Colombia Cross Border

General reference only. This skill is general tax/accounting reference material for AI-assisted workflows. It has not been reviewed for any specific person's facts, documents, elections, deadlines, residency, filing status, or local procedures. Do not rely on it to file, pay, amend, or take a tax position without review by a qualified professional in the relevant jurisdiction.

Year. Año gravable 2026 (calendar year). Withholding is monthly; thresholds are in UVT, and one UVT in 2026 is COP 52,374 (DIAN Resolución 000238 of 15 December 2025).

Which law. The Estatuto Tributario (ET) as consolidated on the Senate's official site (last updated there 15 October 2026), arts. 20-1 to 20-3, 24, 121, 122, 124, 240, 245, 247, 254, 406 to 409 and 592, and the Decreto Único Reglamentario 1625 de 2016 (DUR) on DIAN's normograma. Treaties prevail where they apply (arts. 20-1 and 20-3 par. 4).

Related Colombia skills, linked rather than repeated:

• co-corporate-income-tax: the 35% corporate rate, dividends between Colombian companies (art. 242-1) and the Form 110 return.
• colombia-income-tax: residence of individuals (art. 10) and resident taxation of foreign income.
• colombia-transfer-pricing: pricing of transactions with related parties abroad.
• co-vat-return: IVA on services from abroad and digital services, which is separate from the income tax rules here.

Who this applies to

• Colombian payers (companies, individuals who are withholding agents, branches) that pay or credit Colombian-source income to foreign companies or entities without domicile in Colombia, non-resident foreign individuals, or estates of non-resident foreigners (art. 406). They withhold, file and pay.
• Non-residents with Colombian-source income: taxed only on that income, mostly through withholding. A non-resident whose entire income bore the withholding of arts. 407 to 411 (and any remittance withholding) does not file a return (art. 592(2)).
• Foreign companies with a permanent establishment or branch in Colombia: taxpayers on the Colombian-source income attributable to it (art. 20-2).
• Foreign sellers with significant economic presence (SEP) selling goods or digital services to customers in Colombia (art. 20-3).
• Colombian residents with foreign income: the foreign tax credit (art. 254).
• Out of scope: CFC rules (ECE), indirect transfers of Colombian assets, the foreign-assets return, the wealth tax, treaty-by-treaty rates, and IVA.

Rates, bands and thresholds

Item	Rate	Year	Source URL
UVT	COP 52,374	2026	https://normograma.dian.gov.co/dian/compilacion/docs/resolucion_dian_0238_2025.htm
Interest, commissions, fees, royalties, rents, personal services, industrial property, know-how, services, literary and artistic royalties, films, software, paid to non-residents	20% of the nominal payment (art. 408)	2026	http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/estatuto_tributario_pr016.html
Consulting, technical services and technical assistance by non-residents, in Colombia or from abroad	20% (art. 408)	2026	same
Interest on foreign loans of 1 year or more; interest or financial cost in leasing with foreign companies	15% on the interest or financial cost (art. 408)	2026	same
Leasing of ships, helicopters, aircraft and their parts with foreign companies	1% (art. 408)	2026	same
Interest on loans of 8 years or more for public-private infrastructure (Ley 1508 de 2012)	5% (art. 408)	2026	same
Reinsurance premiums ceded to non-residents	1% (art. 408)	2026	same
Management or direction fees (art. 124) to non-residents	33% (art. 408)	2026	same
Sales of goods and services by non-residents with SEP to customers in Colombia, not covered above	10% of the total payment (art. 408, inciso 8); withheld by card issuers, payment gateways and other agents DIAN names (par. 2)	2026	same
Any taxable payment to a resident of a non-cooperative or low or no tax jurisdiction, or to a preferential regime	the general corporate rate, 35% (art. 408 par.; art. 240)	2026	same; http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/estatuto_tributario_pr010.html
Dividends to foreign companies, non-resident individuals and non-resident estates	20%, withheld on the gross payment (art. 245 and par. 2)	2026	http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/estatuto_tributario_pr010.html
Dividends from profits that would have been taxed in the hands of a Colombian company (untaxed profits under arts. 48, 49)	the art. 240 rate (35%) first, then 20% on the remainder (art. 245 par. 1)	2026	same
Non-resident individuals, Colombian-source taxable income	35% flat (art. 247)	2026	same
Foreign professors hired for up to 182 days by Colombian higher-education institutions	7%, withheld (art. 247 par.)	2026	same
SEP: gross income test	31,300 UVT (COP 1,639,306,200) or more from customers in Colombia in the prior or current year, with deliberate and systematic interaction (art. 20-3(1))	2026	http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/estatuto_tributario.html
SEP: presumption of interaction	300,000 or more customers or users in Colombia, or prices shown or payment allowed in COP (art. 20-3 par. 1)	2026	same
SEP: optional filing rate	3% of all gross income from goods and digital services sold to users in Colombia, on the income tax form; the 10% withholding can then be switched off on request (art. 20-3 par. 2)	2026	same
Payments abroad without withholding duty: cap on deduction	15% of net income before those costs (art. 122)	2026	http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/estatuto_tributario_pr005.html

