Expect to pay more property taxes next year

November 28^th, 2012 (InsideCostaRica.com) Expect to pay more property taxes next year, as tax authorities plan to raise the fiscal value per square meter of homes between 29% and 41%.  This is the value on which property tax is calculated. The adjustment to fiscal values of homes is similar to the recent adjustment that tax authorities made to the value of motor vehicles.

The increase in fiscal value would be applied according to the type of home, and according to parameters established by the General Taxation department (Tributacion, in Spanish). The new values will apply to all homes, though depreciation will be taken into account for existing homes, according to Tributacion.

The fiscal value increase may hit especially hard those who own “gringo-ized,” or luxury homes, as the handbook used to determine value is very detailed and takes into account things such as finishings.

For property that is part of a condominium, the area of each individual property is considered private. The value of all common areas (gardens, pool and barbeque area, etc.) is multiplied by the percentage of proportion assigned to each individual property, according to the property deed. This percentage of value of the common areas is added to the fiscal value of the property in order to obtain the total value.