Starting this January 1, 2022, inactive companies (inactive registered S.A. or SRL/LLC) that are registered in the Registro Unico Tributario (Single Tax Registry) of Costa Rica under the activity of “Persona Jurídica legalmente constituida” (Legally constituted-legal entity), must file the Declaración simplificada de impuesto sobre la renta  (Simplified Income Tax Declaration).

The change takes place with the incorporation of code 960113, which the Government automatically assigned to inactive companies constituted prior to the entry of the new law. Meaning that these types of legal entities now have the obligation to declare taxes related to their assets, liabilities and their equity.

What is an inactive company (inc.)?

These are companies or legal entities that do not carry out any lucrative activity, that is, they do not sell goods or services and therefore do not record income or issue invoices.

This type of company does not generate profits within the national territory, since its sole purpose is to be the owner of an asset, such as a property.

In real estate it is not just about selling or buying, but about advising the client correctly when having one or more properties.

Vera Sanchez, Nativu Advisor

What must inactive companies declare?

With this reform, it is important to take into account each of the steps to follow to make the declaration correctly. The tax administration has established some formal duties such as:

  • Check if your inactive company applies as such under code 960113, automatically assigned in the taxpayer portal.
  • Do the registration and modification of data in the Registro Unico Tributario  (Single Tax Registry) through form D 140.
  • Income tax return with assets, liabilities and capital stock including fiscal periods 2020 and 2021; through the virtual platform: Administración Tributaria Virtual (ATV).

Since 2019, inactive companies began to be considered as taxpayers in the income tax, therefore, with the entry of Law 9635, all inactive companies registered in ATV with code 960113 have the obligation to present the declaration of rent corresponding to the periods 2020 and 2021, before March 15, 2022.

Both the update and the registration are done through the ATV portal and every time you make a change such as your address or email, you must update the information on that same site. Remember that if you don’t do this declaration or if you don’t have the information up to date, you are exposed to fines by the Tax Administration.

This tax declaration must be filled in spanish at the ATV portal, therefore if your are not sure about the process or if you have doubts about the language, do not hesitate to consult a trusted person.

At Nativu, we care about advising you in the best way on all issues related to your properties; Therefore, if you want to obtain more information or better understanding on how you should make the declaration in case of having an inactive company that only has one property (or more), do not hesitate to contact our Nativu Advisor, Vera Sanchez.