This month we are discussing the «home luxury tax,» Impuesto Solidario para el Fortalecimiento de Programas de Vivienda (Law # 8683). This tax only applies to houses and condos or apartments over a specific construction value.
The entity or person obliged to file and pay the tax is that one that owns the ¨Luxury Home¨ as of January 1st of each year. This includes parties in a co-ownership as well.
The real estate owner must determine the value of the main construction and the additional facilities (e.g., palapas, swimming pools, perimeter walls, internal streets, sports courts, etc.). The Manual of Unitary Base Values for Constructive Typology and tools are available for payors to assess the value to be declared for the luxury tax. The link below is provided by the Tax Office related to this matter: http://www.hacienda.go.cr/contenido/13173-impuesto-solidario
Once the value of the construction is determined, if it exceeds the exempted amount established by the Tax Office for that year, you must calculate the value of the associated land as per the valuation parameters and then add it. The sum of these values will provide you with the total value of the property to be declared.
Those liable for this tax must:
Fill out the form: ‘Formulario Único de Inscripción, Declaración y Pago Impuesto Solidario para el Fortalecimiento de Programas de Vivienda’ (Law # 8683) every 3 years.
Pay the tax annually. The due date is January 15th each year.
Note: For 2021 the amount was USD $240K (₡133,000,000,00 colones). This amount is adjusted each year.
A new assessment will be made before January 15th 2022, and the Tax Office will announce the new amount for 2022 in December 2021.
In the next email, we will talk about who is responsible for paying the tax and the regulations of this law.
We are at your service to answer any questions you may have for real estate, residency or corporate law at info@gmattorneyscr.com