Nicaragua Tax Overview

Nicaragua tax system at a glance

Nicaragua operates a territorial tax system administered by the Dirección General de Ingresos (DGI), with income tax (Impuesto sobre la Renta, IR) and a 15% value-added tax (IVA) as the main taxes. The framework is set by Law 822, the Ley de Concertación Tributaria, as amended.

• Tax year — Calendar year (1 January – 31 December); companies may obtain authorisation for a 31 March, 30 June or 30 September year-end (Ley de Concertación Tributaria (Law 822))
• Currency — Nicaraguan córdoba (NIO / C$) (Ley de Concertación Tributaria (Law 822))
• Tax authority — Dirección General de Ingresos (DGI) (Ley de Concertación Tributaria (Law 822))
• Basis of taxation — Territorial — only Nicaraguan-source income (income generated in, or causing effects in, Nicaragua) is taxed; foreign-source income is generally not taxed (Ley de Concertación Tributaria (Law 822))
• Top personal income tax rate (employment/labour income) — 30% percent (Ley de Concertación Tributaria (Law 822))
• Standard corporate income tax rate — 30% of net taxable income (or a 1%–3% definitive minimum tax on gross income, whichever is higher) percent (Ley de Concertación Tributaria (Law 822))
• Value-added tax (IVA) — Yes — standard rate 15%; exports zero-rated percent (Ley de Concertación Tributaria (Law 822))
• Annual individual IR return deadline — Within 90 days after year-end (Form IR-106) (Ley de Concertación Tributaria (Law 822) — Form IR-106)
• Annual corporate IR return deadline — Within 3 months (by 31 March) after a 31 December year-end ((approx — confirm; some guides cite 2 months / 28 February for the IR return)) (Ley de Concertación Tributaria (Law 822))
• Double taxation treaties — Nicaragua has no income tax treaties in force; statutory WHT rates cannot be reduced by treaty (Ley de Concertación Tributaria (Law 822))