January 31 is the deadline for payment of the corporate tax for fiscal year 2020 for all legal entries in Costa Rica. Make sure you pay your taxes by this date to avoid fines or interest fees.

The Corporate Tax Law indicates that failure to pay corporate taxes for three consecutive fiscal years is cause for dissolution of the company.

Corporate taxes apply to all commercial legal entities, branches of foreign companies or their representatives and limited liability companies which are currently registered at the Registry of Legal Entities section of the National Registry, as well as those that will be registered in the future.

Legal entities that are duly registered at the Registry of Legal Entities section of the National Registry, but not registered as taxpayers before the General Tax Authorities, must pay corporate taxes in an amount equal to 15% of one monthly base salary, as stated in Law 7337. The base salary for 2020 has been set at ₡450,200.00 colones, approximately US$$794.00.

The amount of taxes will be determined based on the gross income reported during the prior fiscal year (2019), in accordance to the following brackets:

Note: Tax rate is based on a percentage of the base salary.

Those who fail to pay on time must pay a penalty of 1% over the total amount of the unpaid tax for each month until the tax is duly paid, up to a maximum of 20%.

Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind that all legal entities that are not registered as taxpayers before the Tax Administration to this date, are required to do so by filing Tax Form D-140.

Tax specialists at Dentons Muñoz Costa Rica will gladly provide you with advice in any matter regarding Corporate Taxes. To obtain legal advice in Tax Law, do not hesitate to contact us.