Costa Rica Residence and Liability for Taxation In Costa Rica the taxation of individuals is based on the principle of territoriality, meaning that all personal income which has a foreign source is tax exempt PENSIONS included. Only that proportion of revenue earned by an individual within Costa Rica is subject to an assessment by the

The Closing This article is part of a series I have been writing to help educate retirees and other foreigners about buying a home or property in Costa Rica. In the last couple of weeks I have reviewed the buyer’s relationship with the broker and the seller, tips on due diligence and actually negotiating the

Escrow Escrow is an arrangement where an independent trusted third-party receives and disburses money and/or documents for two or more transacting parties, with the timing of such disbursement by the third-party dependent on the performance by the parties of agreed-upon contractual provisions. It is recommended that retirees and other foreigners set up an escrow account

Sales agreement or purchase option for retirees Once the seller and the buyer have agreed on a price, the buyer can do one of two things to bring to deal closer to the final handshake. One, the buyer can sign a purchase option and put down a non-refundable fee, usually a percentage of the value

As far as the human side of the negotiations, negotiating with a Tico land owner versus negotiating with a professional developer are two distinctly different experiences. Business negotiations in Costa Rica are quite circuitous, and if you decide to take part, you will be expected to drink a lot of coffee and begin meetings with

Here are a few important features of the property to keep in mind when negotiating real estate deals for retirees or anyone else: Grade: How steep is the property? Will it be hard to build on it? Bodies of water: While a river running through a property is a nice feature, bodies of water can

Pricing is a tricky thing in Costa Rica. Gone are the days when retirees and investors from abroad could snap up beachfront (or even ocean view) property from a cattle rancher for $30,000. More likely today, that cattle rancher will look you up and down and ask for $2 million. He figures it’s worth a