Guatemala taxes income that comes from Guatemala. A pension paid from abroad, dividends from a portfolio held overseas and gains on foreign assets sit outside Guatemalan income tax, even once you live there. Income from Guatemala itself is taxed at low flat rates: 5% or 7% on salaries and most business income, and 10% on most local capital income.
This guide covers Guatemalan personal tax for people moving to or living in Guatemala in the 2026 tax year, which is the calendar year. It also covers the main residence routes for retirees, remote workers and investors.
The key question is simple. Does your income come from Guatemala, or from outside it?
What's changed: Decreto 13-2026, passed by Congress in 2026, changes the deductions for employees. It adds a one-off extra deduction for the 2026 tax year and, from 2027, ties the personal deduction to the minimum wage so that a minimum-wage salary pays no income tax. Check the SAT's guidance for the amounts. The 5% and 7% rates don't change. On the immigration side, a new Regulation on Guatemalan Residences (Acuerdo IGM-016-2025) sets the income tests for pensioners, people living on their own income and migrant workers paid from abroad.
📋 Guatemala tax at a glance for 2026
Topic | Details |
|---|---|
Tax year | The calendar year |
Tax system | Territorial: income from Guatemalan sources is taxed, for residents and non-residents alike |
Employment income | 5% on taxable income up to Q300,000 and 7% above it, after a Q48,000 personal deduction |
All-in on a US$100k salary | About 10.3% (Q765,000, single, including 4.83% IGSS social security) |
Self-employed | Simplified regime: 5% on the first Q30,000 of monthly income and 7% above it, on gross income |
Foreign income | Not taxed, including foreign pensions, dividends, interest and gains |
Local capital income and gains | Mostly 10% |
Residence at a glance | Getting in: mainly more than 183 days in the calendar year. Leaving: tested each year, and we found no exit tax |
Double tax treaties | We found none in force |
US dollar figures use Q7.65 to US$1. The Banco de Guatemala's reference rate was Q7.64572 on 18 October 2026.
👉 Banco de Guatemala: reference exchange rate (in Spanish)
The territorial tax system
Image 1 — Guatemala only taxes income from Guatemala
Guatemala's income tax (Impuesto Sobre la Renta, or ISR) is set by the Tax Update Law, Decreto 10-2012. It taxes income produced in Guatemala, whether the person earning it is resident or not. The SAT, Guatemala's tax authority, splits that income into three groups: business income, employment income and capital income. Each group has its own rates.
Not taxed: a foreign pension, dividends and interest from investments held abroad, rent from a property abroad, and gains on foreign assets.
Taxed: a salary for a job done in Guatemala, fees for work you do in Guatemala, and income and gains from Guatemalan property and investments.
There's no remittance test and no time limit. Foreign income stays outside the tax however long you live in Guatemala, and whether or not you bring the money into the country.
The grey area is remote work. If you work from Guatemala for a foreign employer or foreign clients, the work is physically done in Guatemala, so it can be treated as Guatemalan-source. Get advice before you assume your pay is foreign income.
👉 SAT: the main taxes in Guatemala, including income tax (in Spanish)
When you become tax resident in Guatemala
You're generally treated as tax resident in Guatemala if you spend more than 183 days in the country in a calendar year, whether or not the days are in a row. You can also be treated as resident if your main business or economic interests are in Guatemala, even with fewer days.
Residence matters less here than in most countries, because foreign income isn't taxed either way. It decides how your Guatemalan income is taxed. Residents pay the scales in this guide. Non-residents without a business base in Guatemala are taxed by withholding on their Guatemalan income instead, and if the payer doesn't withhold, they must file and pay the tax themselves.
How you stop being resident
Residence is tested each calendar year, so you stop being resident in a year when you spend 183 days or fewer in Guatemala and your main interests are elsewhere. We found no exit tax for individuals. If another country also treats you as resident, keep proof of where you're resident, because Guatemala has no tax treaty tie-breaker to fall back on.
👉 SAT: tax compliance questions, including non-residents with Guatemalan income (in Spanish)
Income tax rates for 2026
Employment income has its own scale, applied to your annual salary after deductions. Your employer withholds the tax each month.
Guatemala employment income tax rates for 2026
Annual taxable income | Tax |
|---|---|
Up to Q300,000 | 5% |
Over Q300,000 | Q15,000 plus 7% of the amount above Q300,000 |
Source: Ley de Actualización Tributaria, Decreto 10-2012, employment income (rentas del trabajo). Check the SAT's current guidance before you rely on these figures.
Before the rates apply, you deduct:
a personal deduction of Q48,000 a year, with no receipts needed
up to Q12,000 a year for the VAT (IVA) you paid on personal spending, if you keep the invoices and report them
your IGSS social security contributions
for 2026 only, the extra deduction added by Decreto 13-2026
Worked example
You're single and work for a Guatemalan employer in 2026, earning Q765,000 a year (about US$100k).
