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Changelog: Panama guide
This is a living guide. Every page is reverified against its official source and dated.
| Date | Page | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-29 | Sociedad de responsabilidad limitada (S. de R.L.) in Panama: Ley 4 de 2009, two or more partners, quotas, administrators and transfer consent | New page: S. de R.L. under Ley 4 de 2009 (two or more partners, quotas, partner consent for new members, administrators' special powers, dissolution below two partners), including the repeal of the art. 28 pass through rule by Ley 49 de 2009. |
| 2026-10-29 | Sociedad de responsabilidad limitada (S. de R.L.) in Panama: Ley 4 de 2009, two or more partners, quotas, administrators and transfer consent | Ley 49 de 2009, published in Gaceta Oficial 26370-C on 17 September 2009, repealed the pass through rule in Ley 4 de 2009 art. 28. |
| 2026-10-29 | Sociedad de emprendimiento in Panama: Ley 186 de 2020 as amended by Ley 451 de 2024, resident founders only, two year tax and fee holiday, B/.1,000,000 revenue cap | New page: sociedad de emprendimiento under Ley 186 de 2020 as amended by Ley 451 de 2024 (two to ten permanent resident individuals, B/.1,000,000 revenue cap, two year income tax exemption, tasa única due after two years). |
| 2026-10-29 | Sociedad de emprendimiento in Panama: Ley 186 de 2020 as amended by Ley 451 de 2024, resident founders only, two year tax and fee holiday, B/.1,000,000 revenue cap | Ley 451 de 2024, promulgated in Gaceta Oficial 30152-A on 31 October 2024 and in force six months later, widened the founders from two to five persons domiciled in Panama to two to ten natural persons who are permanent residents, extended allowed activities, changed the record keeping rules, the transformation window and the tasa única rule. |
| 2026-10-29 | Sociedad de emprendimiento in Panama: Ley 186 de 2020 as amended by Ley 451 de 2024, resident founders only, two year tax and fee holiday, B/.1,000,000 revenue cap | The original art. 35 said these companies would pay no tasa única at all; Ley 451 de 2024 changed it so the fee is not paid at constitution but is due once two years have passed from registration. |
| 2026-10-29 | Sociedad anónima (S.A.) in Panama: formation under Ley 32 de 1927, three directors, no minimum capital, bearer share custody and the B/.300 tasa única | New page: sociedad anónima under Ley 32 de 1927 (two founders of any nationality, no minimum capital, three directors, meetings abroad if allowed), bearer share custody under Ley 47 de 2013 as amended by Ley 18 de 2015 and the B/.300 tasa única of Código Fiscal art. 318-A. |
| 2026-10-29 | Sociedad anónima (S.A.) in Panama: formation under Ley 32 de 1927, three directors, no minimum capital, bearer share custody and the B/.300 tasa única | Ley 18 de 2015 set the 31 December 2015 deadline after which pactos sociales are deemed to prohibit bearer shares unless the custody regime was adopted; Ley 52 de 2016, in force 1 January 2017, cancelled the rights of uncustodied pre 2013 bearer certificates. |
| 2026-10-29 | Sociedad anónima (S.A.) in Panama: formation under Ley 32 de 1927, three directors, no minimum capital, bearer share custody and the B/.300 tasa única | Ley 52 de 2016, in force 1 January 2017, made the first tasa única of a sociedad anónima B/.300 instead of the B/.250 first payment set by Ley 49 de 2009; Ley 254 de 2021 later rewrote the suspension, reactivation and dissolution paragraphs (see Annual compliance). |
| 2026-10-29 | Resident agent and beneficial ownership in Panama: Ley 129 de 2020 registry, 15 business day deadlines, fines up to B/.50,000 per entity and suspension of corporate rights | New page: resident agent and beneficial ownership registry under Ley 129 de 2020 as amended by Ley 254 de 2021 (15 business day deadlines, agent fines of B/.1,000 to B/.50,000 per entity, suspension of corporate rights) and repeal of Ley 2 de 2011. |
