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Costa Rica

#14 overall · Score 73.3 / 100 · unchanged from 2025

Overall

#14

73.3 / 100

unchanged from 2025

Corporate

#35

48.9 / 100

down one place from 2025

Individual

#13

69.0 / 100

up two places from 2025

Consumption

#6

86.6 / 100

up two places from 2025

Property

#11

67.9 / 100

unchanged from 2025

Cross-border

#29

59.4 / 100

up one place from 2025

Strengths

  • Costa Rica has neither a net wealth nor an estate tax.
  • The VAT rate is just 13 percent, below the OECD average of 19.4 percent.
  • Capital gains and dividends are both taxed at rates below the OECD average.

Weaknesses

  • Costa Rica has just four tax treaties while the average in the OECD is 75.
  • Costa Rica has five separate tax brackets for corporate income, with a top rate of 30 percent significantly above the OECD average (24.2 percent).
  • Costa Rica's carryover provisions are among the most restrictive in the OECD, with carryforwards limited to three years and no carrybacks.

Component Scores

Costa Rica category scores out of 100Corporate Taxes: score 48.9, rank 35. Individual Taxes: score 69.0, rank 13. Consumption Taxes: score 86.6, rank 6. Property Taxes: score 67.9, rank 11. Cross-Border Tax Rules: score 59.4, rank 29255075100Corporate Taxes: 48.9 (rank 35)Individual Taxes: 69.0 (rank 13)Consumption Taxes: 86.6 (rank 6)Property Taxes: 67.9 (rank 11)Cross-Border Tax Rules: 59.4 (rank 29)CorporateIndividualConsumptionPropertyCross-border
Category Rank Score vs 2025
Corporate Taxes #35 48.9 down one place from 2025
Individual Taxes #13 69.0 up two places from 2025
Consumption Taxes #6 86.6 up two places from 2025
Property Taxes #11 67.9 unchanged from 2025
Cross-Border Tax Rules #29 59.4 up one place from 2025

Ranking Changes, 2014–2026

Costa Rica's best overall rank was 11th and its worst was 17th. It ranks 14th in 2026.

Overall rank by year for Costa RicaCosta Rica: 2014 rank 13, 2015 rank 11, 2016 rank 12, 2017 rank 11, 2018 rank 13, 2019 rank 16, 2020 rank 17, 2021 rank 15, 2022 rank 15, 2023 rank 17, 2024 rank 15, 2025 rank 14, 2026 rank 142014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Costa Rica 2014: rank 13Costa Rica 2015: rank 11Costa Rica 2016: rank 12Costa Rica 2017: rank 11Costa Rica 2018: rank 13Costa Rica 2019: rank 16Costa Rica 2020: rank 17Costa Rica 2021: rank 15Costa Rica 2022: rank 15Costa Rica 2023: rank 17Costa Rica 2024: rank 15Costa Rica 2025: rank 14Costa Rica 2026: rank 14#13#14

OECD Context

Each row places all 38 countries on a 0–100 score scale for one measure. Costa Rica is highlighted; the dashed line is the OECD median.

All 38 Countries' Ranks

Overall and category ranks for all 38 countries
CountryOverallCorporateIndividualConsumptionPropertyCross-border
Estonia#1#2#1#24#1#7
Latvia#2#1#8#22#4#6
New Zealand#3#31#7#1#8#14
Switzerland#4#7#9#4#36#2
Lithuania#5#3#10#23#6#16
Luxembourg#6#20#21#7#15#5
Czech Republic#7#9#4#32#5#11
Australia#8#29#14#9#3#23
Turkey#9#21#6#15#22#8
Hungary#10#5#3#38#23#4
Israel#11#11#31#11#10#18
Slovak Republic#12#24#2#33#7#17
Sweden#13#6#18#26#9#12
Costa Rica#14#35#13#6#11#29
Canada#15#17#28#8#25#28
Netherlands#16#23#30#14#20#3
United States#17#8#17#3#27#37
Austria#18#18#27#17#17#10
Germany#19#30#34#13#12#9
Norway#20#15#29#27#16#15
Mexico#21#28#26#12#2#38
Finland#22#10#24#28#21#24
Greece#23#22#5#29#30#19
Chile#24#32#23#10#13#36
Slovenia#25#14#12#30#24#30
Korea#26#26#38#2#31#34
Belgium#27#16#15#25#28#21
Japan#28#36#35#5#26#31
Ireland#29#4#36#35#18#27
United Kingdom#30#25#22#34#33#1
Denmark#31#19#37#20#14#32
Poland#32#12#11#36#29#25
Portugal#33#34#19#21#19#33
Iceland#34#13#32#19#34#26
Spain#35#33#20#18#35#20
Italy#36#27#16#37#38#22
Colombia#37#37#25#16#37#35
France#38#38#33#31#32#13

Across the OECD

Costa Rica ranks 14th of 38 OECD countries on the overall index.

Source: 2026 International Tax Competitiveness Index.

Notes on the Data

The 2026 Index uses the most up-to-date data available as of July 2026. Data may not reflect changes in countries making rapid reforms.

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About the Authors

Alex Mengden Tax Foundation
Expert

Alex Mengden

Economist

Alex Mengden is an Economist at the Tax Foundation, where he focuses on international tax issues and tax policy in Europe. He holds a BA in philosophy and economics from the University of Bayreuth and an MSc in economics from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Tax Foundation Staff

Luis Zarka

Transatlantic Tax Fellow

Luis Zarka was a 2026 Transatlantic Tax Fellow with the Tax Foundation’s Center for Global Tax Policy.

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Sarah Wilbur

Communications Manager

Sarah Wilbur is Communications Manager at the Tax Foundation where she advances the organization’s institutional reach by developing its corporate communications and media programs.

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Jesse Solis

Vice President of Communications

Jesse Solis is Vice President of Communications at the Tax Foundation, where he leads the communications team and works to build coverage of Tax Foundation’s experts and their work across the globe. He joined the team in 2021 as Communications Manager and became Communications Director in 2024.