The Costa Rica IVA tax (Impuesto al Valor Agregado) is a 13% value-added tax charged on most goods and services, introduced by Ley 9635 in 2019 to replace the older sales tax. It is a multi-stage tax: every business in the chain charges IVA on what it sells and deducts the IVA it paid on its own purchases, remitting only the difference. The final buyer absorbs the full 13%, with no credit to claim.
Standard and Reduced Rates
The standard rate of 13% covers the vast majority of transactions in Costa Rica, from restaurant meals to professional fees to retail merchandise. Several categories carry lower rates so that essentials stay affordable:
- 4% on private health services and domestic flights.
- 2% on medicines, private insurance premiums, and private education services.
- 1% on basic-consumption goods (the canasta básica, or staple food basket).
- 0.5% on organic agricultural products and agricultural supplies.
Construction materials are a frequent point of confusion. They are not reduced. Standard building materials carry the full 13%.
Zero-Rated Versus Exempt
Zero-rated and exempt look identical to a shopper — nothing is added at the register — but they behave differently for the seller. A zero-rated sale is technically taxable at 0%, so the seller can still recover input IVA on its purchases. An exempt sale sits outside IVA entirely, and the seller loses the input credit.
Zero-rated categories include exports, books, government-regulated education services, residential electricity and water supply, and land-based public transportation. Exporters charge 0% to foreign buyers but recover the IVA paid on inputs, which is a real cash-flow advantage.
Exempt categories include certain financial transactions, medical services provided through public institutions, and long-term residential rentals of more than 30 consecutive days. Sign a 12-month lease and your landlord does not charge IVA. Rent the same unit by the week and the full 13% applies.
Who Has to Register
Costa Rica has no general small-seller threshold. If you make taxable sales, you register as a taxpayer and start collecting IVA from your first transaction, no matter how modest the volume. Casual hosts, occasional freelancers, and small property investors regularly get this wrong on the assumption that low turnover exempts them.
Registration and all ongoing filings run through TRIBU-CR, the tax authority’s platform that replaced the older ATV system in August 2025. Once you have an account, TRIBU-CR is where you file returns, make payments, and manage your taxpayer profile.
Filing and Paying Monthly
IVA returns are filed monthly on form D-104, due by the 15th calendar day of the month after collection. IVA collected in March is filed and paid by April 15. When the 15th lands on a weekend or holiday the deadline usually rolls to the next business day, but planning around that is a bad habit — late filing brings a penalty whether or not you owe money.
Payment is due with the return. You add up the IVA you collected from customers, subtract the IVA you paid on deductible business purchases, and remit the balance. If your input credits exceed your output tax in a given month, the excess carries forward against future periods. Costa Rica does not refund the difference in cash.
Electronic Invoicing
Every registered taxpayer must issue electronic invoices (facturas electrónicas), and has done so across all sectors since 2018. The Dirección General de Tributación (DGT) uses electronic invoicing data to cross-check reported sales against actual transactions in near-real time.1PGRWEB. Ley de Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA)
The current mandatory standard is Version 4.4, effective since September 2025. Invoices go out in XML, digitally signed with a certificate from the Banco Central de Costa Rica, which is the sole accredited certificate authority. Each document carries a unique 50-digit access key, and the DGT validates it within three hours of issuance.
Version 4.4 tightened several data requirements. You can no longer group products onto a single line: every item in a bundle or combo must appear separately with its own CAByS code (the national goods and services catalog number). Free-text discount descriptions are gone, replaced by standardized discount codes. The buyer’s economic activity code is a required field. Sector-specific fields also apply — medicines need a registration number, exports need a tariff classification, and vehicle sales must include the VIN. Compliant invoicing software is not optional, and the DGT audits for formatting errors.
Penalties for Late Filing and Payment
Missing a filing deadline costs you 50% of the salario base, the annual base salary figure Costa Rican courts use as a benchmark for fines. That penalty lands whether you owe tax or not, so filing a zero-balance return late still triggers the fine. The salario base changes each year, so the colón amount moves with it.
Late payments accrue interest at an annual rate set by the DGT based on average lending rates at state-owned banks. For 2026 the rate is 8.52%, calculated daily on the unpaid balance. Interest runs on the tax, not on the penalty, but both obligations run at once. Repeated failures to provide information, resistance to audits, and other forms of non-cooperation carry their own additional penalties.
Short-Term Rentals
Property owners who rent to vacationers for periods under 30 days must charge the full 13% IVA on the rental price. It applies whether you book through an international platform or directly with the guest, and it kicks in with your first taxable rental — no revenue floor.
Long-term rentals of 30 consecutive days or more are exempt, but the exemption is only as strong as your paperwork. Without a written lease and consistent records of check-in and check-out dates and payment schedules, auditors can reclassify the income as short-term and assess back taxes plus penalties.
Digital Services From Abroad
Foreign companies selling digital services to Costa Rican consumers are required to collect and remit IVA at 13%. That covers streaming subscriptions, software licenses, cloud storage, online advertising, and similar services consumed locally. Check your next streaming bill from a non-resident provider — the IVA line should be there.
If you buy a taxable digital service from a non-resident provider for your own IVA-registered business, you can claim the input credit. Proof comes from the provider’s receipt or from bank statements showing the charge.
No Tourist Refunds
Costa Rica does not run a tourist VAT refund program. IVA paid on hotel stays, meals, souvenirs, and other purchases during a visit is final. There are no airport refund kiosks and no forms to file after departure. Any guidance suggesting otherwise is inaccurate as of 2026.