Costa Rica corporations

Owning your property in the name of a corporation affords you some protection from liability and it makes the property easier and cheaper to sell than if you own it in your own name. In the present scheme of things, property is taxed at 1/4 of one percent of its value as declared in the National Registry. If it is owned in the name of a corporation, since the property never changes hands the valuation never goes up and the taxes are fixed essentially forever. The corporation may be sold and bought, but the property stays in the name of the corporation.

If you are not a resident, a corporation can make it easier to get utilities, bank accounts, etc in its name rather than in your own.

Any attorney can form a corporation for you. When you have this done, there are two important considerations. First, be certain that the stock in the corporation is assigned to you. Otherwise, you won’t really own it. And second, be certain that a governmentally-blessed set of books is issued. Without books, you cannot transact any business in the corporation’s name.

If the corporation has no economic activity, some accountants will tell you that it’s not necessary to file any annual report; others will advise that you file. The penalty for failure to file is minimal and many corporations do not. We do not file for our two corporations (and we may live to regret it).