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How much you pay in the simplified regime, and filing the D-105

The tax does not come from what you sell, but from what you buy. It is a base times a rate, filed every three months on a single form. Here is how the number is built, with an example.

6 min readTicuenta
In one line: the simplified regime tax is the base times a rate. The base is your purchases for the quarter (and, depending on the activity, labour); the rate is set by the decree for your activity. You file and pay every three months on form D-105, within the first fifteen days of the following quarter.

The formula

In the standard regime you charge VAT, deduct the credit on your purchases and file the difference. The simplified regime has none of that: you take a base and apply a rate. And there are two rates, one for VAT and one for income tax, filed separately even though they are paid together.

The rate already carries the sector's margin. You do not make it up: it comes from applying the VAT rate to the gross margin Hacienda studied for each line of activity. That is why a simplified-regime rate is a small number —around one or two per cent— and not the 13 % of general VAT.

What goes into the base

The base is built differently depending on what the business does. This is the part that confuses people most, because it is not always "purchases" on their own:

If you are…The quarterly base is…
A retailer (corner shop, store)Purchases
A service provider (workshop, salon, haulage)Purchases plus labour
A producer or maker (bakery, furniture, crafts)Purchases, labour and production costs
A taxiKilometres driven
An artisanal fisherFuel

Purchases go in VAT included, whether taxable or not. Labour and production costs are not on any supplier invoice, so you add those yourself; the rest comes from the documents you received.

An example

A corner shop bought ₡3,000,000 of stock during the quarter. Let us assume —just to see the mechanics— a VAT rate of 2 % and an income-tax rate of 1 %. The tax would be:

₡3,000,000Base (purchases)VAT included
₡60,000VAT2 % of the base
₡30,000Income tax1 % of the base
Total for the quarter: ₡90,000. The exact rates depend on your activity.
The rates in the example are illustrative. The one for your activity is set by the regime's decree, and in retail the VAT is also split by tier (what you bought at 13 %, at 2 % or at 1 %). Do not apply them from memory: confirm them in the decree, or let the software set them for you.

When and how you file: the D-105

The simplified regime files every quarter, not every month, and on a single form: the D-105, filed and paid in TRIBU-CR. The deadline is the first fifteen calendar days of the month after the quarter closes.

Jan – Mar1st quarterFiled in April
Apr – Jun2nd quarterFiled in July
Jul – Sep3rd quarterFiled in October
Oct – Dec4th quarterFiled in January
The D-105 takes the base for the period and multiplies it by the rate. A number, not a whole set of accounts.

The purchase record

Because the tax comes from purchases, the underlying duty is to keep a record of the ones you made: date, supplier and amount. You do not file that detail with the return, but you must have it if Hacienda asks. Keeping your purchase invoices in order is not red tape: it is the proof of the number you filed.

From Ticuenta

The D-105, already added up

Ticuenta takes in your expenses with no cap, keeps the purchase record and builds your quarterly return worksheet: the base times the rate for your activity. You copy the number into TRIBU-CR and you are done.

See how it works

About this article. The regime is chapter VIII of the VAT Act (articles 35 to 40, reformed by Law 10512) and its regulation, Executive Decree 43881-H (with the reform of Decree 45209 of 2025), which sets the activities, the base and the rates.

Verified as of 8 October 2026. Tax rules change. This is information, not tax advice.

Sources: Current legal texts (Sinalevi) Ministry of Finance

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