; Q100,000 of interest to a foreign affiliate that is not a regulated bank bears Q10,000; Q100,000 of royalties bears Q15,000. / About US$130,817 of dividend, US$6,541 withheld and US$124,276 remitted; on about US$13,082 of interest, US$1,308 withheld; on the same amount of royalties, US$1,962 withheld.Decreto Nº 10-2012 del Congreso, Ley de Actualización Tributaria, Libro I (Impuesto Sobre la Renta), art. 94 as reformed by Decreto Nº 19-2013, Art. 93, art. 94, art. 103, art. 104, art. 105 and art. 106, 2012-02-16 official text · verified 2026-10-28

8. Anyone carrying cash, traveler's checks or bearer securities into or out of Guatemala for more than US$10,000, or its equivalent in quetzales or any other currency, must declare it to customs in the form set by the law's regulation. Customs and National Civil Police officers may check the declaration by interview and search luggage, vehicles, containers, shipments and the traveler. If the declaration is omitted or false, the money is seized and sent to the Ministerio Público for asset forfeiture, and failing to declare is the crime of trasiego de dinero, punished with one to three years in prison. Separately, banks and other obligated persons must keep a daily record of every cash transaction of US$10,000 or more received from customers, single or structured, and report those transactions periodically to the Superintendencia de Bancos through the Intendencia de Verificación Especial (IVE).
Cost to do it: The declaration itself carries no fee in the law; the cost of not declaring is seizure of the cash and one to three years in prison.
Example: A traveler leaving with Q80,000 in cash must declare it, because it exceeds the equivalent of US$10,000 (Q76,442.70 at the 28 October 2026 rate). / About US$10,465 in cash, above the US$10,000 threshold.Decreto Nº 15-2026 del Congreso, Ley Integral para la Prevención y Represión del Lavado de Dinero u Otros Activos y del Financiamiento del Terrorismo (issued 2 June 2026, published 17 June 2026, in force 17 September 2026), Art. 31, art. 81, art. 82, art. 126, art. 127 and art. 128, 2026-06-17 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Decreto Nº 15-2026 entered into force on 17 September 2026 and repealed Decreto Nº 67-2001 (Ley Contra el Lavado de Dinero u Otros Activos) and Decreto Nº 58-2005 (terrorist financing law), restating the US$10,000 cross border cash declaration, the trasiego de dinero offence and the cash transaction record and report in art. 31, 81 and 82. The form of the customs declaration is left to the law's regulation, which the Superintendencia de Bancos through the IVE must draft within six months of entry into force (art. 127).

Payment to a nonresident	FX approval or registration	Withholding	Q100,000 gross (about US$13,082): withheld and net
Dividend or profit distribution	None	5%	Q5,000 withheld, Q95,000 net
Branch transfer to head office	None	5%	Q5,000 withheld, Q95,000 net
Interest to a foreign affiliate or other non bank lender	None	10%	Q10,000 withheld, Q90,000 net
Interest on a loan from a regulated foreign bank or a multilateral, within the art. 104 exception	None	Excepted	No withholding under art. 104 numeral 2
Royalties, fees, technical or financial advice	None	15%	Q15,000 withheld, Q85,000 net
Other taxable income not specified	None	25%	Q25,000 withheld, Q75,000 net
Return of capital, sale or liquidation proceeds	None	Not listed in art. 104; any gain is taxed under the capital gains rules (art. 103)	Not shown

Money out of Guatemala: FX access and tax cost by payment type. FX access under Decreto 9-98 art. 8, Decreto 94-2000 art. 1 and Decreto 17-2002 art. 9; withholding under Decreto 10-2012 art. 93 and 104, paid to SAT within the first 10 days of the following month (art. 94 and 105). USD at Q7.64427.

Worked example

A US parent owns 99 percent of a Guatemalan sociedad anónima that declares a dividend of Q1,000,000 (about US$130,817 at Q7.64427). The company withholds 5 percent, Q50,000 (about US$6,541), and pays it to SAT by sworn return within the first 10 days of the following month, issuing a withholding certificate (Decreto 10-2012 art. 93, 104 and 105).
The company buys dollars for the net Q950,000 at its bank at the market rate, with no VAT or stamp tax on the purchase and no central bank approval (Decreto 94-2000 art. 1), and wires about US$124,276 to the parent's account abroad, a transfer guaranteed by Decreto 9-98 art. 8 literal c).
Per US$100 of dividend: Q764.43 gross, Q38.22 withheld and Q726.21 (US$95) remitted. Whether the parent can credit the 5 percent at home depends on its own country's law; for Argentine shareholders, the Argentine side of tax and FX is covered in The Argentine Thread guide.

Step by step

1. Open accounts. A Guatemalan company may hold quetzal and US dollar accounts at local banks and accounts abroad (Decreto 94-2000 art. 1).
2. Bring money in. Capital and loans arrive by wire with no FX approval or registration in Decreto 94-2000 or Decreto 9-98; a loan contract may be written in dollars and courts must enforce it as agreed (Decreto 17-2002 art. 6). Capital paid in rules are on the entities section page.
3. Convert at market. Buy or sell currency at any bank or authorized exchange house at the market rate; the Banco de Guatemala reference rate is published daily and governs tax and court conversions (Decreto 94-2000 art. 4).
4. Before paying abroad, classify the payment (dividend, interest, royalty, service fee, other) and withhold 5, 10, 15 or 25 percent (Decreto 10-2012 art. 93 and 104).
5. Within the first 10 days of the following month, file the withholding return with SAT, pay the tax and give the nonresident a withholding certificate (art. 94 and 105).
6. Wire the net amount. No central bank form, registration or waiting period applies to the remittance itself (Decreto 9-98 art. 8).
7. Travel with cash only below the threshold or declare it: amounts above US$10,000 must be declared to customs on entry and exit (Decreto 15-2026 art. 81).

Common traps

Treating free FX as tax free. The remittance needs no approval, but the payer is jointly liable for the nonresident's tax if it fails to withhold (Decreto 10-2012 art. 106), and dividend withholding applies to any distribution of profits however named or booked (art. 93).
Assuming every foreign loan is exempt from the 10 percent interest withholding. The exception in art. 104 numeral 2 covers loans from regulated banking and financial institutions and multilateral institutions as the article describes; interest to a parent or other non bank lender bears 10 percent.
Using a commercial bank's rate for tax filings. Taxes, payments to the State and disputes are converted at the Banco de Guatemala reference rate (Decreto 94-2000 art. 4).
Carrying undeclared cash. Over US$10,000 in cash, traveler's checks or bearer securities not declared to customs is seized and referred for asset forfeiture, and the omission is a crime punished with one to three years in prison (Decreto 15-2026 art. 81 and 82).
Splitting cash deposits to stay below US$10,000. Banks must record and report cash transactions of US$10,000 or more whether single or structured (Decreto 15-2026 art. 31).
Reading the participation rule as a peg. The Banco de Guatemala only auctions dollars when market rates move 1.05 percent or more from the five day average of the reference rate, in auctions of up to US$50.0 million, and states that monetary policy has no exchange rate objective (Resolución JM-135-2025).
Expecting a finished customs procedure. Decreto 15-2026 art. 81 leaves the form of the cash declaration to a regulation that the Superintendencia de Bancos must draft within six months of 17 September 2026 (art. 127); declare at the customs post on every crossing above US$10,000 in the meantime.

Sources

Related: Guatemala 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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