| 2026-10-29 | Resident agent and beneficial ownership in Panama: Ley 129 de 2020 registry, 15 business day deadlines, fines up to B/.50,000 per entity and suspension of corporate rights | Ley 254 de 2021 replaced the definition in Ley 129 de 2020, which had set out a 25 percent shareholding test and other control criteria in the law itself, with a cross reference to the criteria of Ley 23 de 2015 and its regulations. |
| 2026-10-29 | Resident agent and beneficial ownership in Panama: Ley 129 de 2020 registry, 15 business day deadlines, fines up to B/.50,000 per entity and suspension of corporate rights | Ley 254 de 2021, in force from the day after its promulgation in Gaceta Oficial 29413-A on 11 November 2021, repealed Ley 2 de 1 de febrero de 2011. |
| 2026-10-29 | Private interest foundation (fundación de interés privado) in Panama: Ley 25 de 1995, B/.10,000 initial patrimony, foundation council and the B/.350 and B/.400 annual fee | New page: private interest foundation under Ley 25 de 1995 (B/.10,000 minimum patrimony, council of three, non profit purpose, art. 27 exemptions) and its B/.350 then B/.400 tasa única under Ley 52 de 2016. |
| 2026-10-29 | Private interest foundation (fundación de interés privado) in Panama: Ley 25 de 1995, B/.10,000 initial patrimony, foundation council and the B/.350 and B/.400 annual fee | Ley 52 de 2016, in force 1 January 2017, set the foundation tasa única at B/.350 on registration and B/.400 a year after, above the B/.300 paid by companies. |
| 2026-10-29 | Choosing a legal entity in Panama: sociedad anónima, limited liability company, branch, private interest foundation or sociedad de emprendimiento | New page: comparison of the sociedad anónima, S. de R.L., branch of a foreign company, private interest foundation and sociedad de emprendimiento, with the tasa única, beneficial owner and Aviso de Operación duties, verified against Ley 32 de 1927, Ley 4 de 2009, Ley 25 de 1995, Ley 186 de 2020 and Ley 451 de 2024. |
| 2026-10-29 | Branch of a foreign company in Panama: registering a foreign sociedad anónima under Ley 32 de 1927, documents, the B/.5,000 penalty and the annual fee | New page: registering a foreign sociedad anónima under Ley 32 de 1927 art. 90 to 92, the bar on suing and fine of up to B/.5,000 for operating unregistered, the tasa única and the Aviso de Operación. |
| 2026-10-29 | Annual compliance for Panamanian companies and foundations: tasa única dates, accounting records to the resident agent by 30 April, suspension, B/.1,000 reactivation and the 2026 dissolution of suspended entities | New page: tasa única dates and surcharges, accounting records to the resident agent by 30 April under Ley 52 de 2016 as amended by Ley 254 de 2021, suspension, one year reactivation with a B/.1,000 fine, DGI Resolución 201-0977 of 29 January 2026 and the dissolution of suspended entities from 27 February 2026. |
| 2026-10-29 | Annual compliance for Panamanian companies and foundations: tasa única dates, accounting records to the resident agent by 30 April, suspension, B/.1,000 reactivation and the 2026 dissolution of suspended entities | Ley 254 de 2021 cut the reactivation window from the two years set by Ley 52 de 2016 to one year, required reactivation to go through the resident agent and replaced automatic cancellation with dissolution ordered by the authority that ordered the suspension. |
| 2026-10-29 | Annual compliance for Panamanian companies and foundations: tasa única dates, accounting records to the resident agent by 30 April, suspension, B/.1,000 reactivation and the 2026 dissolution of suspended entities | From 27 February 2026 the government began dissolving suspended legal entities in stages, the first covering 290,534 entities with 2016 dissolution annotations (MEF notice of 4 February 2026). |
| 2026-10-29 | Annual compliance for Panamanian companies and foundations: tasa única dates, accounting records to the resident agent by 30 April, suspension, B/.1,000 reactivation and the 2026 dissolution of suspended entities | Ley 254 de 2021 added the annual 30 April delivery of records or copies to the resident agent and extended the duty to pure asset holding entities. |
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