Company formation in Costa Rica

How the tax system works

Costa Rica taxes income from Costa Rican sources; the headline corporate rate reaches 30% with reduced brackets for smaller companies. Revenue earned from customers outside Costa Rica is generally outside scope, which is why operators locate infrastructure and staff there while serving foreign markets. Every company pays an annual corporate tax and files annual returns and beneficial ownership declarations regardless of activity.

Incorporation requirements

• Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (SRL) or Sociedad Anónima (SA), executed before a Costa Rican notary.
• SRL: one or more managers; SA: a board with president, secretary and treasurer plus a comptroller.
• Resident legal representative and a Costa Rican registered address.
• Registration with the tax authority, the digital beneficial ownership register and social security if hiring.
• Powers of attorney allow the process to be completed without travelling.

Online gaming reality

Costa Rica does not issue remote gambling licences. Operators hold a municipal business permit — commonly for data processing — and must not accept wagers from within Costa Rica. That means you are unlicensed for regulatory purposes in your target markets, so payment providers and banks price the risk accordingly. Where licensed status matters to your acquirers, pair Costa Rican operations with a licensed entity in Malta, Curaçao or Gibraltar.

Company formation, banking and licensing handled together

We form the entity, prepare the due-diligence file the way an onboarding committee reads it, and take the licence application through to grant where one is required. Ownership chart, licence scope, AML/KYC policy and expected flows by corridor are prepared before any bank sees the file.