Costa Rica capital gains tax calculator
Costa Rica taxes the real gain on Costa Rican-source goods and rights at 15%. An asset acquired before 1 July 2019 may elect 2.25% of its sale price on the first sale instead, your habitual residence is exempt, and foreign-source gains are outside the charge altogether.
Work out the tax on a share, fund, crypto or property disposal from your dates and costs, and see both possible bases side by side when the pre-2019 election is available. Enter sales by hand or import your exchange CSVs; the calculator splits multi-parcel sales under FIFO, marks a foreign-source asset so it stays outside the charge, and shows the arithmetic behind the final figure. Everything stays in your browser.
Rates current as of 2026-09-19, from the Ministerio de Hacienda tariff table and the sources each record cites.
Current rules
The rates behind the number
The capital-gains rate and the pre-2019 election by year
| Tax year | Costa Rican-source gain (shares, funds, unlisted, crypto, property, other) | Asset acquired before 1 July 2019, first sale (election) | Habitual residence | Foreign-source assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15% | 2.25% of the sale price | Exempt | Outside the charge |
| 2022 | 15% | 2.25% of the sale price | Exempt | Outside the charge |
| 2023 | 15% | 2.25% of the sale price | Exempt | Outside the charge |
| 2024 | 15% | 2.25% of the sale price | Exempt | Outside the charge |
| 2025 | 15% | 2.25% of the sale price | Exempt | Outside the charge |
| 2026 | 15% | 2.25% of the sale price | Exempt | Outside the charge |
| 2027 (planning) | 15% | 2.25% of the sale price | Exempt | Outside the charge |
Rules and exemptions
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Costa Rican-source goods and rights (Ley 7092, article 31 ter) | 15% of the real gain, a separate schedular charge that never stacks on your salary |
| Asset acquired before 1 July 2019, qualifying first sale | Elect 2.25% of the gross sale price instead; the base is the price, not the gain |
| Habitual residence (article 28 bis) | Exempt, with no minimum ownership period |
| Occasional sale of an unregistered movable or right (article 28 bis) | Exempt; registered property and títulos valores (securities) do not qualify |
| Listed shares, funds, unlisted stakes, crypto, other registered valuables | 15% of the real gain; no holding-period test and no participation-size exemption |
| Foreign-source assets (article 27) | Outside the charge: Costa Rica taxes Costa Rican-source goods and rights only |
| Losses (article 31 bis(4)) | Net across every class, then deferred against future capital gains for three consecutive years |
| Fund participations already taxed at the fund level (article 28 bis) | Exempt to that extent; this calculator does not model the fund level |
| Non-domiciled owner's Costa Rican property sale (article 28 ter) | 2.5% of the price withheld by the buyer, as a payment on account of the 15% |
| Filing | Monthly form D-162, one return for the month of the gain, due within the first 15 natural days of the following month |
Rates as of 2026-09-19. Crypto has no dedicated Costa Rican rule: the calculator applies the general goods-and-rights reading at 15% where the asset is Costa Rican-source and treats foreign-source crypto as outside the charge.
Questions
Costa Rica capital gains questions
How much is capital gains tax in Costa Rica?
An individual pays 15% of the real gain on the transfer of Costa Rican-source goods and rights (Ley 7092, article 31 ter, as amended by Ley 9635). The gain is the difference between the acquisition value and the transfer value, and it is a separate schedular charge: it never stacks on the personal income scale. A sale of an asset acquired before 1 July 2019 may instead elect 2.25% of the gross sale price on its first sale.
What is the 2.25% option in Costa Rica?
It is the pre-1 July 2019 transition. Hacienda's official tariff table states that for goods and rights acquired before 1 July 2019 the taxpayer may apply, on the first sale, a rate of 2.25% on the sale price. The base is the price, not the gain, and the election is the taxpayer's: it suits an asset that has appreciated a lot, or one whose original cost cannot be documented. Once applied, the real gain is not computed.
Does Costa Rica tax gains on foreign assets?
No, not for individuals. Article 27 charges income, gains and losses realised in the territory on goods or rights of Costa Rican source and states no charge on what is generated outside the territory, so the scope turns on where the asset is sourced, not on who pays you or from where. A narrow anti-base-erosion rule can pull specified passive foreign gains of a non-qualified entity of a multinational group into the tax, but that is not a general worldwide CGT.
What is the capital gains tax rate in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica taxes an individual's realised capital gains at 15% of the real gain (Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, Ley 7092, article 31 ter, as amended by Ley 9635, in force from 1 July 2019). Hacienda's official tariff table states the rate as '15% Ganancias de capital (venta de bienes)'. The charge is the difference between the acquisition value and the transfer value of the goods or rights, and capital gains are a separate schedular charge that never stacks on the personal income scale. Sources: https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/TarifasRentasCapital12_6.pdf and https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/12.ImpuestossobreRentasGananciayPerdidasdeCapital.pdf
What is the 2.25% option for assets bought before July 2019?
