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VAT rates in Costa Rica: 13, 4, 2, 1 and 0.5 %

The general rate is 13 %, but there are four reduced rates and each one is listed individually in the law. This is what article 11 says, without interpretation.

7 min readTicuenta
In one sentence: article 10 of the VAT Act sets the general rate at 13 % “for all taxable transactions”, and article 11 establishes four reduced rates — 4 %, 2 %, 1 % and 0.5 % — for cases the law itself enumerates.

The general rate: 13 %

The tax rate is thirteen per cent (13%) for all transactions subject to payment of the tax.

Law 6826, Value Added Tax Act · article 10

It is what applies by default. The reduced rates are listed exceptions: if your case is not on the article 11 list, it goes at 13 %.

The four reduced rates, under article 11

RateWhat it applies to
4 % Air tickets whose origin or destination is Costa Rica. And private health services provided by authorised centres or by health professionals authorised and registered with their professional association.
2 % Medicines and the raw materials, inputs, machinery, equipment and reagents needed to produce them, as authorised. Private education services, with the exemptions that apply. Personal insurance premiums. And purchases and sales by state higher-education institutions, their foundations, CONARE and SINAES.
1 % The basic basket and its whole chain: agricultural goods included in it, live animals, machinery, equipment, raw materials, services and inputs, up to the point it reaches the final consumer.
0.5 % Organic agricultural or agro-industrial products registered and certified with the relevant body, and the equipment, machinery and inputs endorsed by the Agriculture Ministry's regulation.

Four details that change the arithmetic

  • An international air ticket is not taxed on the full price

    The law says so expressly: for international air transport, the tax is charged on a base of 10 % of the ticket value. A 4 % on everything is not the same as a 4 % on a tenth.

  • The basic basket is a list, not a judgement

    Which goods are in it is defined by decree and reviewed periodically. You do not decide whether something is “basic”: the CABYS code carries the answer.

  • Reduced does not mean exempt

    A 1 % sale is a taxable sale: it is invoiced, it is declared and it generates the right to credit. An exempt sale is a different thing entirely.

  • The rate comes from the code, not from your opinion

    The tax authority cross-checks the rate you declared against the one in the CABYS catalogue. If they do not match, it is a rejection — and a rejection spends the number. How CABYS decides it.

And short-term lodging?

At the general rate, 13 %. Renting a property to tourists is not on any reduced list, and the exemption for residential leases does not cover it either — that one is for long-term housing below a threshold, not for nightly stays. The detail is in the VAT article for hosts.

From Ticuenta

The rate comes with the product

You set the CABYS code once when you create the product, and every document carries the rate that belongs to it — checked against the current catalogue before it costs you a number.

See how it works

About this article. The general rate is article 10 of Law 6826 and the four reduced rates are its article 11, quoted and summarised without interpretation. The 10 % base for international air transport is in the same article. Which goods are in the basic basket is set by decree and changes.

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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