Paying Costa Rica property taxes from afar.

[winoguy]

Looking for advice on paying property taxes for a lot I purchased in Cortez. I closed the deal in Feb this year. The attorney I hired when I bought the property wants over $600.00 to pay my $185.00 tax bill. A little steep I thought. I live in Canada and would love to pay them from here via internet but don’t know how to go about it. Most of my attempts regarding research in this area nets me Spanish text sites which I don’t understand yet. Does anyone know where I can go to find out when taxes are due and where to pay them etc? My last resort would be to fly there and pay them in person, enjoy the place for a week and fly home although time is at a premium at the moment. Thanking in advance for any help you could provide me.
Darren

[DavidCMurray]

I don’t think you’re going to find a means to pay your property taxes online. They’re due in January and everyone just troops into the Municipalidad, takes a number, and pays in cash or via debit card. You can pay for just one quarter of the year at a time, which for us is just a hassle. So be sure you’re paying for the entire year.

I wonder if there’s anyone in or near Cortez who you could trust to go pay these taxes for you if you sent them the money via PayPal. Six hundred dollars seems pretty steep for what should be a half-hour chore while you’re in the neighborhood. Heck, for that money I’ll go pay ’em for you.

[sprite]

I ask my attorney to drive into Naranjo each year and pay the $15. She always graciously agrees and I include an extra amount for her trouble. She emails me the receipt. I wish there were a way to do this myself on any of the multiple trips I make every year but I do not go in January.

[juliab]

You don’t need to pay your taxes in January. You can pay them any time of year. You will get a DISCOUNT (4-8% depending on the municipality) if you pay CASH until March 31. After that there is a SMALL penalty. If you come, say, in June you can pay your taxes then, and the penalty will be much lower than $600.

Whether you can pay your taxes online depends on your muni. In Grecia we CAN pay our property taxes online (at least we were told so). We haven’t tried as you don’t get the discount, but folks in muni said that, at least Banco Nacional will let you pay the taxes online.
In some other munis (for sure in Garabito, aka Central Pacific) the only way to pay taxes is in person.

Pease re-check all the info above with your muni. If you don’t speak Spanish, take a trustworthy translator or friend, so that you don’t misunderstand important details.

[Andrew]

Our recommended Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora offers this service but I can’t remember how he charges for it….

See Randall at:

[ https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/Costa_Rica_Property_Tax__New_tools_may_help_catch_tax_evaders.cfm ]

Scott

[winoguy]

Thank you Scott and everyone else that responded. I definately need to do something quickly according to my attorney as there could be a fine of up to $800.00 if I miss the due date. I think this guy is just looking at me as an easy mark for funds in a quiet market.

[xspire1]

[quote=”winoguy”]Looking for advice on paying property taxes for a lot I purchased in Cortez. I closed the deal in Feb this year. The attorney I hired when I bought the property wants over $600.00 to pay my $185.00 tax bill. A little steep I thought. I live in Canada and would love to pay them from here via internet but don’t know how to go about it. Most of my attempts regarding research in this area nets me Spanish text sites which I don’t understand yet. Does anyone know where I can go to find out when taxes are due and where to pay them etc? My last resort would be to fly there and pay them in person, enjoy the place for a week and fly home although time is at a premium at the moment. Thanking in advance for any help you could provide me.
Darren[/quote]

Hi Darren

I live in Canada as well and own land in a different Municipality. I would ask your Realtor to have his administrative assistant pay the taxes for you and you can just email money transfer the funds using Interac to their bank account. They will likely require the funds first. My Realtor has never charged me a fee for paying the taxes.

[Jim S.]

[quote=”winoguy”]Thank you Scott and everyone else that responded. I definately need to do something quickly according to my attorney as there could be a fine of up to $800.00 if I miss the due date. I think this guy is just looking at me as an easy mark for funds in a quiet market.[/quote]

I’d be looking for a new attorney if I were you. The fines are very modest for late payment and if you need an attorney to handle it for you, he shouldn’t charge more than about $50 for this service. I’d suggest that you just wait until the next time you come down to pay (and to find a new attorney for future needs).

The first time you pay is a bit of a hassle because you have to go through the valuation process to get registered on the tax rolls. Afterwards, it’s very simple. The exact process will vary depending on the municipality.

[Author]

Posts