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Income tax

Advance income tax instalments in Costa Rica: how they are calculated and when they fall due

Three instalments a year, with a concrete formula. And one date that circulates wrongly: they are not March, June and September.

6 min readTicuenta
In one sentence: you take 75 % of a base — the higher of last year's tax and the average of the last three — and pay it in three equal instalments, on the last business day of June, September and December.

The dates, which is where most people get it wrong

People still say March, June and September. Not any more. That calendar came from the old fiscal period, October to September. Since the period moved to the calendar year, the instalments fall due on the last business day of June, September and December. Older accounting material keeps repeating the old dates.

How it is calculated

  • Determine the base

    The higher of two figures: the tax determined for the immediately preceding year, or the arithmetic average of the last three periods. Whichever comes out higher.

  • Take 75 %

    The full tax is not advanced: the law sets that percentage on the base.

  • Divide into three equal instalments

    Each falls due on its date. Unpaid, they generate interest.

The case · round numbers, to see the mechanics
Base — the higher of the two
₡4,000,000
75 % — what gets advanced
₡3,000,000
Each instalment
₡1,000,000 in June, September and December

What if the business is new and has no history?

Then the taxpayer files a reasoned estimate, by January at the latest. If they do not, the tax authority sets it themselves — and it is better that the estimate is yours than theirs.

They can be adjusted

If you expect the year's tax to be clearly lower than the base suggests, the instalments can be reduced by request, with grounds. The other way round too: paying more in advance avoids a large settlement in March.

They are a credit, not an extra tax. Everything paid in instalments is subtracted from the final tax in your annual return. If you overpaid, you end up with a balance in your favour.

Who pays them

Anyone on the profits regime with a previous year's tax — companies and individuals with a business activity alike. Someone on the property income regime for a rental does not: that one is filed and paid monthly, with no advances.

From Ticuenta

The June, September and December dates, in view

Three dates a year with no reminder from anyone. Ticuenta keeps them alongside the monthly deadlines.

See how it works

About this article. The 75 % rate, the base as the higher of last year's tax and the three-year average, the three instalments and their due dates come from the Income Tax Act and its regulation, after the fiscal period moved to the calendar year.

Verified as of 24 September 2026. Tax rules change. This is information, not tax advice.

Sources: Current legal texts (Sinalevi) Ministry of Finance

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