Tax residency
When Costa Rica taxes you
A visa lets you stay. It does not decide who taxes you. In Costa Rica that turns on a day count of about 183 days and the ties you keep, and it is the line that quietly reshapes what you take home.
When you become tax resident
Territorial system: only Costa Rican-source income is taxed, foreign income fully exempt regardless of residency; 183+ days establishes residency Key nuance: because tax is territorial, crossing 183 days does not create foreign-income liability.
How your income is taxed
Territorial: foreign income untaxed; local employment/business income taxed up to about 25%
The trap below the day count
Staying under 183 days does not make you safe. A permanent home available to you, a partner or children living in Costa Rica, or your centre of vital interests can create residence well below the count. And where two countries both claim you in the same year, a tax treaty tie-breaker decides, on your permanent home first, then your centre of vital interests, then where you habitually live. This is the part worth taking to a specialist.
Count your days against the threshold
The tracker counts the days you spend in each country and shows which cross their tax-residency line, Costa Rica included.
Keep reading
Researched from public sources, checked Jul 2026. Not expert-reviewed, and not legal or tax advice. Rules change; the sources and dates above are how you judge whether to rely on this or take it to a professional.