Costa Rica VAT registration threshold
Costa Rica VAT registration threshold: no single figure applies. The reason is set out below, cited to the governing instrument. Last checked against the official source on 10 Aug 2026.
The turnover at which VAT (IVA) registration becomes compulsory in Costa Rica, with the period the test runs over, the rule for non-established suppliers, and any separate treatment of imported digital services.
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What this value means
REFUSAL: Costa Rica has NO VAT registration threshold. IVA (13%) applies from the first sale, and any person carrying on taxed activity must register with Hacienda (historically form D-140 via ATV, now the TRIBU-CR platform) before starting operations. PERIOD BASIS: none for registration. The near-threshold regime below runs on annual PURCHASES, not sales. NEAR-THRESHOLD (Régimen de Tributación Simplificada — elective, PURCHASE-based): legal basis in the Ley del IVA and Ley del ISR chapters on simplified regimes, regulated historically by Decreto 25514-H (1996) and currently by Decreto 43881-H as amended by Decreto 45209-H (in force 13 OCT 2025, which expanded eligible activities from 14 to 22 and raised the ceiling). Qualification: annual purchases (IVA INCLUDED) not exceeding 186 salarios base (150 before 13 Oct 2025), fixed assets ≤ 350 salarios base, maximum 5 employees, single establishment, listed activity. The salario base (art. 2, Ley 7337, fixed annually by the Poder Judicial) is ₡462,200 for 2026 — unchanged for the sixth consecutive year — so the purchase ceiling ≈ ₡85,969,200 (186 × 462,200); the pre-Oct-2025 150-base ceiling was ₡69,330,000. Members liquidate IVA (and income tax) QUARTERLY by multiplying purchases by a fixed activity factor, need not issue electronic invoices except on request, and their sales carry no itemized output IVA. This is a liquidation regime, not a registration exemption — members are registered taxpayers. NON-ESTABLISHED SUPPLIERS: no threshold. For ordinary services imported by Costa Rican taxpayers the recipient self-assesses the IVA (reverse-charge mechanic in the 9635 framework). There is no compulsory registration for non-residents. IMPORTED DIGITAL SERVICES: art. 30 Ley del IVA + Resolución DGT-R-13-2020 (11 Jun 2020) — two mechanisms, live since 1 OCT 2020 (deferred from the originally announced 1 Aug 2020): (a) VOLUNTARY registration of the non-domiciled digital provider or intermediary with the DGT, which then charges 13% directly on sales to Costa Rican consumers (e.g. Airbnb registered and remits); (b) otherwise PERCEPTION of 13% by credit/debit card issuers on payments to providers/intermediaries on the list published by Hacienda and updated by successive resolutions (dozens of platforms added over time). No turnover trigger for either mechanism. Traps: (1) The simplified regime measures PURCHASES (IVA included), not sales — it is the wrong comparator for a sales-threshold dataset, and a high-margin trader can be economically large yet qualify. (2) The 150→186 salarios base change applies only from 13 Oct 2025; use 150 for earlier periods. (3) The salario base is the Poder Judicial reference figure (₡462,200 for 2026), NOT the minimum wage — mixing them miscomputes every ceiling. (4) Card perception applies by LIST membership: consumers can bear 13% on a listed provider's non-digital charge (a refund procedure exists) while off-list providers escape perception entirely. (5) Pre-Jul-2019 references to 'registration under the impuesto general sobre las ventas' concern the abolished sales tax. (6) Hacienda's TRIBU-CR migration (2025) renamed/renumbered registration procedures — old D-140/ATV citations are procedurally stale though the substantive duty is unchanged.
Get it programmatically
curl https://latamref.dev/v1/cr/vat-registration-threshold
# $0.005 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://latamref.dev/v1/cr/vat-registration-threshold/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://latamref.dev/provenance/cr/vat-registration-thresholdOther Costa Rica series: BCCR monetary policy rate (TPM) · IVA standard rate · Minimum wage (lowest generic monthly rate) · Public holidays · CPI inflation (year-on-year) · Corporate income tax rate · Withholding tax rates · Statutory legal interest (interés legal) · Personal income tax brackets · Statutory social-insurance contributions
The same figure elsewhere: Dominican Republic · Ecuador · El Salvador · Guatemala · Guyana · all 22