Countries › Peru › Guide › 16. What is normal abroad but not here › Buyers withhold part of the price into the seller's tax account: detracciones

Buyers withhold part of the price into the seller's tax account: detracciones

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

Abroad a buyer pays the full invoice to the supplier; in Peru, for many goods and most business services, the buyer must first deposit a percentage of the price into the supplier's detraction account at Banco de la Nación and pay only the balance. The money in that account can only be used by the supplier to pay its taxes, and surplus funds are released only on request after SUNAT checks. For labor intermediation, maintenance, other business services and other services subject to VAT the rate is 12 percent, and missing a deposit costs a fine of 50 percent of the amount not deposited.

USD figures use S/ 3.452 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 27 October 2026, from the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. UIT amounts use the 2026 UIT of S/ 5,500 set by Decreto Supremo Nº 301-2025-EF, as cited in SUNAT Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000016-2026/SUNAT. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Detraction rate for labor intermediation, maintenance, other business services and other VAT taxed services	12 %RS 071-2018/SUNAT; RS 183-2004/SUNAT Annex 3, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Fine for failing to make the detraction deposit	50 % of amount not depositedTUO DL 940 art. 12.2, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Business days for the supplier to deposit if paid in full without detraction	5 business daysTUO DL 940 art. 5.1 a), as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. The Sistema de Pago de Obligaciones Tributarias (SPOT, known as detracciones) generates funds to pay tax debts administered by SUNAT, through deposits that obliged parties make into bank accounts opened for this purpose at Banco de la Nación. It applies to sales of goods, services and construction contracts subject to VAT or generating business income, to withdrawals of goods and to transfers of goods outside the production centre, as SUNAT designates.
Cost to do it: Part of each invoice is locked in a tax only account.
Example: A Lima consulting firm invoicing a mining company receives part of each payment in its Banco de la Nación detraction account.Decreto Supremo Nº 155-2004-EF, TUO del Decreto Legislativo Nº 940 (El Peruano 14 November 2004), art. 2 as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1395 (6 September 2018), and art. 3, Art. 2 and 3, 2004-11-14 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. The buyer of the goods, the user of the service or whoever commissions the construction must make the deposit. If the supplier receives the full price without the deposit having been made, the supplier must make it by the fifth business day after receiving payment.
Cost to do it: Deposit before or at payment.
Example: On an invoice of S/ 20,000 taxes included for other business services, the buyer deposits S/ 2,400 in the supplier's detraction account and pays S/ 17,600 to the supplier's ordinary account. / Invoice of about US$5,794, deposit of about US$695.TUO del Decreto Legislativo Nº 940, Art. 5.1 a), 2004-11-14 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. SUNAT designates by resolution the goods and services covered and the rate. Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 071-2018/SUNAT set at 12 percent the rate for the services in numerals 1, 3, 5 and 10 of Annex 3 of Resolución Nº 183-2004/SUNAT: labor intermediation and outsourcing, maintenance and repair of movable goods, other business services, and other services subject to VAT.
Cost to do it: 12 percent of the operation amount for these services.
Example: S/ 20,000 invoice for maintenance services: S/ 2,400 goes to detraction. / About US$695 locked per S/ 20,000 invoice.Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 071-2018/SUNAT (28 February 2018), amending Annex 3 of Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 183-2004/SUNAT; TUO del Decreto Legislativo Nº 940 art. 13, Sole article; Annex 3 numerals 1, 3, 5 and 10, 2018-02-28 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Resolución Nº 071-2018/SUNAT raised the rate for these services from 10 to 12 percent for operations whose VAT obligation arose from 1 April 2018.

4. The account holder must use the deposited amounts to pay its tax debts as taxpayer or responsible party. If funds remain unused after paying those debts, the holder can request their free disposal, which is granted only if the holder has no pending tax debt and meets the other conditions in the law.
Cost to do it: Working capital tied up until used for taxes or released.
Example: A supplier with S/ 50,000 accumulated and only S/ 30,000 of monthly taxes can apply to release the S/ 20,000 surplus. / About US$5,794 of trapped cash.TUO del Decreto Legislativo Nº 940, art. 9.1 and 9.2 as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1395, Art. 9.1 and 9.2, 2018-09-06 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Failing to deposit the full amount on time is fined at 50 percent of the amount not deposited; using deposited funds for a purpose other than paying taxes is fined at 100 percent of the amount misused.
Cost to do it: Fine of half the missing deposit.
Example: A buyer that pays the full S/ 20,000 to the supplier and skips the S/ 2,400 deposit faces a S/ 1,200 fine. / About US$348.TUO del Decreto Legislativo Nº 940, art. 12.2 as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1110 (20 June 2012), Art. 12.2 numerals 1 and 4, 2012-06-20 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Flow	Soles	USD
Deposit to supplier's Banco de la Nación detraction account	S/ 2,400	US$695
Payment to supplier's ordinary account	S/ 17,600	US$5,098
Fine if the deposit is missed	S/ 1,200	US$348

Cash flow on a S/ 20,000 services invoice at 12 percent (USD at S/ 3.452)

Worked example

A foreign owned services company billing S/ 1,000,000 a month to Peruvian clients receives S/ 120,000 a month (about US$34,762) into its detraction account; if its monthly VAT and income tax payments are lower, the surplus builds up until SUNAT releases it.

Step by step

Open a detraction account at Banco de la Nación as soon as you invoice covered goods or services.
Show the detraction account number on invoices and check that clients deposit the right percentage.
As a buyer, deposit before or at payment and keep the deposit certificate to support your VAT credit.
Use the detraction balance to pay monthly taxes and request release of surpluses when there is no tax debt.
Forecast working capital net of the 12 percent locked in the detraction account.

Common traps

The detraction account can only pay taxes; it is not available for suppliers or payroll.
Buyers who pay the full invoice without depositing face a 50 percent fine on the missing amount.
Rates differ by good or service under SUNAT's annexes, and SUNAT can change them by resolution.
Fast growing service firms often accumulate detraction balances well above their tax bill.

Sources

← Most bank movements pay a 0.005 percent tax (ITF)Silence for 8 days means an invoice is accepted →

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