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CABYS code search

Type what you sell and you get its CABYS code and the VAT rate that goes with it. The data comes from the tax authority's official catalogue, live. No sign-up and no search limit.

Search in Spanish. The catalogue exists only in Spanish, so cement finds nothing and cemento finds forty-seven results. There is a short list of the usual words further down.
Type the whole word, in Spanish: «cemento» finds results, «ceme» does not.

    The Ministry of Finance's goods and services catalogue, queried directly against its official service. Ticuenta does not store what you search for.

    What CABYS is, and why the code you pick matters

    CABYS is the catalogue the tax authority uses to name everything sold in Costa Rica. Every good and every service has a thirteen-digit code, and that code is compulsory on every line of every electronic document.

    It is not paperwork: the VAT rate is attached to the code. Parboiled rice is at 1 % and rice flour at 13 %; paracetamol is at 2 %. Picking the wrong code is not a formality — it is charging the wrong tax, and the difference is answered for by you, not by your customer.

    The words the catalogue expects

    A starting point for the most common searches. Look at the description that comes back before settling on a code: several are similar and the rate changes between them.

    In EnglishType this
    Accommodation, lodginghospedaje
    Accounting servicescontabilidad
    Cleaninglimpieza
    Consulting, advisoryasesoría
    Rental, lettingalquiler
    Repairreparación
    Transporttransporte
    Tour, excursionexcursión
    Food, mealscomida
    Constructionconstrucción
    Designdiseño
    Software, programmingprogramación

    How to find yours

    • Type the whole word. The tax authority's search works on whole words, not on fragments: «cemento» returns forty-seven results and «ceme» returns none.
    • Search by the everyday name. The catalogue is written in plain language: «arroz», «zapatos», «corte de pelo».
    • For a service, try both the verb and the noun: «reparación», «asesoría», «alquiler».
    • Read the whole description before settling on a code. Several look alike and the rate changes between them.
    • The code is chosen once per product and stored. You do not look it up every time you invoice.
    From Ticuenta

    The code stored on the product, not looked up each time

    This same search is inside the program, but there the code is saved against the product and the rate goes into the invoice by itself — without you typing it or having to remember it.

    See how it works

    For the detail — where the catalogue comes from, what happens when it is updated and how a wrong code is corrected — there is the guide: what CABYS is and how to choose the right code.

    Also in English