On 14 July 2026, the five years that Costa Rica’s Ley 9996 gave new investors, rentistas and pensionados to claim its tax incentives ran out. The law, in force since 14 July 2021, had also lowered the investment needed for residency from US$200,000 to US$150,000. Eleven weeks after the deadline, the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería still lists US$150,000 on its requirements page, and no official body has said in writing which figure now applies.

Owning a house in Costa Rica does not by itself give anyone the right to live there. It can, however, be the investment behind one of three temporary residency categories that suit people who buy on this coast.

Three categories, three different proofs

Costa Rica’s migration law, Ley 8764, sets out the categories; Migración’s requirements page, checked on 30 September 2026, gives the current figures.

An inversionista (investor) must show an investment in Costa Rica of not less than US$150,000, in real estate, registrable movable property, shares, securities, productive projects, projects of national interest, venture capital funds or sustainable tourism infrastructure. A house bought on the south Caribbean coast qualifies as real estate. The category is granted for two years and renewable for the same period, and before each renewal the holder must show that the investment has been kept continuously since residency was granted. Selling the house removes the investment a renewal has to show. Investors and their dependants may not take paid work, manual or intellectual, under article 13 of the law’s regulation.

A rentista must show, with a document from a competent authority, a stable and permanent income of at least US$2,500 a month for no less than two years. A pensionado must show a lifetime pension of at least US$1,000 a month. Neither of these needs a property purchase; a buyer whose income or pension meets the threshold can qualify without tying the residency to the house.

In each category a spouse, minor children and some dependent adult children can be included in the application. Every first application also carries a US$50 fee, along with a birth certificate and a criminal-record certificate from the country of origin, both legalised or apostilled.

What Ley 9996 did, and what closed

The Ley para la Atracción de Inversionistas, Rentistas y Pensionados, Ley 9996, was signed on 5 July 2021 and published on 14 July 2021. Article 5 gave residents in the three categories a set of incentives:

  • a one-time exemption from import duties on household goods;
  • the import of up to two vehicles, by land, air or sea, free of import duties and value-added tax;
  • an exemption from income tax on the income declared to qualify (Costa Rican income from investments in the country stays taxable);
  • a 20 percent reduction of the transfer tax on real estate bought while the law was in force, provided the beneficiary is the registered owner;
  • duty-free import of tools and materials for professional or scientific work.

Article 12 limits who can claim them. New applicants could opt for the article 5 incentives only during the first five years after the law took effect, so until 14 July 2026. Those who obtained them in that window keep them for ten years from the date they were granted.

The law’s regulation, executive decree 43926-MGP-H-TUR of February 2023, adds a condition that decided many cases: under article 18, an exemption could only be requested by someone whose residency as investor, rentista or pensionado was already approved and in force (autorizado y vigente). A residency application still being processed on 14 July 2026 did not qualify. Goods imported under the exemption have to be kept for at least ten years. A buyer who closes now pays the full 1.5 percent transfer tax described in the closing costs guide.

The US$150,000 question

Article 8 of Ley 9996 set the investor minimum at US$150,000 “por el plazo que establece la presente ley”, for the period the law establishes. In an analysis dated 25 August 2026, the Costa Rican lawyer Ramón Yglesias Piza notes that the older US$200,000 figure comes not from a statute but from the migration regulation, executive decree 37112-GOB.

Article 4 of the regulation repeats the US$150,000 minimum and, unlike the law, attaches no deadline to it.

That leaves two readings. One holds that the lower figure lapsed with the five-year window and the regulation’s US$200,000 applies again. The other points out that article 12’s deadline mentions only the article 5 incentives, not the investment amount. Yglesias Piza wrote that no official body had answered the question expressly. CRIE, an immigration consultancy, reported on 8 September 2026 that Migración’s checklist still showed US$150,000, which was still the case on 30 September. A published checklist is not a ruling, and Migración could resolve applications differently.

What it means for a buyer

For someone buying a house on this coast with residency in mind, the property can carry an investor application, but the amount to plan for is uncertain until Migración or a court settles it. A purchase between US$150,000 and US$200,000 is the range where the two readings give different answers. A purchase above US$200,000 meets either one. A buyer who qualifies as a rentista or pensionado avoids the question entirely, at the cost of tying residency to income rather than to the house. Whichever category applies, the tax incentives of 2021 are no longer available to new applicants.

Before an offer

  • Decide which category fits before choosing a property, since only the investor route depends on the purchase price.
  • If the investor route is the plan and the price is under US$200,000, ask Migración in writing which minimum it will apply, and keep the answer with the file.
  • Keep the deed, the registry record and the transfer documents together; renewals ask for proof that the investment has been held without interruption.
  • Order the birth and criminal-record certificates early, since they come from the country of origin.

This is general information, not legal advice. A Costa Rican immigration lawyer can say which category fits a particular buyer and how Migración is resolving investor files at the time of application.

Sources