meta_id 3500373

Costa Rica's General Tax Directorate (Dirección General de Tributación) issued Resolution MH-DGT-RES-0000-2026 on July 2026, reforming Resolution MH-DGT-RES-0048-2025 regarding the use of informative declaration forms for intermediaries handling credit and debit card transactions. The reform modifies three key aspects of intermediary withholding reporting. First, it restricts intermediaries from declaring withholdings exceeding amounts reported by acquirers in their own declarations. When intermediaries report excess amounts, the tax authority will withhold distribution of reported withholdings until the discrepancy is corrected. Second, the resolution expands the definition of "intermediaries" to include payment processors, electronic wallets, payment gateways, and analogous entities that process electronic payments but do not qualify as acquirers under value-added tax (IVA) law. Third, it establishes that intermediaries must register through the Unified Tax Registry's virtual office; those failing to register will be registered ex officio by the tax authority. The reform also permits intermediaries to request revision of withholding factors applied by acquirers when retention percentages systematically generate credits or result in improper withholdings, based on the tax regime or IVA rates applicable to their affiliated companies' operations. The resolution includes a three-month transition period from publication for the tax authority and obligated parties to implement necessary technological adjustments. During this period, intermediaries must continue submitting monthly informative declarations under existing procedures. Following this transition, the tax authority will announce the effective date for daily declaration submissions via notice on its institutional website. The resolution entered into force upon publication in the Official Gazette (La Gaceta). Intermediaries already identified by the tax authority will be registered ex officio upon the resolution's effective date.