Easily manage employment in

Costa Rica
costa-rica flag

Make employment in Costa Rica easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Costa Rica, all in one easy-to-use platform.

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor Management
  • Capital City

    San José

  • Currency

    Costa Rican colón (₡, CRC)

  • Languages

    Spanish

  • Population size

    5,094,118

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor Management
A crater with a blue lake in the middle.

Facts & Stats

Costa Rica
  • Capital City

    San José

  • Currency

    Costa Rican colón (₡, CRC)

  • Languages

    Spanish

  • Population size

    5,094,118

  • Ease of doing business

    Easy

  • Cost of living index

    50.64 (2021)

  • Payroll frequency

    Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    13%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    2.1 (2019)

The Republic of Costa Rica is a sovereign unitary presidential constitutional republic. The Central American country is recognized within the region for its stable democracy, press freedom, and high per capita income. Costa Rica also registers a strong rating on the human development index compared with Latin American neighbours.

Costa Rica’s economy has witnessed significant strides driven by an educated population, diversification from agriculture, and investment and tax incentives that have earned it the colloquial tag of Switzerland of Central America.

Grow your team in Costa Rica with Remote

Want to hire employees in Costa Rica? Companies hiring in Costa Rica are typically required to either own a local legal entity or work with a global employment platform like Remote that can legally provide employment services in the country.

Remote can employ team members in Costa Rica and keep you compliant. Remote can hire, onboard, and pay your Costa Rica team so you don't have to set up local HR services in the region. Remote also makes it easy to pay contractors in Costa Rica. now to get started or talk to an expert for more details.

Risks of misclassification

Costa Rica, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Costa Rica may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.

An aerial view of a town near the ocean.

Employing in Costa Rica

The Costa Rican Labor Code (Código de Trabajo) is the preeminent statute guiding employment relations and spells out provisions for employee protections and workers’ rights. Employees in Costa Rica enjoy protections against discrimination based on age, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, and race.

Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Costa Rica.

Minimum Wage

In Costa Rica, the monthly minimum wage ranges from CRC 352,165 to non-skilled workers, CRC 415,200 for technician employees, CRC 627,000 for undergraduate employees, and CRC 753,000 for graduated employees.

Payroll Cycle

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

13th Month Salary

Note that a 13th salary or 13th month salary payment in Costa Rica is mandated by law. The 13th salary must be paid by the 20th of December and will be equal to one month’s pay. The payment is commonly known in Costa Rica as Aguinaldo Salary.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in the Costa Rica fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 3 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment. Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.

12 Public holidays

Jan
Monday, January 1, 20241New Year's Day (Año Nuevo)
Mar
Thursday, March 28, 20242Maundy Thursday (Jueves Santo)
Friday, March 29, 20243Good Friday (Viernes Santo)
Apr
Monday, April 15, 20244Battle of Rivas (Batalla de rivas)
May
Wednesday, May 1, 20245Labor Day (Día del Trabajador)
Jul
Thursday, July 25, 20246Annexation of Guanacaste (Anexión de Guanacaste)
Aug
Friday, August 2, 20247Feast of Our Lady of the Angels (Día de la Virgen de los Ángeles)
Thursday, August 15, 20248Mother's Day (Día de la Madre)
Saturday, August 31, 20249Day of the Black Person and Afro-Costa Rican Culture (Día de la Persona Negra y la Cultura Afrocostarricense)
Sep
Sunday, September 15, 202410Independence Day (Día de la Independencia)
Dec
Sunday, December 1, 202411Army Abolition Day (Día de la Abolición del Ejército)
Wednesday, December 25, 202412Christmas Day (Navidad)

Want to see and manage all holidays? Sign up for our free HRIS!

Effortless HR Costa Rica: Take the Tour

Seamlessly manage your workforce, from first hire to final paycheck

Competitive benefits package in Costa Rica

At Remote, we’re passionate about helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in developing globally competitive benefits programs. This means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive, and that your company has the localized expertise needed to attract and keep the best global talent.

Our benefits packages in Costa Rica are tailored to fulfill the local needs of employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance

  • Dental Insurance

  • Vision Insurance

  • Mental Health Support

  • Pension or 401(K)

  • Life and Disability Insurance

Fair Pricing in Costa Rica

Employer of Record

Hire and pay your global team

Starting at $599/month

paid annually, or $699/month paid monthly

Top features

  • Satisfaction guaranteed

  • No deposits or hidden fees

  • Zero onboarding or offboarding fees

  • Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting

  • Built-in security and compliance

  • Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)

  • Flexible, localized benefits

Contractor Management

Compliantly onboard and pay contractors

$29

per contractor/month

Top features

  • Only pay for contractors you actively work with

  • Work with contractors in 200+ countries and territories

  • Create, edit, and sign tailored, localized contracts

  • Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay

  • Transparent payments with complete visibility

Payroll

Consolidate your multi-country payroll

$29

per employee/month

Top features

  • Support: Personalized assistance with a dedicated team and specialists

  • Accuracy: Test runs and parallel pay runs before implementation

  • Compliance: Adhere to local labor laws in every country

  • Timeliness: Accurate and on-time payroll with labor authority reporting handled

  • Experience: Seamless payroll with easy access to payslips and expenses

HR Management

Manage all of your employees in one place

Free

Top features

  • Guided onboarding and offboarding

  • Employee profile and document management

  • Time and attendance (time off and tracking)

  • Expense management and reimbursement

  • Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app