Tax comparison · verified June 2026
Costa Rica tax vs every other country
🇨🇷 Costa Rica against all 52 other jurisdictions Tax Atlas tracks, on the six figures that decide most moves: top income tax, capital gains, dividends, corporate tax, VAT and how foreign income is taxed. Sorted by top income tax, lowest first.
- Top income tax: 25% · 28 of 52 jurisdictions are lower
- Corporate tax: 30% · 46 of 52 are lower
- VAT / sales tax: 13% · 28 of 52 are lower
- Foreign income: Territorial · shared by 9 others
The table
Costa Rica compared with 52 jurisdictions
| Country | Top income tax | Capital gains | Dividends | Corporate | VAT | Foreign income | Side by side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anguilla | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | Exempt | – |
| Antigua & Barbuda | 0% | 0% | 0% | 25% | 17% | Exempt | – |
| Bahamas | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 12% | Exempt | – |
| Bahrain | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 10% | Exempt | – |
| Bermuda | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | Exempt | – |
| British Virgin Islands | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | Exempt | – |
| Brunei | 0% | 0% | 0% | 18.5% | 0% | Exempt | – |
| Cayman Islands | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | Exempt | – |
| Kuwait | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | Exempt | – |
| Monaco | 0% | 0% | 0% | 25% | 20% | Exempt | – |
| Oman | 0 (5% from 2028) | 0% | 0% | 15% | 5% | Exempt | – |
| Qatar | 0% | 0% | 0% | 10% | 5% | Exempt | – |
| Saint Kitts & Nevis | 0% | 0% | 0% | 33% | 17% | Exempt | – |
| Turks and Caicos | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 12% | Exempt | – |
| United Arab Emirates | 0% | 0% | 0% | 9% | 5% | Exempt | – |
| Vanuatu | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 15% | Exempt | – |
| Andorra | 10% | 10% | Andorran dividends exempt / foreign 10% | 10% | 4.5% | Worldwide | – |
| Bulgaria | 10% | 10% | 5% | 10% | 20% | Worldwide | – |
| Paraguay | 10% | 10% | 5% | 10% | 10% | Territorial | – |
| Hungary | 15% | 15% | 15% | 9% | 27% | Worldwide | – |
| Hong Kong | 17% | 0% | 0% | 16.5% | 0% | Territorial | – |
| Georgia | 20% | 0% | 5% | 15% | 18% | Territorial | – |
| Guernsey | 20% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | Worldwide | – |
| Jersey | 20% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | Worldwide | – |
| Mauritius | 20% | 0% | 0% | 15% | 15% | Worldwide | – |
| Isle of Man | 21% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 20% | Worldwide | – |
| Estonia | 22% | 22% | 0% | 22% | 24% | Worldwide | – |
| Singapore | 24% | 0% | 0% | 17% | 9% | Territorial | – |
| Costa RicaThis page | 25% | 0-15% | 0-15% | 30% | 13% | Territorial | – |
| Dominican Republic | 25% | 27% | 10% final | 27% | 18% | Territorial | – |
| Gibraltar | 25% | 0% | 0% | 12.5% | 0% | Worldwide | – |
| Panama | 25% | 10% | 10% | 25% | 7% | Territorial | Costa Rica vs Panama |
| Malaysia | 30% | 0% | 0% | 24% | 8% | Territorial | – |
| Cyprus | 35% | 20% | 0-5% | 15% | 19% | Worldwide | – |
| Indonesia | 35% | Varies (final taxes) | 10% final / exempt if reinvested | 22% | 12% | Worldwide | – |
| Malta | 35% | 0% | 0-35% | 35% | 18% | Worldwide | – |
| Mexico | 35% | 35% | 10% | 30% | 16% | Worldwide | Costa Rica vs Mexico |
| Philippines | 35% | 0-15% | 10% | 25% | 12% | Territorial | – |
| Thailand | 35% | 0% | 10% | 20% | 7% | Remittance-based | – |
| Switzerland | 11.5-36% | 0% | 0-35% | 11.9-20.5% | 8.1% | Worldwide | – |
| Uruguay | 36% | 0-12% | 12% | 25% | 22% | Territorial | Costa Rica vs Uruguay |
| United States | 37% | 0-20% | 0-20% | 21% | 0% | Worldwide | Costa Rica vs United States |
| Ireland | 40% | 33% | 0-33% | 12.5% | 23% | Worldwide | – |
| Italy | 43% | 26% | 26% | 27.8% | 22% | Worldwide | – |
| Greece | 44% | 15% | 5% | 22% | 24% | Worldwide | – |
| Australia | 45% | 0-45% | 0-45% | 30% | 10% | Worldwide | – |
| France | 45% | 0-34.5% | 12.8-34.5% | 25% | 20% | Worldwide | – |
| Germany | 45% | 0-26.375% | 26.375% | 30.06% | 19% | Worldwide | – |
| United Kingdom | 45% | 18-24% | 10.75-39.35% | 25% | 20% | Worldwide | – |
| Portugal | 48% | 28% | 28% | 19% | 23% | Worldwide | – |
| Netherlands | 49.5% | 31% | 24.5-31% | 25.8% | 21% | Worldwide | – |
| Spain | 47-54% | 19-30% | 19-30% | 25% | 21% | Worldwide | – |
| Canada | 33-54.8% | 0-27% | 0-47.74% | 26.2-31% | 5% | Worldwide | Costa Rica vs Canada |
Figures come from each country profile in the Tax Atlas dataset, which cites PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, tax authorities and the OECD. Ranges are compared by their upper bound. Headline rates leave out reliefs, newcomer regimes and treaty relief, so open each country page for the detail. Not tax advice: verify with a qualified adviser.
Head to head
Detailed Costa Rica comparisons
- Costa Rica vs Panama
- Costa Rica vs Uruguay
- Costa Rica vs United States
- Costa Rica vs Canada
- Costa Rica vs Mexico
Costa Rica tax guide Compare any two countries 2026 tax cheat sheet Filtered country lists
Questions
Frequently asked
How does Costa Rica's income tax compare with other countries?+
Costa Rica's top personal income tax rate is 25%. 28 of the other 52 jurisdictions Tax Atlas tracks have a lower top rate.
Is Costa Rica's corporate tax low by international standards?+
Costa Rica's headline corporate rate is 30%. 46 of the other 52 jurisdictions have a lower headline rate. Effective rates depend on reliefs, free zones and the OECD global minimum tax for large groups.
Which countries tax foreign income the same way as Costa Rica?+
Costa Rica taxes foreign income on a territorial basis. 9 other jurisdictions use the same basis, including Panama, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Georgia.
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