Costa Rica
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.
- Capital City
San José
- Currency
Costa Rican colón (₡, CRC)
- Languages
Spanish
- Population size
5,094,118
Facts & Stats
- 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 recognised 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
Looking to employ workers in Costa Rica? Companies hiring in Costa Rica must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.
Remote can employ your team in Costa Rica on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Costa Rica team. You can also pay contractors now in Costa Rica with Remote.
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.
Employing in Costa Rica
The Costa Rican Labour 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 instalments 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.
9 Public holidays
Competitive benefits package in Costa Rica
At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practising “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).
Our benefits packages in Costa Rica are tailored to fulfil the local needs of your 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
Taxes in Costa Rica
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Costa Rica.
30%
Corporate tax rate
9.25%
Health & Maternity
5.25%
Basic Pension Scheme
0.25%
Banco Popular Employer Fee
5.0%
Family Assignations
0.5%
Social Aid: (IMAS)
1.5%
INA
0.25%
Contribution from Banco Popular Employer
3%
Labour Capitalization Fund
0.5%
Complementary Pension Fund
1%
National Insurance Institute
Types of leave
Employees are entitled to two weeks of paid holiday annually once they have worked with an employer for an entire year. Many Costa Rican employers increase the number of allotted days off per year as a benefit for the employee.
Employment termination
Termination process
Employee contracts can be terminated if a just cause is established, such as dishonesty, negligence, fraud, redundance, or any other tangible reasons, with notice provided in advance and stipulated below.
Notice period
Notice periods required under Costa Rican law depend on an employee’s tenure, ranging between 1 week and a month.
0 – 3 months: No notice period
3 – 6 months: 1 week
6 – 12 months: 15 days
1+ year: 1 month
Severance pay
Severance pay entitlements are issued based on an employee’s tenure with the employer.
3 – 6 months: 7 days pay
6 – <12 months: 14 days’ pay
1 year: 19.5 days’ pay
2 years: 20 days’ pay
3 years: 20.5 days’ pay
4 years: 21 days’ pay
5 years: 21.24 days’ pay
6 years: 21.5 days’ pay
7 – 9 years: 22 days’ pay
10 years: 21.5 days’ pay
11 years: 21 days’ pay
12 years: 20.5 days’ pay
13 years: 20 days’ pay
Probation periods
The Probation Period is maximum of 3 months. It is common to apply the maximum probation period to senior roles.
Fair Pricing in Costa Rica
Employer of Record
Hire and pay your global team
Starting at US$599/month
for annual plans
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, localised benefits
Contractor Management
Compliantly onboard and pay contractors
US$29
per contractor/month
Start free trialTop features
Only pay for contractors you actively work with
Work with contractors in 200+ countries
Create, edit, and sign tailored, localised contracts
Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay
Transparent payments with complete visibility
Global Payroll
Consolidate your multi-country payroll
US$50
per employee/month
Top features
Reduce costs by centralising payroll management
Ensure local compliance for every country
Direct support from in-house local payroll experts
Accurate, on-time, compliant payroll to level-up your employee experience
Tax and labour authority reporting handled for you
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