You pay IGSS social security at 4.83%, which is Q36,950.
After the Q48,000 personal deduction and your IGSS, your taxable income is Q680,051. Your income tax is Q15,000 plus 7% of Q380,051, which is Q41,604.
Your all-in bill is about Q78,553, or 10.3% of your salary. Claiming the full Q12,000 VAT deduction and the one-off 2026 deduction would trim it slightly, to just over 10%. Your employer pays a further 10.67% to the IGSS on top of your salary.
👉 SAT: the Q48,000 personal deduction and the Q12,000 VAT deduction for employees (in Spanish)
Freelancing in Guatemala
Self-employed people and businesses choose between two regimes. Most freelancers use the simplified regime (Régimen Opcional Simplificado), which taxes your gross income, not your profit:
5% on the first Q30,000 of income each month
7% on monthly income above Q30,000
You file and pay monthly on form SAT-1311, within the first 10 working days of the next month. When a business client is a withholding agent, it may withhold the tax for you instead.
On Q765,000 a year (about US$100k), or Q63,750 a month, the tax is Q3,862.50 a month. That's Q46,350 a year, or about 6% of your gross fees.
The other option is the profits regime (Régimen sobre las Utilidades), which taxes your net profit at a higher flat rate, with quarterly payments and an annual return. It suits businesses with high costs, not most freelancers.
You'll usually also need to register for VAT, which is charged at 12%. The SAT has a separate small taxpayer regime for very small businesses.
The usual remote work warning applies. Fees for work you physically do in Guatemala can be Guatemalan-source even if your clients are abroad.
👉 SAT: simplified regime rates, forms and deadlines (in Spanish)
Crypto, investments and pensions
Capital income from Guatemala is taxed separately, at a flat 10% on most interest, rent and capital gains. Dividends from Guatemalan companies are taxed at a lower flat rate, withheld by the company. Capital income tax is generally paid monthly, within the first 10 working days of the following month.
Foreign investments are a different story. Dividends, interest and gains on a portfolio held outside Guatemala aren't Guatemalan-source, so Guatemala doesn't tax them.
Is crypto taxed in Guatemala? There's no crypto tax law and we found no published SAT guidance. Gains on crypto held on foreign exchanges or wallets are generally treated as foreign-source and untaxed. A gain that is Guatemalan-source could fall under the 10% capital gains rate, and trading as a business in Guatemala could be taxed as business income.
Foreign pensions aren't taxed in Guatemala, although the country that pays the pension may tax it. Guatemala has no wealth tax and, since April 2026, no inheritance tax: Decreto 6-2026 repealed the 1947 law that taxed inheritances, legacies and gifts on death (Decreto 431).
👉 Congreso de la República: Decreto 6-2026, repeal of the inheritance tax law (in Spanish)
👉 SAT: the 10% tax on capital income and capital gains (in Spanish)
Social security
The Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social (IGSS) runs social security for employees. Employees pay 4.83% of their salary and employers pay 10.67%, a total of 15.5%. We found no ceiling on the salary it's charged on.
The IGSS is built around employment. We found no compulsory scheme for the self-employed, retirees or people living on their own income, so most foreign residents who aren't employed in Guatemala pay nothing and rely on private health insurance. Former members with at least 12 months of contributions in the last 36 months can carry on paying voluntarily into the pension scheme, at 5.5% of their last salary. That doesn't include medical care.
👉 IGSS: employee and employer contribution rates (in Spanish)
👉 IGSS: voluntary contributions, March 2026 (in Spanish)
Double tax treaties
Does Guatemala have double tax treaties? We found no comprehensive income tax treaty in force. That includes the UK, the United States, Canada and Spain. Guatemala and Mexico signed an income tax treaty, which Mexico's Senate approved in 2017, but we found no record of it coming into force.
The lack of treaties matters less than usual, because Guatemala doesn't tax your foreign income in the first place. It matters more if you earn Guatemalan income that your home country also taxes, because you'll be relying on your home country's own rules for relief.
Residence routes: no nomad visa, but a low bar
Guatemala has no digital nomad visa. Instead, the Guatemalan Institute of Migration (IGM) offers temporary residence in several categories, granted for one to five years. Three suit people moving from abroad:
Guatemala residence routes for 2026
Route | Main requirement | Tax position |
|---|---|---|
Migrant worker, foreign employer | Pay from abroad of at least US$2,000 a month, or US$3,000 with dependants | Taxed normally on Guatemalan-source income; remote work is a grey area |
Pensionado or rentista | Stable foreign income of at least US$1,250 a month, plus US$300 for each dependant | Foreign pension and investment income not taxed |
Investor | An investment of US$100,000 | Guatemalan profits and dividends taxed |
Temporary residence can lead to permanent residence after five years. Pensionados and rentistas with stable foreign income can apply for permanent residence directly. The IGM charges a US$25 application fee, then US$200 for one year of residence, US$300 for two years or US$500 for three to five years in most categories. You also have to register your biometrics within 30 days of approval and update your details every year.
