Tax residency in Costa Rica: the 183-day rule
High confidenceReviewed in September 2026
The short answer
183days in calendar year
- Window
- Calendar year
- How it counts
- Any presence during the day
- Direction
- Reaching the threshold makes you resident
How the days are counted
More than 183 days, consecutive or not, in the tax period, which since 2020 is the calendar year. The regulation says expressly that the day of entry and the day of exit count. Sporadic absences of 30 consecutive calendar days or fewer are counted as if you had been inside; longer ones are not.
The count does not decide on its own, either your residency or what you end up paying.
The source
Reviewed in September 2026Spotted something wrong? Tell us ›
These count days the same way as Costa Rica