The base

Colombian-source income (art. 24). Income from exploiting goods in Colombia and services performed in Colombia, permanently or not, with or without an establishment, and gains on goods located in Colombia when sold. It includes rents and gains on Colombian real estate; interest on credits held in or economically linked to Colombia (except short-term import credits and overdrafts); work performed in Colombia; royalties and know-how, and technical assistance and technical services even when supplied from abroad (nums. 7 and 8); dividends from Colombian companies; turnkey contracts (the whole contract value); reinsurance ceded abroad; and SEP sales to customers in Colombia (num. 17).

Withholding, step by step (art. 406 ff.).

1. Is the recipient a foreign company or entity without domicile in Colombia, or a non-resident foreign individual? If not, use domestic withholding.
2. Is the payment Colombian-source income (art. 24)? If not, no withholding.
3. Is the recipient in a non-cooperative, low-tax jurisdiction or preferential regime? Then 35% on any taxable payment (art. 408 par.).
4. Otherwise, find the concept in art. 408 (or art. 245 for dividends) and apply the rate to the gross amount.
5. Check whether a treaty in force with the recipient's country lowers the rate (see Cross-border points).
6. Declare and pay in the monthly Form 350 (section "Pagos exterior") by the NIT date (see Deadlines and filing).

Dividends (art. 245). The 20% rate applies to dividends from profits that were taxed at company level. For the part of a dividend paid from profits not taxed at company level (determined under arts. 48 and 49), the art. 240 corporate rate (35%) applies first, and the 20% then applies to what is left after that tax. Dividends from a Colombian company to another Colombian company follow art. 242-1 (see co-corporate-income-tax).

Permanent establishment (art. 20-1). A fixed place of business in Colombia through which a foreign enterprise or non-resident carries on all or part of its business: branches, agencies, offices, factories, workshops, mines, quarries, oil and gas wells. A dependent agent who habitually concludes binding contracts also creates a PE. No PE through a genuinely independent broker or agent acting in the ordinary course (unless it works almost only for the enterprise on non-arm's-length terms), for purely auxiliary or preparatory activity, or for representative offices of foreign reinsurers. Attribution (art. 20-2): the PE or branch is taxed on the Colombian-source income attributable to it, by functions, assets, risks and personnel, with separate accounts backed by a study of those factors; the corporate rate is 35% (art. 240).

Significant economic presence (art. 20-3). A non-resident selling goods or the listed digital services (online advertising, digital content, streaming, data monetisation, intermediation platforms, digital subscriptions, cloud and data hosting, search engines and software, intangibles, and other digital services) to customers in Colombia is taxable if it interacts deliberately and systematically with the Colombian market and earns 31,300 UVT or more from Colombian customers in the prior or current year. The test is applied on an aggregated basis for related parties (par. 3). Treaties prevail (par. 4). The default is 10% withholding by the payer or payment intermediary (art. 408); the non-resident may instead file and pay 3% of all gross income from Colombian users (par. 2). SEP non-residents have no other formal duties of residents (par. 7). In force since 1 January 2024 (par. 8).

Deducting payments abroad (arts. 121, 122, 124). A payment abroad is deductible only if tax was withheld where it is taxable income for the recipient in Colombia (art. 121). Costs abroad on which no withholding is due are capped at 15% of net income before those costs, except purchases of tangible goods, payments under legal obligations and the other cases listed (art. 122). Management fees and intangibles paid by a Colombian subsidiary or branch to its foreign head office are deductible only with withholding (art. 124).

