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Costa Rica vs Panama: tax rates compared
There's no gap here — Costa Rica and Panama both post an income tax rate of 25%. The 200-country average is 28%: both sit below it. Costa Rica's figure is dated 2025-01-01 and Panama's 2026-01-18, so the two rates come from different data vintages.
Verified data covers five of the six tracked tax types for both countries; every rate below is cited to its source and dated.
At a glance
| Tax | CR | PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income Tax | 25% | 25% | match |
| Corporate Tax | 30% | 25% | CR +5 pp |
| VAT | 13% | 7% | CR +6 pplargest gap |
| Capital Gains Tax | 15% | 10% | CR +5 pp |
| Wealth Tax | 0% | 0% | match |
Income Tax
| Country | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 25% | Source: OECD Tax Database — Top statutory personal income tax rates · as of 2025-01-01 |
| Panama | 25% | Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Panama (Individual, Taxes on personal income) · as of 2026-01-18 |
| Difference | 0 pp | displayed rates match |
Corporate Tax
| Country | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 30% | Source: Tax Foundation — Worldwide Corporate Tax Rates · as of 2025-01-01 |
| Panama | 25% | Source: Tax Foundation — Worldwide Corporate Tax Rates · as of 2025-01-01 |
| Difference | +5 pp | Costa Rica higher |
Between the two, Costa Rica's corporate tax rate (30%) tops Panama's (25%) by 5pp. The 201-country average is 22.6%: both sit above it.
VAT
| Country | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 13% | Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Costa Rica (Corporate, Other taxes) · as of 2026-06-30 |
| Panama | 7% | Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Panama (Corporate, Other taxes) · as of 2026-01-18 |
| Difference | +6 pp | Costa Rica higher |
Between the two, Costa Rica's VAT rate (13%) tops Panama's (7%) by 6pp. The 181-country average is 15%: both sit below it.
Capital Gains Tax
| Country | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 15% | Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Costa Rica (Individual, Income determination) · as of 2026-06-30 |
| Panama | 10% | Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Panama (Individual, Other taxes) · as of 2026-01-18 |
| Difference | +5 pp | Costa Rica higher |
Between the two, Costa Rica's capital gains tax rate (15%) tops Panama's (10%) by 5pp. The 175-country average is 10.3%: Costa Rica sits above it, Panama sits below it.
Wealth Tax
| Country | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 0% | Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Net wealth/worth tax rates (quick chart) · as of 2026-06-30 |
| Panama | 0% | Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Panama (Individual, Other taxes) · as of 2026-01-18 |
| Difference | 0 pp | displayed rates match |
There's no gap here — Costa Rica and Panama both post a wealth tax rate of 0%. The 193-country average is 0.1%: both sit below it.
Not covered for both countries yet: Crypto Tax.