Airbnb Rules in Costa Rica: Registration and Taxes for Hosts

What Law 9742, the ICT registry, and Costa Rica's tax system actually require from short-term rental hosts.

Short-term rental hosts in Costa Rica have two core legal duties. Law 9742 requires vacation rentals to register with the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), and tax law requires hosts to register with Hacienda, charge 13% VAT on stays, and declare the income. Those are the Airbnb rules in Costa Rica in one sentence. The details below matter too.

What law covers Airbnb rentals in Costa Rica?

The framework is Law 9742, the "Ley Marco para la Regularización del Hospedaje No Tradicional," passed on October 29, 2019. It covers what the government calls non-traditional lodging: houses, condos, apartments, and villas rented to travelers outside the classic hotel model, plus the platforms that market them. Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com listings all fall under it.

The law did two big things. It created a mandatory registry of non-traditional lodging at the ICT, and it pulled short-term rentals clearly into the formal economy. The ICT's official registry page is blunt about the consequence: operating without registering is considered illegal operation.

This is not a law that bans anything. Costa Rica chose regulation over prohibition, which is good news for owners. There are no citywide caps or night limits like you see in Barcelona or New York. The state simply wants to know who is renting, and it wants its taxes.

Who has to register with the ICT?

Two groups. First, the hosts themselves, called "prestatarios" in the law. If you rent out your Coco condo on Airbnb, even for a few weeks a year, that is you. Second, the platforms and intermediary companies that market the stays.

The obligation does not depend on where you live or how you hold title. Owners who live abroad, owners who hold the property through a Costa Rican corporation, and owners who rent just one unit all fall under the same rule. The ICT does not list an exemption for occasional or part-year hosts.

One honest caveat: enforcement has been gradual rather than aggressive, and you will still find unregistered listings in every beach town. We do not think that is a reason to skip it. The registry exists, the law is on the books, and governments worldwide keep getting better at matching platform data to tax records.

How does the ICT registration work?

It is an online process, and by Costa Rican paperwork standards it is a light one.

• You file an electronic form through the ICT's Hospedaje No Tradicional platform (reached from ict.go.cr), with the property and owner information the regulation requires.
• The ICT then has 15 calendar days to validate your file and issue the registration resolution, which arrives by email with your registration code.
• You must keep the information current, and if you stop renting, you deregister with a written commitment that the activity has ceased.

The ICT publishes a user manual and a video tutorial on the same page. If the property belongs to a corporation, have your corporate documents and legal representation details at hand before you start. Most of our owners get through it in one sitting, or hand it to their property manager or attorney.

What taxes do Airbnb hosts pay in Costa Rica?

The tax side of the Airbnb rules in Costa Rica has two layers: VAT on every stay, and income tax on what you earn.

VAT at 13%

Costa Rica's standard VAT rate is 13%, and short-term lodging is a taxed service. That means registering as a taxpayer with Hacienda (the Ministry of Finance, which now runs its filings through the TRIBU-CR platform), issuing electronic invoices, and filing VAT returns on Hacienda's calendar. Long-term residential leases are treated differently, which is one reason the tax office cares whether your guests stay for nights or for months.

A common and expensive misunderstanding: assuming that whatever tax the platform charges guests covers your obligations. Costa Rica also applies VAT rules to cross-border digital services, so a booking can show tax lines from the platform side. Those platform charges do not replace your own registration and filings as the lodging provider. Have an accountant map out exactly what is being collected on your listings and what you still owe. We say this because we verified this article's tax points with our own accountant, and it is the first thing she checks for new owners.

Income tax

Rental income earned in Costa Rica is taxable in Costa Rica. Many individual landlords declare it as real estate capital income, which PwC's Costa Rica tax summary describes as a 15% tax applied after a flat, predetermined deduction of 15% for expenses. If the rental runs more like a business, with employees and hotel-style services, ordinary income tax rules can apply instead, and corporate ownership changes the picture again. Which regime fits you is exactly the kind of question we do not answer ourselves: confirm it with a licensed Costa Rican accountant before your first guest checks in.

Do condo rules add their own restrictions?

Often, yes, and this catches more buyers than the national law does. A condominium's bylaws can restrict or ban short-term rentals entirely, no matter what the ICT registry says. Some communities in the Papagayo area welcome vacation rentals and are full of them; others deliberately keep a residential feel. Before you buy a property with rental income in mind, read the bylaws and ask the administrator directly. We walk through this in our guide to renting versus buying in Costa Rica, and it is a standard part of our due diligence checklist alongside hiring a good lawyer.

What happens if you skip registration?

The ICT's position is clear: an unregistered short-term rental is operating illegally. Beyond that headline, the practical risks are the ones that actually cost money. Unpaid VAT and income tax do not disappear; they accumulate with interest until someone looks. An insurance claim or a guest dispute is harder to defend when the underlying activity was informal. And if you ever sell, a buyer doing serious due diligence will ask for the rental's paper trail.

We will be honest about the other side too: Costa Rica has not run aggressive enforcement sweeps against small hosts, and registration alone will not change your bookings overnight. The case for compliance is not fear, it is that the Airbnb rules in Costa Rica are manageable, the costs are known, and a registered, invoiced rental is a cleaner asset to own and to sell.

How do we handle this for the owners we work with?

We manage around 40 vacation rentals in Playas del Coco and Ocotal, and compliance is baked into how we onboard a new property: ICT registration, an introduction to a local accountant for Hacienda registration and filings, electronic invoicing, and the operational side of hosting handled by a team that lives here. If a property is a poor fit for short-term renting, because of bylaws, location, or condition, we say so before you commit. Our post on choosing the right property management company explains what that division of labor should look like.

If you already own here and want the registration and tax side sorted, or you are shopping for a rental-ready property and want the rules mapped out before you write an offer, ask us. Start with our property management page, browse the rentals we manage, or send us a message and we will point you in the right direction.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to register my Costa Rica Airbnb if I only rent it a few weeks a year?

Yes. Law 9742 requires anyone offering non-traditional lodging to register with the ICT, and the ICT does not list an exemption for occasional or part-year hosts. Registration is done online, and the ICT has 15 calendar days to validate it and email your registration code. Tax obligations with Hacienda apply to the rental income as well, however few the bookings.

Does Airbnb pay my Costa Rica taxes for me?

No. Tax lines a guest sees on a booking relate to Costa Rica's VAT rules for digital platforms, and they do not replace your own obligations as the lodging provider. Hosts still need to register with Hacienda, issue electronic invoices, charge 13% VAT on stays, and declare rental income. A licensed Costa Rican accountant can map out exactly what applies to you.

Can a foreigner or a corporation register a vacation rental with the ICT?

Yes. The registry is open to owners regardless of nationality or residency status, and properties held through a Costa Rican corporation register with the corporate details and legal representative. Foreign owners handle it remotely through the ICT's online platform, or delegate it to their attorney or property manager. Ownership structure does affect how the rental income is taxed, so get accounting advice too.

Cover photo: Ketut Subiyanto, Pexels · Photo: Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons