One of the regular blogs I read is Christopher Howard’s Live in Costa Rica (he also does the best relocation tour) and his latest blog post quoted International Living Magazine on Costa Rica being one of the best places in the world to retire on less than $30,000 a year. Read his post or go to the online version of International Living and maybe find it there. And bear in mind that it is still true even with Costa Rica having the highest cost of living in Central America, but right now I don’t think you want to retire in any of the other Central American countries! (Panama being a sometimes exception.) I chose to retire in luxury in Costa Rica over sliding into retirement poverty in the U.S.
Description of 5 Locations in Costa Rica that Retirees Love in an International Living article.
Today’s photo is of a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, the most common in my garden and possibly all over Costa Rica or at least in many of the places I have visited. They are aggressive and chase other species of Hummingbirds away from feeders and even “their” garden sometimes. Thus I have mixed feelings about them! 🙂 ¡Pura Vida!
Curious: How does the income tax in C.R. compare to U.S.A.?
I really enjoy reading your blog each day! Thanks for being disciplined to post.
Larry, for those of us who retire here from the states and live on Social Security and pension/401k, etc there is no income tax. I am a “Pensionado Residencia” that only requires that I bring in at least $1,000 a year from my country of origin and prove it. I do that by having my SS Check deposited in a Costa Rica Bank who tells the government. The only taxes I pay are sales tax on items other than food and import tax on anything I order over the internet and have shipped here.
Now, a person who owns a house pays property tax but everyone says it is miniscule compared to most states in the U.S. And there is a small auto registration fee if you own a car. I have neither of the above.
But if you plan to work or earn a living here and get the more complicated residency, then you have a small income tax to pay but from what I’ve heard it is a fraction of the states’. But the sales tax is high, up to 13% and import taxes can be high depending on the category of merchandise. That is how the government makes money here, and by not spending a fortune on an army! 🙂