Guatemala IVA

Section 1 — Quick reference

Quick reference field table

Field	Value
Country	Guatemala
Standard rate	12%
Small taxpayer rate	5% flat (replaces IVA and income tax — separate regime)
Exempt supplies	Unprocessed agricultural products (first sale), generic medicines, agricultural inputs (artisanal), books, medical services, education, financial interest, insurance, residential rental, public transport, electricity/water (domestic)
Return form	SAT-2237
Filing portal	https://portal.sat.gob.gt (Agencia Virtual)
Authority	SAT (Superintendencia de Administracion Tributaria)
Currency	GTQ (Guatemalan Quetzal)
Filing frequency	Monthly
Deadline	Last business day of month following period
Contributor	Open Accountants Skills Registry
Validated by	Pending
Validation date	Pending

Key SAT-2237 lines

Line	Meaning
1	Taxable sales and services (ventas y servicios gravados)
2	Output IVA (debito fiscal) = Line 1 x 12%
3	Exports at 0%
4	Exempt sales
5	Total sales (1+3+4)
6	Reverse charge on imports (auto-declared IVA)
7	Total output IVA (2+6)
8	Input IVA on local purchases
9	Input IVA on imports (customs)
10	Input IVA on expenses/services
11	Total input IVA (8+9+10)
12	Adjustments (blocked/apportioned)
13	Net input IVA (11-12)
14	IVA payable (7-13)
15	Prior credit balance
16	IVA retentions
17	Total payable / carry-forward

Conservative defaults

Ambiguity	Default
Unknown rate on a sale	12%
Unknown IVA status of a purchase	Not deductible
Unknown counterparty country	Domestic Guatemala
Unknown business-use proportion	0% recovery
Unknown blocked-input status	Blocked
Unknown document type	No credit until valid FEL confirmed

Red flag thresholds

Threshold	Value
HIGH single-transaction size	GTQ 50,000
HIGH tax-delta on a single conservative default	GTQ 5,000
MEDIUM counterparty concentration	>40% of output OR input
MEDIUM conservative-default count	>4
LOW absolute net IVA position	GTQ 100,000

Section 2 — Required inputs and refusal catalogue

Required inputs

• Minimum viable input — bank statement for the month. Acceptable from: Banco Industrial, Banrural, BAM, G&T Continental, Banco de los Trabajadores, or any other.
• Recommended input — FEL (Factura Electronica en Linea) documents, constancias de retencion.
• Ideal input — complete Libro de Compras y Ventas, prior SAT-2237, FEL register.

Refusal catalogue

• R-GT-1 — Pequeno Contribuyente — Small taxpayers pay 5% flat tax and do NOT file IVA returns or claim input credits. (Trigger: client is under small taxpayer regime (income up to GTQ 150,000).)
• R-GT-2 — ZOLIC free zone — Free zone benefits require valid authorization. Escalate. (Trigger: client in ZOLIC.)
• R-GT-3 — Partial exemption — Proportional method required. Flag for reviewer. (Trigger: mixed taxable/exempt.)

3.1 Banks

Banks pattern table

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
BANCO INDUSTRIAL, BI	12% for fees; EXCLUDE for interest
BANRURAL, BAM, G&T	Same

3.2 Government (exclude)

Government pattern table

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
SAT, SUPERINTENDENCIA	EXCLUDE	Tax payment
IGSS	EXCLUDE	Social security

3.3 Utilities

Utilities pattern table

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
EEGSA, ENERGUATE	Domestic 12%	Electricity
TIGO, CLARO, MOVISTAR	Domestic 12%	Telecoms
EMPAGUA	Exempt (domestic water)

3.4 SaaS non-resident (reverse charge)

SaaS non-resident pattern table

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, ADOBE, META	Reverse charge 12%	Line 6 output, Line 10 input
ZOOM, SLACK, NOTION, ANTHROPIC, OPENAI	Reverse charge 12%	Same

3.5 Food and entertainment (blocked)

Food and entertainment pattern table

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
PAIZ, WALMART, LA TORRE	Default BLOCK	Personal provisioning
RESTAURANT, RESTAURANTE	Default BLOCK	Entertainment

3.6 Professional services

Professional services pattern table

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
ABOGADO, NOTARIO, CONTADOR	Domestic 12%	Requires valid FEL

3.7 Internal transfers

Internal transfers pattern table

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
TRANSFERENCIA PROPIA	EXCLUDE
PLANILLA, SALARIO	EXCLUDE

Example 1 — Non-resident reverse charge

Input: NOTION LABS INC ; DEBIT ; GTQ 245 Treatment: Reverse charge 12%. Output Line 6. Input Line 10. Net zero.

