A publication of the Ministry of Finance alerted those who use seasonal rental services through sites such as Airbnb.
The text indicates that any lease of property for residential use, for periods less than one month, must pay tax on sales.
Jenny Lumbí, Tax Adviser for Actuality, clarifies some of the most important doubts.
1. It’s nothing new: The rules were already in force, but the Tax Fraud Act passed last December sets the interpretation of “temporary rentals” as those rentals that last less than one month.
2. Homeowners who rent on Airbnb must register as taxpayers. If you are Costa Rican, you can do so online in the site www.hacienda.go.cr, and if you are a foreigner, you should go directly to the tax authorities.
3. Registering also implies making a monthly statement. If the homeowner does not rent the property in that period, the declaration must be presented to zero.
4. If the user does not submit the declaration within 15 days after the end of the month, they will receive a fine of half a base salary per period, with a cap of 3 base salaries. The penalty ranges from ₡ 213,000 to 1 million 278 thousand colones. There are also sanctions for those who forget to register.
5. Although legislation is in force, Taxation has not defined how to make it effective. Which means that although the law is clear, there is no official list of houses that work with temporary rent.
According to the expert in tax matters, monitoring temporary rentals is a great challenge of the Finance Ministry.
Taxation enabled the hotline 2539-40 00 for those who have doubts about it.