Foreign tax credit for residents (art. 254). Foreign income tax on foreign-source income is credited up to the Colombian tax on that income, computed net of its costs. For dividends from foreign companies held directly as fixed assets, the credit is the dividend times the effective tax rate of the profits that paid it, plus any withholding on the dividend, capped at the Colombian tax on it, and proved with a foreign tax certificate and an auditor's certificate. See co-corporate-income-tax for where it goes on Form 110.

Deadlines and filing

What	When	How	Source
Withholding on payments abroad	monthly, with all other withholding: by the 7th to 16th business day of the next month by the last digit of the payer's NIT (1: 7th ... 0: 16th); December's in January	Form 350, section "Pagos exterior" on page two (DIAN Resolución 000031 de 2024, art. 1 par. 2)	DUR art. 1.6.1.13.2.33
Non-resident taxed fully by withholding	no return	none	art. 592(2)
PE or branch	yearly income tax return, as for companies	Form 110; see co-corporate-income-tax	art. 20-2
SEP non-resident choosing 3%	on the income tax form	return; may ask for the 10% withholding not to apply	art. 20-3 par. 2

Penalties and interest

• No withholding made: the payment abroad is not deductible (arts. 121, 124). The withholding agent's own liability for tax not withheld is outside this skill (see Not yet confirmed).
• Late Form 350 or late payment: the general late filing penalty (art. 641) and late payment interest (arts. 634, 635), as set out in co-corporate-income-tax.
• Inaccuracy: art. 648, same skill.

Cross-border points

• Treaties. Arts. 20-1 and 20-3 apply "sin perjuicio" of the double tax treaties Colombia has signed; a treaty in force with the recipient's country can reduce or remove the art. 408 and art. 245 rates and narrow the PE and SEP rules. Get the recipient's tax residence certificate and read the treaty's dividend, interest, royalty, business profits and PE articles before applying a lower rate. This skill does not list treaties or their rates.
• Mutual agreement and corresponding adjustments (art. 260-6): see colombia-transfer-pricing.
• Becoming or ceasing to be resident: art. 10, in colombia-income-tax.

Two worked examples that recompute

Example 1: a Colombian SAS pays its foreign parent

Montaña SAS pays its parent, a company in a country with no treaty with Colombia and not on the tax-haven list, during 2026: technical assistance COP 100,000,000; interest of COP 50,000,000 on a 3-year loan; management fees COP 30,000,000; and a dividend of COP 1,000,000,000, of which COP 600,000,000 comes from taxed profits and COP 400,000,000 from profits not taxed at company level (art. 49).

• Technical assistance: 20% = 20,000,000.
• Interest on a loan of a year or more: 15% = 7,500,000.
• Management fees: 33% = 9,900,000.
• Dividend from taxed profits: 20% x 600,000,000 = 120,000,000.
• Dividend from untaxed profits: 35% x 400,000,000 = 140,000,000; then 20% x 260,000,000 = 52,000,000; total 192,000,000.
• Total withheld: COP 349,400,000, declared on Form 350 ("Pagos exterior") in the month of each payment or credit.

name: CO cross-border 2026, outbound payments to a non-treaty parent
inputs:
  technical: 100000000
  interest: 50000000
  management: 30000000
  div_taxed: 600000000
  div_untaxed: 400000000
steps:
  - wht_technical: technical * 0.20
  - wht_interest: interest * 0.15
  - wht_management: management * 0.33
  - wht_div_taxed: div_taxed * 0.20
  - first_35: div_untaxed * 0.35
  - wht_div_untaxed: first_35 + (div_untaxed - first_35) * 0.20
  - total: wht_technical + wht_interest + wht_management + wht_div_taxed + wht_div_untaxed
expected:
  wht_technical: 20000000
  wht_interest: 7500000
  wht_management: 9900000
  wht_div_taxed: 120000000
  wht_div_untaxed: 192000000
  total: 349400000

Example 2: a foreign streaming service, 10% withholding or the 3% return (a decision)

A non-resident streaming company, no PE in Colombia, prices in COP and earns COP 5,000,000,000 in 2026 from Colombian subscribers, collected through card issuers and payment gateways. Its home country has no treaty with Colombia.

