Buying land in Costa Rica through a corporation

Owning in your own name

This is the simplest option. The deed is recorded to you personally, there is nothing to maintain each year beyond property tax, and it is the form the investor residency category generally requires.

The two company types

An S.A. (sociedad anónima) has shareholders and a board. It has long been the usual vehicle for holding property. An S.R.L. (sociedad de responsabilidad limitada) has quota holders and one or more managers, with a simpler structure to run.

Privacy used to be the main argument for a company. Since beneficial-owner reporting became mandatory, the people behind a company are declared to the authorities every year, so that advantage is smaller than it was.

What a company costs each year

A company that only holds land is treated as inactive, and still has obligations:

• The annual corporate tax: ¢69,330 for an inactive company in 2026
• The yearly beneficial-owner declaration
• An annual informative tax return
• A legal representative and a registered address in Costa Rica

When a company helps

Several owners can each hold a share, which is cleaner than putting several names on a deed. It can also make estate planning simpler, because what passes to your heirs is shares in a company and not a registered property; ask an attorney how to set that up. A future sale can sometimes be done by transferring the company, although a careful buyer will want to check its history first.

When it works against you

If you want investor residency, land held by a company generally does not count. If you miss the yearly filings, the company can be fined and eventually dissolved. And for a single inexpensive lot, the yearly cost can be out of proportion to the benefit.

Questions buyers ask