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Remote work in Costa Rica: what the employer has to pay for

Costa Rica has a remote work statute, and it puts equipment, software and the cost of electricity on the employer. It also requires a document that most companies never signed.

6 min readTicuenta
What the law puts on the employer: providing and maintaining the equipment and the software, covering the cost of electricity according to the method of measurement the parties agree, and travel expenses where the work calls for them. Plus training on the use of those tools and informing on occupational health.

First, the paperwork

Remote work is not set up with an email. For the relationship to be governed by the statute there has to be a remote work contract setting out clearly the conditions of performance, the obligations, rights and responsibilities of each party. And where an employment contract already exists, what is needed is an addendum.

This is the point most often skipped: many companies moved to remote work without touching the contract. Without that document, whatever is argued about afterwards has nothing written behind it.

The employer's obligations

  • Equipment, software and electricity

    Provide them and guarantee their maintenance. The cost of electricity is determined by the method of measurement that is possible and agreed between the parties: the law does not set an amount, it requires one to be agreed.

  • Travel expenses where they apply

    If the assigned work calls for them.

  • Training on the tools

    For the proper use of the necessary equipment and software.

  • Informing on occupational health

    The occupational health and risk prevention rules continue to apply: someone working from home does not suspend them.

If the employee uses their own equipment

That is allowed, but only at the employee's own initiative and with the employer's acceptance, and it has to be stated in the contract or addendum. Doing so releases the employer from responsibility for the use of that equipment.
And it comes with a counterpart worth writing down. Where the equipment is the employee's, they must allow the employer free access to information belonging to the company, during employment and on its end. That access must always be in the employee's presence and must respect their rights to privacy and dignity.

Whoever owns the equipment, the remote worker must keep confidentiality over the employer's information and over the data they access through the employment.

What does not change

Remote work is a way of performing the job, not a separate employment regime. Hours, breaks, public holidays, holiday, the Christmas bonus, social security and the final settlement are governed by the usual rules.

What does change is how hours are monitored. And there it is better to be explicit in the contract: the twelve-hour daily cap on ordinary plus overtime still stands, and overtime is paid the same, even from home. The limits and the calculation.

The accounting side

Payments for electricity, internet or equipment handed to a remote worker are treated differently, and they are better kept apart:

ItemHow to treat it
Computer given to the employee, owned by the companyFixed asset, depreciated
Software and licencesExpense or intangible, by term and amount
Agreed contribution to electricity and internetOperating expense, supported by the contract
Travel expenses settled against receiptsAn expense, and not pay
The question your accountant will ask: is this pay? A fixed monthly “expenses” contribution with no support and no clear agreement risks being read as pay in kind, with everything that drags along: social security, the Christmas bonus and the settlement base. The method of measurement agreed in the contract is precisely what avoids that argument.
From Ticuenta

Each item in its own account

One account per remote-work item, and the income statement shows them separately from the first entry.

See how it works

About this article. The contract or addendum is article 7 of the Remote Work Act, and the employer's obligations are its article 8. The accounting and tax treatment of each item depends on the case: confirm it with your accountant before setting company policy.

Verified as of 24 September 2026. Rules change. This is information, not legal or tax advice.

Sources: Current legal texts (Sinalevi) Ministry of Labour

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