Costa Rica's taxes at a glance
| Tax on $50,000 of revenue | 0% |
|---|---|
| Tax on $100,000 of revenue | 0% |
| Effective rate at $100,000On profit, after costs of 15% | 0% Source: imprentanacional.go.cr, checked September 29, 2026. 0% profits tax and no CCSS contributions for holders (KPMG, secondary) |
| Tax on $250,000 of revenue | 0% |
| Tax system | Territorial |
| Foreign income, new residents | Untaxed Source: rindhca.org, checked September 29, 2026 |
| Social contributions, self-employed | 0% Source: assets.kpmg.com, checked September 29, 2026. For Law 10008 remote workers. KPMG (Management of extended business travelers, Costa Rica, January 2023) states that the Digital Nomads Law does not establish any duty for foreigners to contribute to the CCSS. The law and its regulation contain no CCSS obligation: the permit is a non-resident stay for people not domiciled in Costa Rica (regulation, article 1) and requires a private medical policy of at least $50,000 for the whole stay (article 9) |
Structure used: Law 10008 remote worker or service provider stay: pay received from abroad is not Costa Rican-source and fully exempt from the profits tax (Law 10008, article 16), for up to 2 years. Bands are the effective tax on profit for a remote worker using this structure, with clients abroad and costs of 15% of revenue.
Costa Rica tax residency: the 183-day rule and Law 10008
You are a Costa Rican tax resident if you stay in the country for more than 183 days in the fiscal year, which is the calendar year, continuously or not, under article 10 of the income tax regulations. Sporadic trips abroad count as days in Costa Rica unless you can show a tax residence certificate from another country.
Residence matters less than you might expect, because Costa Rica taxes individuals on local income irrespective of nationality and resident status. Becoming resident does not bring your worldwide income into the tax; what it changes is how you are taxed on Costa Rican income and whether the Ministry of Finance will certify you as resident.
The remote worker permit breaks the day count entirely. Under Law 10008, article 16, holders are never treated as habitual residents for tax purposes, however long they stay, and the income they receive from abroad is never Costa Rican-source. That is the source of the 0%, and it is also why a holder cannot get a Costa Rican tax residence certificate.
Living on the remote worker permit: the version that holds up
Works
You hold the Law 10008 permit, are paid by an employer or clients abroad into an account abroad, do no paid work for anyone in Costa Rica, and settle before you land which country keeps you as its tax resident for the 1 to 2 years you stay, since Costa Rica never will.
Fails
You move on the permit, stop filing at home because you now live in Costa Rica, and take a side contract with a hotel in Tamarindo. Costa Rica does not count you as resident, so your old country's rules still decide your status, and the local contract is work article 14 forbids, which ends the permit and its exemption with back taxes, interest and penalties under article 13.
Costa Rica income tax rates for 2026
Income from a lucrative activity, which is how self-employment is taxed, goes through a progressive scale set by the Ministry of Finance on taxable income after deductible costs: nothing up to CRC 6,244,000 (about $13,800) and 25% above CRC 20,872,000 (about $46,100) in 2026. Salaries use a separate monthly scale.
Costa Rica income tax on self-employment (lucrative activity) income, 2026
| Annual taxable income (CRC) | About (USD) | Rate on that slice |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 6,244,000 | Up to $13,800 | 0% |
| 6,244,000 to 8,329,000 | $13,800 to $18,400 | 10% |
| 8,329,000 to 10,414,000 | $18,400 to $23,000 | 15% |
| 10,414,000 to 20,872,000 | $23,000 to $46,100 | 20% |
| Over 20,872,000 | Over $46,100 | 25% |
Capital income sits outside that scale. Interest and capital gains from Costa Rican sources are taxed at a flat 15%, and interest becomes ordinary income only when lending is your regular business.
