Right! No more runs to the bank to pay a tax which may be less than the cost of the fuel for that errand.

Starting now, the Tax Administration has enabled online payments for this little tiny tax at most of the banks with online banking service.

The Bad News?

Yes, unfortunately the Costa Rican Tax Administration is not all about good news, since in order to be able to pay this Tax online, you first have to register your company online here.

Make sure to have handy a copy of the last filed Income Tax Return, since you will have to register your company – Click on the link Registrar, Cambiar Clave (Register then Change Password) including the information about which bank you used and when you filed the Income Tax Return).

Once you get registered, you will be able to log in, then on the window Seleccione el tipo de recibo you need to scroll down and pick Timbre de Educacion y Cultura and then select Pago Ordinario the amount to be paid will be listed and you have to click on the Documento number.

A sort of Receipt will have to be printed out or more likely saved as PDF file and then with that document in your hands you can login to your bank and look for the payment option related to Ministerio de Hacienda, you will need to enter the receipt number described above.

Keep in mind that this service is available only for corporations which had filed an Income tax Return for 2011 and before.

The following banks had enabled this online service:

BAC San José

Banco de Costa Rica

Banco BCT

Banco Popular y de Desarrollo Comunal

Banco Scotiabank

Mucap

Servimás

To rent or buy this one hour video with Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora, please visit our Video On Demand page here.

I know: It’s not an easy task, but as I said before, the Costa Rican tax Administration is not all about good news… The current Chairman of such agency, Francisco Villalobos, is doing all this since he needs to prove, that he is doing something, mainly to his clients when he returns to his private Tax Attorney’s practise…

Nothing personal, but this should have been done a long time ago and should have been properly, since thousands and thousands of dormant corporations which are liable for this tax would be a nice source of revenues for the Government if only there had been a tool to facilitate the payment, am I asking too much?

Written by Randall Zamora who is the President and CEO of CostaRicaABC.com, former CFO and Head of Accounting Department of multinational companies like Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica, active member of the Interamerican Accounting Association, Pro Bono Local Partner of The World Bank and contributor to their yearly publication “Doing Business Report.”

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.