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Origin and trade agreements

Importing into Costa Rica

How Costa Rica taxes imports: tariff duty (DAI), the 1% Law 6946 tax and 13% IVA on the CIF value plus taxes, postal parcels, and the 2027 transit data rule.

Updated · 4 official sources

Costa Rica taxes imported goods with tariff duty (DAI) at the rate for their tariff line, a 1% tax under Law 6946 on the customs value, a selective consumption tax on some goods, and 13% IVA (value added tax) on the CIF value plus all of those. Postal parcels that are commercial or worth more than US$1,000 must clear through a customs agency.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

How does Costa Rica calculate import taxes?#

Costa Rica's National Customs Service calculates import taxes in a fixed order set out in the Directorate General of Customs' instructions on the customs tax obligation. Duty and the 1% tax are charged on the customs value converted to colones, and IVA comes last, on the CIF value plus every tax before it.

Tax Rate Charged on
Derechos Arancelarios a la Importación (DAI) Tariff rate for the product Customs value
Impuesto Selectivo de Consumo Only on listed goods Customs value plus DAI
Law 6946 tax 1% Customs value
Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA), Law 9635 of 2018 13% CIF value plus DAI, selective tax, the 1% tax and other import charges

Some goods carry other charges as well, such as the Caldera port charge per kilo on cargo through that port. Only the taxes that apply to a product's tariff line are added; the DGA's clothing examples add DAI, the 1% tax and IVA.

What does an order pay?#

An order to Costa Rica pays IVA on the duty as well as on the goods, so the total is a little more than the duty rate plus 13%. The DGA's own instructions use men's cotton trousers at a 14% DAI rate as an example; here is the same calculation on a customs value of US$200, before conversion to colones.

Line Calculation Amount
DAI 14% of 200 US$28.00
Law 6946 tax 1% of 200 US$2.00
IVA 13% of (200 + 28 + 2) US$29.90
Total taxes US$59.90

The landed cost calculator runs this for a product's actual tariff line, the Costa Rica country page holds the live data, and the HS code classifier finds the line.

How are postal parcels cleared?#

Postal parcels to Costa Rica are cleared at the Postal Customs Post in the Correos de Costa Rica offices in Zapote, under a DGA procedure that lets the recipient handle the clearance in person or online. The recipient presents an identification document, customs opens the parcel with them or the postal authority, and the tax owed is paid before release.

Goods that are commercial, or with a customs value over US$1,000, can't be cleared this way: the DGA procedure sends them through a customs agency.

What changes on 11 January 2027?#

From 11 January 2027, every customs declaration (DUA) for goods in transit in Costa Rica must list, line by line, each consignee's type and number of identification, the tariff classification to eight or twelve digits, values, units, gross and net weights, the supplier, and the commercial invoices. Hacienda set this in resolutions MH-DGA-RES-1714-2026 and MH-DGA-RES-1721-2026.

The rule targets transit declarations that used generic descriptions such as "household goods" or "clothing and footwear" with no named consignee. For a seller, it means the courier or forwarder will need the buyer's ID number and a full invoice for each consignment that moves in transit or to a free zone.

What changed and when#

Costa Rica's next dated customs change is a new data requirement for transit declarations, which Hacienda announced in October 2026 for January 2027. The timeline lists it with a link to the official text; the tax rates above come from the DGA's instructions published in August 2023.

  1. Upcoming

    Transit declarations must name each consignee

    Every transit DUA must show the consignee's ID, the tariff classification, values, weights, supplier and invoice data by line. Ministerio de Hacienda, CP-57-2026 (opens in a new tab)

Common questions#

What is the IVA rate on imports into Costa Rica?#

13%, charged on the CIF value plus the tariff duty, the 1% Law 6946 tax, any selective consumption tax and other import charges.

What is the 1% tax on imports in Costa Rica?#

It is a tax of 1% of the customs value of imported goods under Law 6879 as amended by Law 6946, charged alongside the tariff duty.

Do I need a customs agency to import a parcel?#

For a postal parcel, yes if the goods are commercial or worth more than US$1,000 in customs value; below that, the recipient can clear it at the Postal Customs Post.

Sources#