Social security is a separate question on each route. Law 10008 requires a private medical policy for the whole stay (article 10), and neither the law nor its regulation, Decree 43619-H-MGP-TUR, imposes contributions to the CCSS, Costa Rica's social security fund, on holders. Self-employed residents outside the permit fall under the CCSS as independent workers.
| Revenue | CRC 45,299,000 ($100,000) |
|---|---|
| Business costs at 15% | CRC 6,794,850 ($15,000) |
| Taxable profit | CRC 38,504,150 ($85,000) |
| 10% on CRC 6,244,000 to 8,329,000 | CRC 208,500 |
| 15% on CRC 8,329,000 to 10,414,000 | CRC 312,750 |
| 20% on CRC 10,414,000 to 20,872,000 | CRC 2,091,600 |
| 25% on CRC 20,872,000 to 38,504,150 | CRC 4,408,038 |
| Resident, work taxed as Costa Rican-source18.2% of profit | CRC 7,020,888 (about $15,500) |
| Law 10008 holder paid from abroad | CRC 0 ($0) |
Exchange rate $1 = CRC 452.99, the midpoint of the Banco Central de Costa Rica reference rates of September 28, 2026. Brackets for 2026 from the Ministry of Finance table. Law 10008 holders owe no CCSS contributions; those of self-employed residents are not included.
Foreign income and remote work in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is one of the territorial tax countries: income a resident earns abroad is not taxable unless it is related to the economic structure of the country. Dividends from foreign shares and interest from a foreign bank reach a resident untaxed today, and there are no controlled foreign company rules for individuals.
Remote work splits by route. On the Law 10008 permit, pay received from abroad is not Costa Rican-source and is fully exempt from the profits tax, provided the work is for a person or company abroad and paid from abroad (article 3). On a rentista, temporary or permanent residence, work physically done in Costa Rica is generally treated as Costa Rican-source under the territorial rule, even for foreign clients, and taxed on the scale above.
How each kind of income is treated, by the route you live on
| Route | Pay for remote work from abroad | Foreign dividends and interest | Costa Rican tax residence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Law 10008 remote worker permit | 0%: not Costa Rican-source (article 16) | Not taxed | Never, whatever the days |
| Rentista, temporary or permanent residence | Generally Costa Rican-source: 0% to 25% | Not taxed today; a pending bill would tax them | After more than 183 days in the calendar year |
| Resident living on investment income only | Not applicable | Not taxed today; a pending bill would tax them | After more than 183 days in the calendar year |
That investment picture may not last. In September 2026 the government presented bill 25.796 to the Legislative Assembly, which would tax residents' foreign dividends, interest, royalties, rents and capital gains while leaving active income territorial; it has not been debated and is not law.
David's note
I would plan a Costa Rica move on Law 10008 as a 2-year project with a set exit, not as an open-ended new home. The permit gives 0% precisely because Costa Rica never claims you as a resident, so the question to settle before you land is which country's tax residence you are keeping or building during those 2 years.
Filing a tax return in Costa Rica
The fiscal year matches the calendar year, self-employed residents pay estimated tax in installments during the year, and the annual return and final payment are due 2.5 months after the year ends, which is March 15.
Settling your tax position in Costa Rica
- Choose the route before you arrive: Law 10008 for pay from abroad with no local tax, or a residence category if you need a Costa Rican tax residence certificate.
- On Law 10008, keep every employer and client abroad and every payment coming from abroad.
- Do no paid work for anyone in Costa Rica while you hold the permit.
- Spend at least 180 days in Costa Rica in the first year if you want the 1-year extension.
- Apply to change migration category before the permit runs out if you plan to stay beyond 2 years.
- As a resident with a lucrative activity, register it with the tax administration, pay estimated tax in installments and file by March 15.
- Track your days: more than 183 in the calendar year makes you resident on any route except Law 10008.
Ways to move to Costa Rica
| Route | Minimum income or investment | Permit length | Makes you tax resident | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remote worker or service provider stay (Law 10008) Source: pgrweb.go.cr, checked September 29, 2026Digital nomad visa | $3,000 a month Source: rindhca.org, checked September 29, 2026. Law 10008, article 10(a): stable monthly pay, fixed income or an average monthly income over the last year of at least $3,000, or $4,000 including family, that continues while abroad | 12 months, renewable | Special tax regimeTotal exemption from income tax on pay from abroad, and the holder is never a habitual resident for tax. | Open |
| Rentista temporary residence (Law 9996) Source: migracion.go.cr, checked September 28, 2026Passive income route | $2,500 a month Source: migracion.go.cr, checked September 28, 2026 | Not stated | With enough daysAmounts declared as income for the permit are exempt from income tax; income earned in Costa Rica from investments made there stays taxable. | Open |
Special tax regimes in Costa Rica
Law 10008 remote workers and service providers
Foreigners who work remotely for employers or clients abroad and earn at least $3,000 a month can stay in Costa Rica for up to 1 year, extendable once, with a total exemption from the profits tax. They are never treated as habitual residents for tax, and their income from abroad is not Costa Rican-source. Family members do not get the tax benefit.
Open to new applicants. Lasts up to 2 years. Source: rindhca.org, checked September 29, 2026
Running your own company from Costa Rica
For a founder the current rules are short. Costa Rica has no controlled foreign company rules for individuals and does not tax foreign dividends under the territorial rule, so a foreign company's retained profit is not attributed to you and its dividends reach you untaxed.
On the Law 10008 permit, a company you own abroad can be the paying client. The law defines a remote worker as someone who provides paid services remotely for a person or company located abroad and is paid from abroad (article 3), and on those words a foreign company you control qualifies, as long as it has no Costa Rican clients that your work serves.
Outside the permit, a company changes the form of the income but not where the work happens. If you live in Costa Rica on a residence card and do the billable work there, the company's fees and your pay rest on work physically done in Costa Rica, which is generally Costa Rican-source whichever country the company is registered in.
Bill 25.796 is the risk to watch here. It would bring residents' foreign dividends into tax, so a structure that pays out profit from a foreign company as dividends to a long-term resident would lose its 0% if the bill passes in its presented form.
US citizens living in Costa Rica
The US has no income tax treaty and no Social Security totalization agreement with Costa Rica, so a US citizen living there files a US return on worldwide income. With little or no Costa Rican tax on pay from abroad, the foreign earned income exclusion does most of the work, up to $132,900 for 2026; Law 10008 removes only the Costa Rican tax.
Self-employment tax of 15.3% still applies to all net profit when the exclusion is claimed. A Costa Rican bank account counts toward the FBAR once your foreign accounts together pass $10,000 at any point in the year.
Costa Rica tax mistakes: the permit without a tax home
0% in Costa Rica is not 0% everywhere
The expensive version is leaving a high-tax country on the remote worker permit and assuming the move ended your old tax residence. Costa Rica will never certify a Law 10008 holder as resident, so your old country's own rules decide whether you are still its resident, and a 0% Costa Rican position gives you nothing to show against them. Plan the exit from your old residence as its own step.
The second mistake is local work. Article 14 bars holders from paid work in Costa Rica beyond the remote work the permit allows, and article 13 cancels the permit and every tax benefit when that happens, with the taxes owed plus interest and penalties.
The third is the calendar. The permit runs 1 year plus a single 1-year extension, and the extension needs 180 days in Costa Rica in the first year. Staying longer means changing category before it expires (article 15), and from then on the territorial rule, not article 16, decides how your remote work is taxed.
Who Costa Rica suits, and who it does not
Good fit
- Remote employees and freelancers paid from abroad at least $3,000 a month who want 1 to 2 years in Costa Rica with no local income tax.
- People whose income is foreign investment income, which is untaxed today (subject to bill 25.796).
Poor fit
- Anyone who needs a Costa Rican tax residence certificate: Law 10008 holders are never habitual residents for tax.
- People planning more than 2 years on remote work: the permit is 1 year plus 1 extension.
- Investors with large foreign portfolios planning long-term residence, given bill 25.796.
Recent tax and visa changes in Costa Rica
The government presented bill 25.796 to tax residents' foreign dividends, interest, royalties, rents and capital gains (active income stays territorial) and bill 25.797 to cut exemptions. Both are pending in the Legislative Assembly; rates and start date were not published in the report. delfino.cr
Law 10208 lets the remote worker permit be granted for less than 1 year (authentic interpretation of Law 10008, article 15). pgrweb.go.cr