Pre-1 July 2019 acquisitions: the sale of a good or right acquired before 1 July 2019 may instead be taxed at 2.25% of the sale price rather than 15% of the gain. Hacienda's tariff table states 'a excepción de los bienes y derechos adquiridos con anterioridad al 1º de julio de 2019, donde el contribuyente puede aplicar en la primera venta una tarifa de 2,25% sobre el precio de venta', and the capital-gains presentation repeats 'Si el bien o el derecho fue adquirido antes del 1 de julio 2019, la venta que se realice podrá gravarse con el 2,25% sobre el precio de la venta'. The election is the taxpayer's, applies to the first sale of the asset, and once made the real gain is not computed. Sources: https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/TarifasRentasCapital12_6.pdf, https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/12.ImpuestossobreRentasGananciayPerdidasdeCapital.pdf and https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/costa-rica/individual/income-determination
Does Costa Rica tax foreign-source capital gains?
Territorial scope: article 27 charges income, gains and losses realised in the territory on goods or rights of Costa Rican source held by the taxpayer, and states no charge ('no sujeción') on what is generated outside the territory. The scope therefore turns on the source or location of the asset or right, not on the residence of the payer or the place of payment. A narrow anti-base-erosion extension reaches specified passive foreign gains of a non-qualified entity belonging to a multinational group (Hacienda's foreign-passive guidance and the D-710 form for foreign-source capital gains); it is not a general individual worldwide-CGT rule. Sources: https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/12.ImpuestossobreRentasGananciayPerdidasdeCapital.pdf, https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/ProyectoresolucionRENTASDECAPITALGANANCIASYPERDIDASDECAPITAL.pdf and https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/17febrero20251.pdf
Which asset classes does the 15% cover?
Asset classes: shares and securities, investment-fund participations, unlisted shares and stakes, other registered movable property and rights, real property and digital assets all fall under the general goods-and-rights rule at 15% of the real gain. No holding-period test, anniversary test or participation-size (small-shareholder) threshold was located in the official material reviewed; the only occasional-sale relief for unregistered movables and rights expressly excludes títulos valores (securities) where the transferor is a natural person not engaged in a lucrative activity, so listed shares are not exempt under it. Source: https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/12.ImpuestossobreRentasGananciayPerdidasdeCapital.pdf
Is my home exempt from capital gains tax in Costa Rica?
Habitual residence: the gain on the transfer of the taxpayer's habitual residence is exempt (article 28 bis), with no minimum ownership period identified. The same treatment applies where a legal person demonstrably holds the home for its owners. Source: https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/PresentaciondeRentasdecapitalinmobiliario.pdf
How is crypto taxed in Costa Rica?
Crypto: no crypto-specific rate, exemption or holding-period rule was located in the official material reviewed. A disposal is analysed under the general goods-and-rights framework where the asset is connected to Costa Rican source or economic use, and a habitual business may instead fall under business-income rules. On the territorial principle a gain on foreign-source crypto is outside the charge, but no sourced ruling states that expressly for every taxpayer, so the treatment is flagged as unsourced rather than reduced to a rate. Sources: https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/12.ImpuestossobreRentasGananciayPerdidasdeCapital.pdf and https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/costa-rica/individual/income-determination
How do capital losses work in Costa Rica?
Losses: a capital loss must be declared. If only losses were obtained they may be deferred against future capital gains for the next three consecutive years; if gains were obtained in the preceding 12 months and the tax was self-assessed and paid, the taxpayer files the loss and requests the corresponding refund or credit (article 31 bis(4) and (5)). Same-year capital losses offset the year's capital gains before the 15% applies. Source: https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/12.ImpuestossobreRentasGananciayPerdidasdeCapital.pdf
When do you file and pay capital gains tax?
Filing and payment: capital gains are declared monthly on form D-162, one return for the gains or losses obtained in the month, filed and paid within the first 15 natural days of the following month. The DGT resolution states 'una sola declaración por las Ganancias o Pérdidas de Capital obtenidas durante el periodo mensual correspondiente' and 'dentro de los quince primeros días naturales del mes siguiente', and the 2025 Hacienda calendar lists D-162 among the monthly self-assessments. Sources: https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/ProyectoresolucionRENTASDECAPITALGANANCIASYPERDIDASDECAPITAL.pdf and https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/17febrero20251.pdf
What withholding applies to a property sale?
Withholding: a non-domiciled owner's sale of Costa Rican real property carries a 2.5% withholding on the sale price by the acquirer, as a payment on account of the 15% (article 28 ter). Where the payer is one of the persons regulated by article 31 quáter, that payer must apply the corresponding withholding as a single definitive payment and is jointly liable; where no withholding can be applied the taxpayer self-assesses. Sources: https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/TarifasRentasCapital12_6.pdf and https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/12.ImpuestossobreRentasGananciayPerdidasdeCapital.pdf
Is the acquisition cost indexed for inflation?
Not computed by this calculator, stated here so the gap is visible: (a) articles 30 and 31 update the acquisition value, the cost of investments and improvements by the INEC consumer price index, which would reduce the gain in colones but needs a CPI series this app does not carry; (b) gains on investment-fund participations are exempt to the extent the fund has already paid the relevant tax (article 28 bis); (c) the anti-base-erosion foreign-passive extension for non-qualified entities of multinational groups. Sources: https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/12.ImpuestossobreRentasGananciayPerdidasdeCapital.pdf and https://www.hacienda.go.cr/docs/PresentaciondeRentasdecapitalmobiliario.pdf