Profile

Costa Rica has built its reputation on political stability rather than offshore secrecy — a civil-law Central American republic that has spent the last two decades turning that stability into one of the region's leading nearshoring and business-services hubs. The country abolished its army in 1948 and has redirected that budget into education and healthcare ever since, producing one of Latin America's highest literacy and English-proficiency rates. It joined the OECD in 2021 and operates under the CAFTA-DR free trade agreement with the United States, giving Costa Rican companies preferential access to the US market.

The Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (S.R.L.) — Costa Rica's equivalent of an LLC — is the standard vehicle for operating businesses, real estate holding structures, professional service firms, and family asset-protection setups. It is managed by a single Gerente rather than a board, requires no minimum capital beyond a token amount, and can be 100% foreign-owned with no local residency requirement for partners or management.

Political

Costa Rica is a presidential republic with a long, uninterrupted democratic tradition — one of the most stable in Latin America, with regular peaceful transfers of power since 1949. It has no standing military, a legislature (Asamblea Legislativa) elected by proportional representation, and an independent judiciary. San José is the capital and seat of government.

Tax

Costa Rica applies a territorial tax system: only Costa Rica-sourced income is subject to tax. Income genuinely earned or sourced abroad generally falls outside the Costa Rican tax net, which is what makes the jurisdiction useful for holding structures and internationally-facing service businesses, not just companies trading physically within the country.

For companies that do generate Costa Rica-sourced income, the general corporate income tax rate is 30% on net taxable income. Small and medium businesses with gross annual income at or below a threshold adjusted yearly for inflation (₡119,174,000 for 2026) can instead apply a reduced progressive scale of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% depending on income tier, under Decreto Ejecutivo N° 45333-H.

Separately, every registered legal entity — active or dormant — owes an annual flat Impuesto a las Personas Jurídicas regardless of whether it generates any Costa Rica-sourced income at all, and a small annual Timbre de Educación y Cultura based on net capital. Neither is a tax on profit; both are the price of staying registered.

Legal

Costa Rica's commercial law is codified in the Código de Comercio, and company formation runs through the Registro Nacional (specifically its Registro Mercantil / Registro de Personas Jurídicas). The S.R.L. is formed by public deed before a Costa Rican notary, requires a minimum of two partners at formation, and is managed by one or more Gerentes rather than a board of directors — a lighter governance structure than the Sociedad Anónima (S.A.), Costa Rica's other main corporate form.

As of Law 10597, every S.R.L. must register an official email address with the Registro Nacional for judicial and administrative notifications; new entities must include it in the incorporation deed, and existing ones have until 5 June 2026 to comply before the Registry begins rejecting filings from non-compliant companies.

Privacy

Costa Rica maintains a confidential beneficial ownership registry — the Registro de Transparencia y Beneficiarios Finales (RTBF) — administered jointly by the Ministerio de Hacienda and the Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas (ICD) via the Central Bank's Central Directo platform. Every legal entity must file an annual RTBF declaration, but the underlying beneficial ownership data is not publicly searchable — it exists for tax authorities, the Financial Intelligence Unit, and banks conducting KYC, in line with OECD/FATF standards, not for public disclosure.

FAQs

What makes Costa Rica attractive for a tech or gaming-adjacent business?

Costa Rica has no dedicated gambling license or regulator — and no need for one, because operators serving customers outside Costa Rica typically register as a standard commercial entity and obtain a municipal "patente" (business license) for a data-processing or business-services activity, rather than a gambling-specific license. This is why San José has become a major back-office and customer-support hub for international sportsbooks and casino operators, provided they don't take bets from Costa Rican residents — an old 1922-era prohibition still reserves in-country gambling and lotteries to the state operator.

Do I need to live in Costa Rica to own an S.R.L.?

No. There's no residency requirement for partners, the Gerente, or the beneficial owner. The entire process can be completed remotely.

Is beneficial ownership information public in Costa Rica?

No. It's filed annually with the RTBF but stays in a confidential registry accessible only to Costa Rican authorities and banks performing due diligence — not to the general public.

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