El Salvador tax
Tax residence: More than 200 days in calendar year. 2 special regimes for new residents: Foreign-source income excluded from taxable income and Foreign-source income excluded from income.
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Tax residence
- More than 200 days in calendar year · Natural persons residing temporarily or permanently in the country for more than 200 consecutive days in a calendar year are domiciled for tax purposes.
- Article 16 treats income as obtained in El Salvador by its source; Decree 969 (March 2024) adds to Article 3 that sums obtained abroad from any foreign source, by domiciled or non-domiciled persons, are not income for the Law.
Special regimes for new residents
Special regime
Foreign-source income excluded from taxable income (Decree 969)
Tax relief
Details
- On: Foreign-source income and capital movements
Decree 969 (12 March 2024) excludes from "renta" all sums, capital movements, remuneration or emoluments obtained abroad from any foreign source, by domiciled or non-domiciled natural or legal persons. 2
Taxed on
Foreign-source income and capital movements
Who it applies to
- Natural persons, legal entities and entities without legal personality, domiciled or not in El Salvador.
Exclusions
- Salvadoran-source income remains taxable under the standard scale.
Tax residence
Applies whether or not the recipient is domiciled in El Salvador.
Visas
Applies to any resident status, including temporary rentistas and pensioners.
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Special regime
El Salvador: foreign-source income excluded from income (Decreto 969 of 2024)
Tax relief
Details
- On: Foreign-source income of any recipient
Since the 2024 reform of art. 3 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, values received in any form that were obtained abroad, including capital movements, remuneration and returns, nominally obtained or received by individuals, companies or entities domiciled or not in El Salvador from any kind of foreign source do not constitute income. 2 5
Taxed on
Foreign-source income of any recipient (domiciled or not) is excluded from the income tax base; Salvadoran-source income remains taxable under the ordinary rules.
Who it applies to
- Applies to natural persons, legal persons and entities without legal personality, domiciled or not in El Salvador (art. 3 no. 4 added by Decreto 969, in force eight days after publication in the Diario Oficial of 14 March 2024).
- No application or registration is stated in the decree.
Exclusions
- Salvadoran-source income remains taxable.
- Taxpayers who have taxed income and also receive these excluded values are exempted from the cost-and-expense proportion mechanism in art. 28 final paragraph.
- Decreto 969 repeals provisions of arts. 14-A, 16 and 27 that had taxed certain foreign securities returns, foreign financing income and foreign deposit interest of domiciled Salvadoran taxpayers.
Days in the country
- More than 200 days in calendar year · Natural persons residing temporarily or permanently in the country for more than 200 consecutive days in a calendar year are domiciled for tax purposes.
Tax residence
Domicile test comes from the 2020 DGII form instructions;.
Visas
Applies by tax treatment of the income, not by visa category.
Other taxes
Services used in El Salvador that originate abroad are listed as a separate taxable income line on the DGII form.
Checked against official sources on , some details partly verifiedChange log
Standard rules and foreign-source income
Standard rules
Income tax: Salvadoran-source income and domiciled-person scale
Details
- On: Net taxable income of persons, successions and trusts
- Who: Natural persons domiciled in El Salvador use the progressive table
- Limit: $6,600/yr
Domiciled individuals pay 0% on annual net income up to US$6,600 (raised from US$4,064 by Legislative Decree 293 of 30 April 2025), 10% to US$9,142.86, 20% to US$22,857.14 and 30% above; non-domiciled individuals pay 30% flat. Income from foreign sources is excluded from Salvadoran income tax. 1 2 3 4
Taxed on
Net taxable income of persons, successions and trusts
Who it applies to
- Natural persons domiciled in El Salvador use the progressive table; non-domiciled individuals are taxed at 30%.
Limits
- $6,600 a year · Exempt band: no tax on net income up to US$6,600 (US$550 a month), in force from May 2025; before the reform the band ended at US$4,064.
- $9,142.86 a year · 10% rate band: net income from US$6,600.01 to this amount pays 10% of the excess over US$6,600 plus a fixed US$212.12.
- $22,857.14 a year · 20% rate band: net income from US$9,142.87 to this amount pays 20% of the excess over US$9,142.86 plus a fixed US$720; above it the 30% rate applies on the excess over US$22,857.14 plus a fixed US$3,462.86.
Tax residence
Article 16 treats income as obtained in El Salvador by its source; Decree 969 (March 2024) adds to Article 3 that sums obtained abroad from any foreign source, by domiciled or non-domiciled persons, are not income for the Law.
Visas
Rentista and pensioner temporary residents may not do remunerated work in El Salvador.
Other taxes
Employers use separate withholding tables (Executive Decree 10 of 2025). Their yearly recalculation table shows US$10,742.86 and US$24,457.14 as the upper band limits because the US$1,600 fixed deduction for salaried workers is built into those bands; the limits in this record are those of Article 37, applied to net income after deductions.
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VAT, social security and other taxes
- Employers use separate withholding tables (Executive Decree 10 of 2025). Their yearly recalculation table shows US$10,742.86 and US$24,457.14 as the upper band limits because the US$1,600 fixed deduction for salaried workers is built into those bands; the limits in this record are those of Article 37, applied to net income after deductions.
- Services used in El Salvador that originate abroad are listed as a separate taxable income line on the DGII form.
Questions people ask
When do you become a tax resident in El Salvador?
More than 200 days in calendar year (Natural persons residing temporarily or permanently in the country for more than 200 consecutive days in a calendar year are domiciled for tax purposes). Article 16 treats income as obtained in El Salvador by its source; Decree 969 (March 2024) adds to Article 3 that sums obtained abroad from any foreign source, by domiciled or non-domiciled persons, are not income for the Law.
Who qualifies for Foreign-source income excluded from taxable income?
Natural persons, legal entities and entities without legal personality, domiciled or not in El Salvador. Applies to any resident status, including temporary rentistas and pensioners.
Who qualifies for Foreign-source income excluded from income?
Applies to natural persons, legal persons and entities without legal personality, domiciled or not in El Salvador (art. Applies by tax treatment of the income, not by visa category.
≈ USD figures are approximate: daily reference rates from ExchangeRate-API, dated 12 Oct 2026, refreshed when the site is updated.
Sources (5)
Official sources
- Ley de Impuesto sobre la Renta, Decreto 134 (texto consolidado) · Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador · checked 2026-10-12 · published 1991
- Decreto Legislativo No. 969 - Reformas a la Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (art. 3 no. 4: foreign-source values excluded from income), D.O. No. 52, Tomo 442, 14 March 2024 · Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador · checked 2026-10-10 · published 2024-03-14
- Aprueban exonerar del Impuesto Sobre la Renta a salarios de hasta $550 (Asamblea Legislativa, 1 May 2025): reform of Article 37, exempt base US$6,600 a year · Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador · checked 2026-10-12 · published 2025-05-01
- Decreto Ejecutivo No. 10 of 30 April 2025: Tablas de Retención del Impuesto sobre la Renta (new exempt base US$6,600 annual / US$550 monthly) · Órgano Ejecutivo de El Salvador (Diario Oficial) · checked 2026-10-12 · published 2025-04-30
- Instrucciones y disposiciones legales para la declaración del Impuesto sobre la Renta (F-11v9) - domicilio test · Dirección General de Impuestos Internos, Ministerio de Hacienda · checked 2026-10-10 · published 2020-11