Example 2 — Standard domestic sale

Input: SA CLIENTE ; CREDIT ; GTQ 112,000 Treatment: Net = 100,000. IVA = 12,000. Line 1/2.

Example 3 — Entertainment, blocked

Input: RESTAURANTE KACAO ; DEBIT ; GTQ 2,240 Treatment: Blocked. No input credit.

Example 4 — Coffee export

Input: US ROASTER INC ; CREDIT ; GTQ 200,000 Treatment: Line 3. Zero-rated. Full input credit.

Example 5 — Motor vehicle, blocked

Input: AUTOMOTRIZ GT ; DEBIT ; Sedan GTQ 150,000 Treatment: Blocked. No input credit.

Example 6 — Purchase without FEL

Input: VENDEDOR X ; handwritten receipt ; IVA GTQ 600 Treatment: NOT deductible. No valid FEL = no credit.

5.1 Standard rate 12% (Decreto 27-92 Art. 10)

• Standard rate default — Default for all taxable supplies. (Decreto 27-92 Art. 10)

5.2 Small taxpayer 5% (Decreto 27-92 Art. 45)

• Small taxpayer flat tax — Flat tax. No IVA charged, no input credits. Buyers get no IVA credit from pequeno contribuyente. (Decreto 27-92 Art. 45)

5.3 Exempt goods (Art. 7)

• Exempt goods — Unprocessed agricultural (first sale), generic medicines, artisanal agricultural inputs, books, live animals (production). (Art. 7)

5.4 Exempt services

• Exempt services — Education, medical, financial interest, insurance, residential rental, public transport, domestic electricity/water.

5.5 Exports

• Exports treatment — Zero-rated. Line 3. Full input credit.

5.6 Reverse charge — non-resident services

• Reverse charge non-resident services — Self-assess 12%. Line 6 output, Line 10 input.

5.7 FEL mandatory electronic invoicing

• FEL mandatory invoicing — All invoices must be FEL-certified. Input IVA only valid with FEL.

5.8 Blocked input IVA (Art. 16, 18)

• Blocked input IVA — Entertainment, motor vehicles, personal use, exempt operations, without valid FEL. (Art. 16, 18)

5.9 Factura Especial (Art. 52)

• Factura Especial — Purchase from unregistered person: buyer issues Factura Especial, self-assesses IVA 12% and ISR 5%. (Art. 52)

5.10 IVA retention regime

• IVA retention regime — Designated agents retain varying percentages of IVA. Credit card processors: 15%. Government: 25%. Exporters: 65%.

6.1 Agricultural first sale

• Agricultural first sale default/question — Default: flag. Question: "Confirm qualifying first sale."

6.2 Real estate

• Real estate default/question — Default: flag. Question: "First sale new construction (12%) or subsequent/bare land (exempt)?"

6.3 Cross-border Central American services

• Cross-border Central American services default/question — Default: flag. Question: "Consumed outside Guatemala? Export?"

6.4 Transport vehicle

• Transport vehicle default/question — Default: flag. Question: "Exclusively for goods/passenger transport business?"

Section 7 — Excel working paper template

Standard layout. Column H accepts SAT-2237 line numbers.

Section 8 — Bank statement reading guide

Format: Banco Industrial CSV, DD/MM/YYYY, GTQ. Language: Spanish.

9.1 Tax regime

• Tax regime inference/fallback — Inference: if filing SAT-2237, Regimen General. Fallback: "Regimen General or Pequeno Contribuyente?"

9.2 NIT

• NIT fallback — Fallback: "What is your NIT?"

9.3 Prior credit

• Prior credit always ask — Always ask: "Prior credit balance? (Line 15)"

Sources

1. Decreto 27-92, Ley del IVA — Articles 3, 7, 10, 16, 18, 37, 45, 48, 52
2. Decreto 10-2012, Ley de Actualizacion Tributaria
3. SAT FEL regulations

Change log

• v2.0 (April 2026): Full rewrite to 10-section architecture.
• v1.0: Initial skill.

Disclaimer

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