El Salvador Withholding tax rates
El Salvador Withholding tax rates: no single figure applies. The 5 withholding taxes held run from 5% to 25%, cited to Codigo Tributario de El Salvador, Art. 158: 'las personas... que paguen o acrediten a un sujeto o entidad no domiciliado en la Republica, sumas provenientes de cualquier clase de renta obtenida en el pais... estan obligadas a retenerle por concepto de Impuesto sobre la Renta como pago definitivo el veinte por ciento (20%) de dichas sumas'; Art. 158-A (25% paraisos fiscales); Ley de Impuesto sobre la Renta Art. 72 (5% utilidades), in force since 15 Dec 2011. Last checked against the official source on 26 Aug 2026.
Official source: Codigo Tributario de El Salvador, Art. 158 · Last checked 2026-08-26 · source fingerprint
The definitive withholding taxes El Salvador levies on payments to non-domiciled persons (sujetos no domiciliados) - a general 20% under Articulo 158 of the Codigo Tributario with scheduled reduced rates, a 5% withholding on profit distributions under the Ley de Impuesto sobre la Renta, and a punitive 25% for payments to low- or no-tax jurisdictions under Articulo 158-A. Administered by the Ministerio de Hacienda (DGII).
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| Current value | 5–25% across 5 withholding taxes — no single rate |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2011-12-15 |
| Official source | Codigo Tributario de El Salvador, Art. 158: 'las personas... que paguen o acrediten a un sujeto o entidad no domiciliado en la Republica, sumas provenientes de cualquier clase de renta obtenida en el pais... estan obligadas a retenerle por concepto de Impuesto sobre la Renta como pago definitivo el veinte por ciento (20%) de dichas sumas'; Art. 158-A (25% paraisos fiscales); Ley de Impuesto sobre la Renta Art. 72 (5% utilidades) |
| Last verified | 2026-08-26 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. Corte Suprema de Justicia vault copy of D.L. 233 reforms fetched HTTP 200 on 2026-08-26. Art. 158 quotes the general 20% pago definitivo and the 5%/10% carve-outs; Art. 158-A quotes the 25% tax-haven rate. Served rates unchanged. The 5% dividend withholding remains LISR Art. 72 (still cited via Consortium Legal; not in this CT reform text. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
THERE IS NO SINGLE WITHHOLDING TAX RATE, WHICH IS WHY value IS NULL. El Salvador applies a general 20% definitive withholding to any Salvadoran-source payment to a non-domiciled person, with scheduled carve-outs at 3%, 5% and 10% and a separate 5% on profit distributions; a caller must name which payment type and read withholding_rates rather than expecting a headline figure. ALL RATES ARE DOMESTIC STATUTORY RATES, BEFORE TREATY RELIEF. El Salvador has only one comprehensive income-tax treaty (Spain); where it applies it can reduce these rates, and applying it is a legal determination rather than a lookup. We do NOT serve treaty rates. TAX-HAVEN OVERRIDE: under Art. 158-A Codigo Tributario, payments to persons or entities constituted, domiciled or resident in low- or no-tax jurisdictions or tax havens (as listed in the DGII's annual guide) are withheld at 25% as pago definitivo instead of the rates below, subject to statutory exceptions (e.g. acquisitions of tangible goods). The general 20% and the current carve-out structure of Art. 158 date from the December 2009 tax reform (D.L. 233-2009) with adjustments through 2011; the 5% profit-distribution withholding was introduced by D.L. 957-2011 effective from the 2012 tax year. Series effective_from is asserted only loosely (2011-12-15, the D.L. 957 Gaceta period); per-entry dates are omitted where the consulted texts state none.
Get it programmatically
curl https://latamref.dev/v1/sv/withholding-tax
# $0.005 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://latamref.dev/v1/sv/withholding-tax/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://latamref.dev/provenance/sv/withholding-taxOther El Salvador series: Central bank policy rate · VAT (IVA) standard rate · VAT registration threshold · Minimum wage (lowest general statutory floor) · Public holidays · CPI inflation (year-on-year) · Corporate income tax (ISR) standard rate · Statutory legal interest (interés legal) · Personal income tax (ISR) brackets · Statutory social-insurance contributions
The same figure elsewhere: Guatemala · Guyana · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · all 22