Law 9996 Expiration: What It Means for Costa Rica Residency Applicants

By /

Updated 8 September 2026. The original five-year window for opting into Law 9996’s Article 5 benefits reached its anniversary in July 2026. It should no longer be presented as a future deadline. A pending residency application, an approved residency category and an approved tax exemption are different things; keep the dates and decisions for each separately.

On 8 September 2026, the official legal database displayed Law 9996 as version 1 of 1, with Article 12’s five-year wording unchanged. DGME’s current investor page still displayed a minimum investment of US$150,000. These published sources do not support simply telling every applicant that investor residency has ended or that the threshold automatically became US$200,000. For a new application or an unresolved benefit request after July 2026, obtain confirmation from the authority responsible for that specific decision.

What Article 12 says about the deadline

Law 9996 was published on 14 July 2021. Article 12 limits the opportunity to opt for the incentives in Article 5 to the first five years after entry into force. It also says beneficiaries who opted for those benefits during that period retain them for ten years from the date they were granted.

The official text reviewed does not establish that merely filing a residency application before July 2026 secures every exemption. Nor did our review establish a new general extension of the five-year window. Ask Hacienda how the dates and status of your exemption request affect your case before budgeting for tax-free imports.

Person reviewing financial records at a desk

Which benefits does Law 9996 cover?

  • Household goods: a one-time import exemption for reasonable personal and immediate-family household contents. The law includes furniture, appliances and other household articles.
  • Vehicles: import exemptions for up to two qualifying vehicles for personal or family use, subject to the law and its implementing procedure.
  • Declared qualifying income: Article 5 addresses the income declared to obtain the benefits. It expressly preserves taxation of income generated in Costa Rica by investments in the country.
  • Property transfer tax: a reduction of 20% of the transfer tax, subject to the statutory conditions. This is not a 20% reduction in the purchase price.
  • Professional or scientific equipment: an import exemption subject to justification before Hacienda, including proportionality and reasonableness.

These are the incentives described in the law, not a promise that a new September 2026 request qualifies. Residency approval alone is not an exemption authorization.

Does the deadline end investor, Pensionado or Rentista residency?

The residency category and the availability of an Article 5 incentive require separate review. Article 12 does not itself say that every resident loses their immigration status when the five-year window ends.

There is also a specific investment-threshold issue: Article 8 states US$150,000 using time-related wording, while DGME’s investor checklist, checked on 8 September 2026, continues to publish US$150,000 and describes a two-year authorization renewable for equal periods if the investment is maintained. We report that published guidance without treating it as a case-specific ruling about a post-July application.

Before committing funds, ask DGME to confirm the applicable threshold and documentation for your filing date and investment type. Read our investor residency guide for the general category, and use the current official checklist for your application.

Investor residency through reforestation: check the current rule

Older descriptions of a US$100,000 forestry route should not be reused as a current filing checklist. Article 31 of Decree 43926 repealed Article 92 of the Immigration Regulation, which contained the older reforestation provisions. In the replacement decree, Article 7(D)(2) expressly describes certification of a US$150,000 investment in sustainable reforestation projects of public interest, issued by the environmental ministry. This is a specific project and evidence requirement, not a promise that buying any wooded property or planting trees qualifies.

Article 7(D) also addresses project documentation, municipal permits, accountant certification and, where a company is involved, evidence of the applicant’s real contribution and corporate standing. Read the whole subsection and the general investor requirements together. A seller’s brochure, expected timber return or environmental marketing claim is not a substitute for the official certification described in the rule.

Before purchasing, ask DGME and the relevant environmental authority to confirm how the proposed project is classified, who issues the required certification and which documents apply to your investment structure. Separately examine ownership, permits, ongoing management costs and the commercial risks. Investor-residency approval does not guarantee a timber return or a tax exemption.

The post-July 2026 threshold and incentive questions explained above also need to be addressed for the actual filing date. We have verified the published replacement text, not approved a particular project. Official source: Decree 43926, Articles 7(D) and 31, current version 1 of 1 displayed in PGR on 8 September 2026.

What if benefits were already granted?

Keep the actual approval resolution and the date each benefit was granted. Article 12 provides the ten-year period for qualifying beneficiaries, but restrictions still apply. Transfers of exempt goods and renunciation or cancellation of the qualifying immigration status can have tax consequences under the law. Vehicle transfers have their own cross-referenced rules; do not assume the same calculation applies to every asset.

If you plan to sell a vehicle, transfer property, change status or leave the program, have the approval and proposed transaction reviewed before signing. An existing benefit does not remove ongoing compliance requirements.

Two adults discussing documents at an indoor office table

Before shipping a car or household goods

  1. Locate your residency filing receipt, approval resolution and current immigration identification, as applicable.
  2. Locate the separate exemption request, acknowledgement and approval. Record the dates rather than relying on a verbal assurance.
  3. Ask Hacienda or your customs representative whether the specific goods qualify and what authorization is required before shipment and clearance.
  4. Prepare an inventory, ownership documents and valuation information appropriate to the shipment.
  5. Budget for the ordinary duties, freight, storage, handling and other charges until an exemption and its scope are confirmed.

For practical packing and shipment planning, see shipping household goods to Costa Rica. An exemption from a tax does not mean that freight or every port charge disappears.

Person comparing costs and paperwork at a table

Who should confirm each part?

Article 4 assigns immigration matters to DGME and tax matters to the Ministry of Hacienda. CRIE can help organize the residency side of your case and identify questions that need an official answer. A customs or tax professional should review the exemption and transaction details within their area.

For broader income-tax planning, read taxes for expats in Costa Rica. Immigration residence and tax residence should not be treated as interchangeable.

Official sources and verification

Verification limit: the published law and DGME checklist were checked. No case-specific approval, post-deadline extension notice or administrative ruling for a particular applicant was established in this review.

Scroll to Top