Property tax in Costa Rica
See what Costa Rica's tax rules do to your property portfolio.
What Freeholt models for property, income and retirement in Costa Rica, and what it does not.
Free to start. No card. Rules reviewed 2 July 2026.
Modelled here
- Tax on rental income
- Capital gains on a sale
- Duty on purchase
- Annual property or land tax
CRC · Rates as at 2 July 2026 · Estimates, not advice
TERRITORIAL. Rental income pays an effective 12.75% (15% on 85% of gross). Sale gains 15% (2.25% of price election for pre 2019 assets); buyers withhold 2.5% from non resident sellers. Inversionista residency from USD 150k.
How rental income is taxed in Costa Rica
For a resident owner: A flat 15% on gross rent. A statutory deduction of 15% comes off the gross first, so the effective rate on rent is about 12.75%. For an owner living abroad and renting this out: A flat 15% on gross rent. A statutory deduction of 15% comes off the gross first, so the effective rate on rent is about 12.75%.
Interest and losses
A rental loss brings no relief: it cannot reduce other income, and it does not carry forward.
Capital gains on a sale
Gains are taxed at a flat 15%. 2.5% of the SALE PRICE is withheld at settlement from a non resident seller. It is a credit against the bill, not an extra tax, but it is cash the seller does not get on the day.
Annual property tax while holding
About 0.5% a year on the property value.
What it costs to buy
About 2.5% of the price on purchase. Transfer tax 1.5% + ~0.85% stamps. Beachfront (200m maritime zone) is concession only. Foreigners capped at 49%.
Can a foreign buyer purchase here?
Foreign buyers can generally buy residential property here. Foreigners own titled property outright; the 200m maritime beachfront zone is concession only with foreigners capped at 49% of a concession.
A territorial system
Costa Rica taxes income arising here, not worldwide income, so property held in other countries is generally outside its net. That makes the country of residence a bigger lever than usual.
How Freeholt models Costa Rica
Every rate above is priced from Freeholt's own table for Costa Rica and runs through the whole projection: rental income, a modelled sale and the annual holding costs all use the same figures. They cannot be edited yet, so a position that differs from the defaults has to be read with that in mind. The estimate assumes an individual owner rather than a company or trust, and where a rule is not modelled it is listed below rather than quietly priced at zero.
What running this property costs
In Costa Rica this covers the property tax, HOA fees, insurance and ~10% management; short term rentals add 13% VAT. TWO TAXES SIT BEHIND THE ONE RATE THIS PAGE SHOWS: the IBI is 0.25% nationwide (Ley 7509 art. 23) and is charged on the value registered with the municipality rather than on the market price, and the Solidarity Tax adds 0.25% to 0.55% once construction value alone passes CRC 143,000,000 (about USD 315,000 in September 2026). The projection prices the pair together as a flat 0.5% of market value, so a home under the Solidarity threshold is charged roughly twice what it would really pay.
How borrowing works here
Colón/USD mortgages carry high rates; most foreign purchases are cash.
What actually happened here
This country's own record, one year at a time. Nothing on this page is borrowed from another country. Move across a chart to read a year.
What Freeholt models here
- ModelledTax on rental income
- Resident and non resident rates, with interest and losses treated under the local rule.
- ModelledCapital gains on a sale
- Priced in the year of the sale under the rules of that year.
- ModelledDuty on purchase
- One off, on the way in, at the scale in force.
- ModelledAnnual property or land tax
- Charged every year the property is held.
- Not yetIncome tax beyond the rent
- Not modelled for this country yet.
- Not yetDividends, interest and share sales
- Not modelled for this country yet.
- Not yetRetirement savings
- Not modelled for this country yet.
- Not yetInheritance and what happens on death
- Not modelled for this country yet.
What Freeholt does not model here
- Inheritance and estate tax
- Treaty relief between this country and the owner's country of residence
Coverage deepens country by country. Every figure is an estimate, not advice.
Compare with another country
Each page is built from the same table the app runs on, so the figures line up side by side.
Compare Costa Rica with another country — rent, gains, annual tax and duty, side by side.
Questions people ask
- Does Freeholt model Costa Rica property tax?
- Yes. Rental income tax, capital gains on a sale, duty on purchase and annual property or land tax are priced from Freeholt's own rate table for Costa Rica. The rates are not editable yet, so one that differs in a particular case cannot be overridden. Every figure is an estimate, not advice.
- How is rental income from Costa Rica taxed if I live somewhere else?
- A flat 15% on gross rent. A statutory deduction of 15% comes off the gross first, so the effective rate on rent is about 12.75%. Tax may also be due in the country of residence, with credit for what was paid here. Estimates only, not advice.
- What are the Costa Rica figures as at?
- The rate table for Costa Rica was last reviewed on 2 July 2026. Freeholt date stamps every country rather than implying all of them were checked on the same day. Estimates only, not advice.
Model a property in Costa Rica alongside everything else you own: see the year your portfolio starts paying you back.