👉 IGM: Regulation on Guatemalan Residences, Acuerdo IGM-016-2025 (in Spanish)
👉 IGM: temporary residence categories, requirements and fees (in Spanish)
Who is Guatemala good for?
How does Guatemala compare for different kinds of mover? Ratings are relative to the 150+ countries TaxPilot covers, based on 2026 rules and the all-in cost including compulsory contributions.
☑️ Who is Guatemala good for? Tax ratings for expats in 2026
Expat profile | Guatemala rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
Employees | Good | About 10.3% all-in on a US$100k salary for a job done in Guatemala: 5% and 7% income tax after the Q48,000 personal deduction, plus 4.83% IGSS social security. It sits just above the 10% line for Excellent. |
Freelancers (self-employed) | Excellent | About 6% of gross fees on US$100k in the simplified regime, which charges 5% on the first Q30,000 of monthly income and 7% above it. We found no compulsory social security for the self-employed. Truly foreign-source fees aren't taxed, but work you physically do in Guatemala can count as local. |
Retirees | Excellent | 0% on a US$40k foreign pension plus US$20k of foreign investment income, because neither comes from Guatemala. There's no wealth tax, and the inheritance tax was abolished from April 2026. |
Crypto gains | Good | No crypto tax law and no published SAT guidance. Gains on crypto held outside Guatemala are generally foreign-source and untaxed. A Guatemalan-source gain could be taxed at 10%. |
Investment income | Excellent | Dividends, interest and gains from a portfolio held outside Guatemala aren't Guatemalan-source, so they aren't taxed. Local capital income and gains are taxed, mostly at 10%. |
Digital nomad visa | Moderate | There's no nomad visa, but temporary residence as a migrant worker for a foreign employer needs only US$2,000 a month from abroad (US$3,000 with family) and lasts one to five years. You're taxed normally on any Guatemalan-source income. |
Filing and deadlines
The tax year runs from 1 January to 31 December.
Employees: your employer withholds the tax each month. Any balance for the year is settled in the first three months of the following year, from 1 January to 31 March. For 2026 that means by 31 March 2027.
Simplified regime: monthly, on form SAT-1311, within the first 10 working days of the following month, plus an annual information return on form SAT-1411.
Profits regime: quarterly payments on form SAT-1361 within the month after each quarter, and an annual return on form SAT-1411.
Capital income: monthly, within the first 10 working days of the following month, unless the tax was withheld.
👉 SAT: filing forms and deadlines (in Spanish)
Frequently asked questions
Does Guatemala tax foreign income?
No. Guatemala taxes income from Guatemalan sources, for residents and non-residents alike. Foreign pensions, dividends, interest and gains on assets held abroad aren't taxed, and there's no remittance test or time limit.
What are the income tax rates in Guatemala in 2026?
Employment income is taxed at 5% on taxable income up to Q300,000 and 7% above it, after a Q48,000 personal deduction. In the simplified regime, self-employed income is taxed at 5% on the first Q30,000 a month and 7% above it. Most local capital income and gains are taxed at 10%.
When do you become tax resident in Guatemala?
Generally when you spend more than 183 days in Guatemala in a calendar year. You can also be treated as resident if your main economic interests are in Guatemala. Residence matters less than elsewhere because foreign income isn't taxed either way.
Is a foreign pension taxed in Guatemala?
No, because it doesn't come from Guatemala. The pensionado residence route needs stable foreign income of at least US$1,250 a month, plus US$300 for each dependant.
Does Guatemala have a digital nomad visa?
No. The closest route is temporary residence as a migrant worker for a foreign employer, which needs pay from abroad of at least US$2,000 a month, or US$3,000 with dependants. It's granted for one to five years.
Does Guatemala have double tax treaties?
We found no comprehensive income tax treaty in force, including with the UK and the United States. Because Guatemala doesn't tax foreign income, this matters mainly if you also earn Guatemalan income.
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Important information
This article is general information and does not constitute tax, legal, immigration or financial advice, and does not create a client relationship. Tax outcomes depend on travel history, income sources, treaty status and the law applying to the relevant year. Rates, thresholds and regimes change, and some measures described may be proposed rather than enacted; this article reflects our understanding as at the date of publication. Obtain advice from a suitably qualified professional before acting or refraining from action.
