Taxation in Colombia

See Government of Colombia for a broader perspective of Colombian government.

Taxation in Colombia is determined by the Congress of Colombia, every Department Assembly and every City Council, which determine what kind of taxes can be levied and which rates can be applied. The country inherited a harsh and diffused taxation policy from the Spanish Empire characterized by a heavy reliance on customs duties.

National taxes

National taxes are administered by the National Taxes and Customs Direction (DIAN).[1] Some of these taxes include:

IVA

The value-added tax (IVA) is the main indirect tax. This tax is 16 percent of the price of merchandise, goods and services with some exceptions: public transportation, water supply and sanitation and the transportation of natural gas and hydrocarbons. The DIAN recognizes two separate categories (regimenes) of IVA: common and simplified. The first refers to businesses with estimated patrimony over 68 million Colombian pesos (about 34,000 USD), and the second refers to those with patrimony less than that. Although both are obligated to pay the same percentage, the simplified taxpayers are not obligated to conduct separate bookkeeping for the IVA or to generate invoices.

Stamp tax

The stamp tax (Spanish: impuesto de timbre) is a tax on the expedition of an official document (or on the validity of private documents), such as a contract or contractual modification.

Financial transactions tax

A 0.4% tax rate is imposed on all financial transactions, including withdraw money from ATM, promissory notes, wire transfers, internet banking, bank drafts and bank checks, money on term deposit, overdrafts, installment loans, securities underwriting commitments and other forms of off-balance sheet exposures, safekeeping of documents and other items in safe deposit boxes, currency exchange or unit trusts.

Patrimony tax

This tax requires the annual payment of 0.3% of the total patrimony of people with patrimony estimated over 3 billion pesos (about 1 million USD).

Income tax

The table below shows the tax rate in units of UVT (Unidad de Valor Tributario), in which 1 UVT = $29,753 COP for 2016.[3]

Income Range in UVT[4] Tax Rate
0 to 1,400 0%
>1,400 to 1,700 19%
>1,700 to 4,100 28%
>4,100 33%

Local taxes

This group of taxes includes:

References

  1. DIAN National Tax and Customs Direction
  2. Estatuto Tributario colombiano. Art. 240, Estatuto Tributario Nacional
  3. "DIAN - Resolución 115, 6 November 2015: .
  4. UVT means "Unidad de Valor Tributario" - Tax Value Unit. Instead of setting a range in Colombian pesos, DIAN has a UVT value that is updated at least every year.

External links

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