• SEP test: 5,000,000,000 is above 31,300 UVT (COP 1,639,306,200), and showing prices in COP is presumed deliberate and systematic interaction. It is taxable under art. 20-3.
• Option A, default: 10% withheld by the card issuers and gateways = COP 500,000,000.
• Option B, elect to file: 3% of gross income from Colombian users = COP 150,000,000, on the income tax form, after asking that the 10% withholding not be applied.
• What decides it: the 3% option costs COP 350,000,000 less on these figures, against the cost of filing a Colombian return. Withholding already suffered before the request is a separate question (see Not yet confirmed).

name: CO cross-border 2026, SEP streaming, 10% withholding or 3% election
inputs:
  uvt: 52374
  gross_colombia: 5000000000
steps:
  - sep_threshold: 31300 * uvt
  - margin_over_threshold: gross_colombia - sep_threshold
  - option_withholding: gross_colombia * 0.10
  - option_3pct: gross_colombia * 0.03
  - saving: option_withholding - option_3pct
expected:
  sep_threshold: 1639306200
  margin_over_threshold: 3360693800
  option_withholding: 500000000
  option_3pct: 150000000
  saving: 350000000

Ask the client first

1. Who is paid: a company or an individual, resident where, with or without a PE or branch in Colombia, and is the country on Colombia's list of non-cooperative or low-tax jurisdictions?
2. What is paid, exactly: services (technical or not, performed where), interest (loan term), royalties, rent, management fees, dividends (taxed or untaxed profits under art. 49), or sales of goods or digital services.
3. Is there a treaty in force with the recipient's country, and does the recipient hold a tax residence certificate?
4. For a foreign seller: Colombian gross income in 2025 and 2026, number of Colombian users, and whether prices or payment are in COP.
5. The payer's NIT (Form 350 dates) and whether the payment is to a related party (transfer pricing).
6. For a resident with foreign income: the foreign tax paid, the certificates, and for foreign dividends, the holding and the foreign company's effective rate.

Sources

Source	URL	Read on
DIAN Resolución 000238 de 2025 (UVT 2026 = COP 52,374)	https://normograma.dian.gov.co/dian/compilacion/docs/resolucion_dian_0238_2025.htm	2026-11-11
Estatuto Tributario arts. 20-1, 20-2, 20-3 (PE, branches, SEP), Senate consolidated text updated 15 Oct 2026	http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/estatuto_tributario.html	2026-11-11
ET art. 24 (Colombian-source income)	http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/estatuto_tributario_pr001.html	2026-11-11
ET arts. 121, 122, 124 (payments abroad)	http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/estatuto_tributario_pr005.html	2026-11-11
ET arts. 240, 245, 247, 254 (corporate rate, dividends, non-resident individuals, foreign tax credit)	http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/estatuto_tributario_pr010.html	2026-11-11
ET arts. 406, 407, 408, 409 (withholding on payments to non-residents)	http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/estatuto_tributario_pr016.html	2026-11-11
ET art. 592 (who need not file)	http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/estatuto_tributario_pr024.html	2026-11-11
DUR 1625 de 2016, art. 1.6.1.13.2.33 (Form 350 dates), DIAN normograma	https://normograma.dian.gov.co/dian/compilacion/docs/decreto_1625_2016.htm	2026-11-11
DIAN Resolución 000031 de 2024, art. 1 and par. 2 (Form 350, "Pagos exterior")	https://normograma.dian.gov.co/dian/compilacion/docs/resolucion_dian_0031_2024.htm	2026-11-11

Not yet confirmed: the list of double tax treaties in force and their rates (DIAN's treaty page was not read); the current list of non-cooperative and low-tax jurisdictions (DUR art. 1.2.2.5.1); how the 10% SEP withholding already suffered is credited when the 3% option is chosen, and the DUR rules on the SEP return and its dates; the "remesas" tax mentioned in arts. 124 and 592 (it is noted on the page as a former tax); art. 409's 4-month rule for foreign professors against art. 247's 182 days (both appear on the page; this skill uses art. 247); the Andean Community regime (Decisión 578); the withholding agent's liability for tax not withheld; the art. 49 calculation of the untaxed part of a dividend.