U.S. and Costa Rica Tax Support
Two Countries. One Point of Contact. Total Tax Confidence.
Owning property, operating a business, or building a life in Costa Rica can create obligations in both Costa Rica and the United States. Tax Confidence Costa Rica brings the work together, so you do not have to manage separate advisors or wonder whether the pieces fit.
- Coordinated U.S. and Costa Rican compliance
- Costa Rican accounting support through our local team
- Proactive management of recurring filings and deadlines
- Clear explanations in one coordinated relationship
Your financial life is connected. Your advisors should be too.
Many U.S. owners in Costa Rica end up acting as the messenger between professionals in two countries. They receive reports they do not fully understand, answer the same questions twice, and hope that the treatment used in Costa Rica matches what their U.S. tax preparer expects. That creates unnecessary work and uncertainty:
You are unsure who is responsible for local accounting, VAT, income tax, entity filings, or informational returns.
Your U.S. preparer may not understand Costa Rican entities, property operations, or source documents.
Your Costa Rican accountant may not know what information the U.S. return requires.
Different systems, terminology, currencies, and deadlines make it easy for an item to fall through the cracks.
You become the project manager, even though tax coordination is not your job.
We become your tax point person in Costa Rica.
McGowin Tax coordinates the U.S. and Costa Rican sides of your engagement. You have one primary relationship, one team that understands the full picture, and a coordinated process for gathering information, completing filings, answering questions, and addressing issues before they become surprises.
The promise is simple You should not have to understand two professional systems in order to be confident that your obligations are being handled.
What is included
United States
U.S. federal and applicable state income tax returns
FBAR and applicable foreign financial asset reporting
Applicable foreign entity reporting, quoted according to complexity
Reporting of Costa Rican rental, business, investment, and entity activity
Foreign tax credit and cross-border tax coordination
Costa Rica
Ongoing or periodic bookkeeping for the covered Costa Rican entity or rental activity
Costa Rican income tax filings applicable to the agreed activity
VAT filings and related compliance, when applicable
Required recurring informational or entity filings within the agreed scope
Accounting reports needed for U.S. tax preparation
Coordination
A dedicated McGowin Tax point of contact
Direct coordination with the Costa Rican accounting team
Shared information-gathering and deadline management
Review of cross-border inconsistencies or missing information
Year-round support for ordinary questions within scope
Advance discussion of significant changes, such as purchasing another property, beginning rentals, changing ownership, or restructuring an entity
Available as needed
Costa Rican legal, immigration, and notarial work; property management, guest funds, rent collection, and bill payment; entity formations, reorganizations, and U.S. classification elections; payroll and employee compliance; formal valuations, legal opinions, and transfer-pricing studies; and compliance in other countries are quoted separately or arranged through our Professional Rolodex.
Membership
- Includes
- Every Tax Confidence benefit.
- Community
- The Expat Tax Coach Community on Circle.
- Network
- The Professional Rolodex: trusted providers for work outside the package.
Who This Package Is Built For
Tax Confidence Costa Rica is designed for U.S. persons who:
- Own or are purchasing Costa Rican real estate
- Hold property through a Costa Rican SRL or SA
- Earn or plan to earn short-term or long-term rental income
- Own or operate a Costa Rican business
- Have Costa Rican entities or commercial activity that must be coordinated with U.S. reporting
- Need help coordinating Costa Rican books and filings with their U.S. return
- Are relocating to Costa Rica or splitting time between the two countries
- Want a premium, coordinated service rather than finding and supervising separate providers
Not the right fit
- Someone looking only for the lowest-cost local bookkeeping option
- A person who wants separate providers and prefers to coordinate the work personally
- Someone seeking Costa Rican legal or property-management services rather than tax and accounting coordination
A relationship that runs all year
A filing is one date on the calendar. We coordinate with everyone else involved in your finances and plan around every date that matters, so nothing lands as a surprise.
Costa Rican accounting team
Local books, recurring Costa Rican filings, and the reports your U.S. return needs.
U.S. federal and state
Your returns and international disclosures, prepared from the coordinated records.
Your other professionals
Lawyers, property managers, and specialists, when your activity calls for them.
The standard due date for individual returns and the FBAR, plus the first estimated payment.
Federal dates. They move to the next business day when they fall on a weekend or holiday.
How It Works
Step 1: Cross-border discovery
We identify the client, entities, properties, activities, filing obligations, and existing advisors in both countries.
Step 2: Coordinated onboarding
The client receives a unified document request and a clear responsibility map.
Step 3: Costa Rican accounting and compliance
The local team maintains the agreed records and completes applicable Costa Rican filings.
Step 4: U.S. tax preparation
McGowin Tax uses the coordinated records to prepare the U.S. return and international disclosures.
Step 5: Review and explanation
We explain the important positions, taxes, and next steps before filings are finalized.
Step 6: Year-round support
We track recurring obligations and remain available for ordinary questions and planning conversations.
Your Team
Alex McGowin
Your point of contact
Alex leads every Tax Confidence Costa Rica engagement and is your one point of contact. He coordinates the Costa Rican accounting team, prepares the U.S. side of your filings, and explains how the two systems treat your property, entities, and income.
Costa Rican accounting team
Our local team maintains the agreed Costa Rican records and completes the applicable Costa Rican filings, coordinated through McGowin Tax so you are not managing two firms.
Your Questions, Answered
No. We coordinate the Costa Rican accounting and tax work included in your engagement, while remaining your primary point of contact.
Stop Managing Two Countries on Your Own
Two countries, two accounting teams, and two sets of deadlines. We coordinate your U.S. tax work, Costa Rican accounting and tax filings, and year-round questions through one trusted point of contact.