Costa Rica country guide

Learn about cross-border ecommerce, shipping, and importing.

If you are looking to grow your ecommerce business into Costa Rica, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about selling goods into Costa Rica.

Ease of importing goods score: C

Ease of doing business 3/5

Costa Rica’s educated labor force, low levels of corruption, proximity to the U.S., and free trade zone offer a strong market for retailers to do business.
Costa Rica’s lacking infrastructure and fiscal deficit hinder the ease of doing business.

Landed cost fairness 3/5

The duty and tax rates are reasonable.
Costa Rica’s duty and tax de minimis are both low, so most imports will have duty and/or tax charges, which can result in a relatively high landed cost.

Flexibility of legal regulations 3/5

Costa Rican customs procedures are complex and bureaucratic, but improvements are being put in place.

Availability and accessibility of shipping 5/5

Most major carriers ship to Costa Rica, and its close proximity to the United States (U.S.) allows for easier shipping.

Accessibility and variety of payment method 5/5

Costa Rica accepts a variety of online payment methods, such as credit/debit cards, ewallets, PayPal, and bank transfers.

Market opportunity 4/5

The immature state of Costa Rica’s economic framework creates an unfavorable market.
Costa Rica’s geographic proximity to the U.S. presents a large market of potential consumers.
Costa Rica’s high percentage of internet users gives sellers the potential for high ecommerce success.

Key stats for Costa Rica


Population	5.21 million (2023)
GDP	$68.5 billion USD (2022)
GDP per capita	12,894 USD (2022)
Internet penetration	81.6% of the population use the internet (2022)
Ecommerce users	45% of the population shop online (2022)
Leading product categories	Entertainment, electronics and IT, clothing, shoes, and jewelry
Preferred online payment method(s)	Credit or debit cards, ewallets, PayPal, and bank transfers
Languages	Spanish and English
Currency	Costa Rican colón/CRC/₡

Landed cost for Costa Rica

The landed cost for a cross-border transaction includes all duties, taxes, and fees associated with the purchase. This includes:

Product price
Shipping
Duties
Taxes
Fees (currency conversion, carrier, broker, customs, or government fees)

Costa Rica de minimis, tax, and duty

CIF: CIF (cost, insurance, freight) is a method for calculating import taxes or duties, where the tax is calculated on the cost of the order plus the cost of freight, and insurance.

Further explanation of duty, tax, and de minimis is provided below

De minimis

Duty and tax will be charged only on imports into Costa Rica where the total CIF value of the import exceeds Costa Rica’s minimum value threshold (de minimis), which is 50 USD. Anything under the tax de minimis value will be considered a tax-free import, and anything under the duty de minimis value will be considered a duty-free import.

Duty and tax de minimis: 50 USD

Applied to the CIF value of the order

Import tax

Value-added tax (VAT)

The standard VAT rate is 13%; it is applied to the CIF value of the order. There are certain items that are exempt from the VAT, such as staple foods, school uniforms, etc.

Standard rate: 13%

Applied to the CIF value of the order

Import duty

Costa Rica’s import duty ranges from 1-15%. The average duty rate is 5.6%. The Costa Rican Government has been lowering duty charges over recent years.

Range of duty rates:

Range of average duty rates: 1-15%
Average rate: 5.6%

Applied to the CIF value of the order

Import fees

Other import fees:

Excise tax: Some imports incur an excise tax. These items include wine and beer, new and used vehicles, and some appliances.

Surcharge: Certain imports can also incur a surcharge from Costa Rica’s Central Bank (Banco Central de Costa Rica). However, surcharges are usually only on goods that are also manufactured in Costa Rica or in other parts of Central America.

Trade Agreements

Costa Rica has at least 15 trade agreements that offer a zero or highly discounted duty rate for goods manufactured in participating countries.

Costa Rica is a member of the World Trade Organization

As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Costa Rica must abide by the most-favored-nation (MFN) clause, which requires a country to provide any concessions, privileges, or immunities granted to one nation in a trade agreement to all other WTO member countries. For example, if one country reduces duties by 10% for a particular WTO country, the MFN clause states that all WTO members will receive the same 10% reduction.

Landed cost examples

Below are sample landed cost breakdowns for Costa Rica (one below the de minimis threshold and one above), which were calculated using Zonos Quoter:

Shipment to Costa Rica below the de minimis value

Shipment to Costa Rica above the de minimis value

Costa Rica landed quote shipment below de
minimis

Customs resources

Costa Rica’s Customs authority:

Customs refund in Costa Rica:

Note: Talk to your carrier about customs refunds.

Shipping and compliance

Top courier services

DHL
FedEx
UPS
Correos de Costa Rica
Skypostal

Courier fees

Depending on the courier, additional shipping fees may include:

Tracking
Insurance
Fuel surcharge
Remote delivery charge
Signature fee
Overweight or oversized fee
Special handling fee
Dangerous goods fee
etc.

Documentation and paperwork

Prohibited, restricted, and controlled imports into Costa Rica

Government agencies regulate imports.

Restricted items are different from prohibited items. Prohibited items are not allowed to be imported into a country at all. Restricted items are not allowed to be imported into a country unless the importer has approval or a special license. Controlled goods have military or national security significance.

Prohibited items: