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 on 10 Aug 2026 against corroborating sources; the primary instrument itself was not read.
Official source: Ley del Impuesto sobre el Valor Agregado, Ley N° 6826 as fully rewritten by Título I of Ley N° 9635 de… secondary · Last checked 2026-08-10 · source fingerprint
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