Skip to content
Kintsugi
Sign Up

Guatemala VAT (IVA) Guide for 2026: Rates, Registration & Compliance

Guatemala's VAT (IVA) is 12% on most transactions. This guide covers registration, invoicing, and monthly filing for resident and foreign sellers.

Last updated:

Key Takeaways

Guatemala's VAT (IVA) standard rate is 12%, with small taxpayers under the Régimen de Pequeño Contribuyente paying an effective 5% on gross sales instead, and exports (including qualifying exported services) exempt with input VAT recoverable. Guatemala's VAT law has no dedicated regime for non-resident digital-service providers, so cross-border B2C digital services fall outside the collected VAT net — payments to non-residents instead face a separate 15% income-tax withholding that is not VAT. Domestically supplied SaaS is taxable at 12%, while foreign-supplied digital services have no VAT collection mechanism.

Taxability Snapshot

SaaS (domestic)

Taxable

SaaS (foreign)

No VAT mechanism

Sales Tax Rates

Guatemala's VAT (IVA) standard rate is 12%, applied to most goods and services [1]. Small taxpayers under the Régimen de Pequeño Contribuyente pay an effective 5% on gross sales instead [1]. Exports of goods and qualifying exported services are exempt from IVA, with exporters able to recover the IVA paid on their inputs through a refund [1]. The tax authority is the Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria (SAT).

Rate

Applies to

Standard 12%

Most goods, services, digital supplies

Small taxpayer 5%

Gross sales under the small-taxpayer regime

Zero 0%

Exports and certain basic goods

For more detail, see our LATAM tax guides.

Registration or Nexus Threshold

Guatemala's VAT law contains no dedicated regime for non-resident digital-service providers, so cross-border business-to-consumer digital services fall outside the collected VAT net [1]. Payments by Guatemalan payers to non-residents for services are subject to a separate 15% income-tax withholding, which is not VAT and does not create a VAT registration. Domestically supplied SaaS is taxable at 12% [1].

What foreign digital sellers should know:

  1. Confirm whether any services are supplied from within Guatemala.

  2. Treat foreign business-to-consumer digital sales as outside the current VAT net.

  3. Note that Guatemalan payers may apply a 15% income-tax withholding.

  4. Apply 12% IVA to any locally supplied services.

  5. Monitor SAT for any future digital-services VAT rules.

Filing Frequency & Deadlines

File and remit within the calendar month following the reporting period. [1][3]. Electronic invoicing (FEL) applies across the taxpayer base.

Exemptions

Exports of goods and qualifying exported services are exempt from IVA, with exporters able to recover the IVA paid on their inputs through a refund. Domestically supplied SaaS is taxable at 12%, while foreign-supplied digital services have no VAT collection mechanism [1].

Penalties

Unpaid or under-declared VAT carries a penalty of 100% of the omitted tax, reducible where the taxpayer corrects voluntarily, plus moratory interest, under the Tax Code (Decreto 6-91) [4].

Sources

  1. Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado (Decreto 27-92) — Art. 10 rate, Art. 40 monthly filing: https://www.tse.org.gt/images/UECFFPP/leyes/decreto_27-92-iva.pdf

  2. SAT — Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado (Decreto 27-92): https://portal.sat.gob.gt/portal/wpfd_file/decreto-no-27-92-ley-del-impuesto-al-valor-agregado-decreto-numero-27-92/

  3. SAT — Preguntas frecuentes, cumplimiento tributario: https://portal.sat.gob.gt/portal/preguntas-frecuentes/cumplimiento-tributario/

  4. Código Tributario (Decreto 6-91) — interest and penalties: https://inap.gob.gt/web/decreto-6-91-codigo-tributario/

Frequently Asked Questions

US Sales Tax Calculator

Calculate

United States

This free service is for illustrative purposes, provided as-is, without warranties. If you intend to rely on these rates, please use the Kintsugi platform.

Start Free Trial

Results

State

0.0000%

Total Estimated Tax Rate

Calculate total amount

See your estimated sales tax applied to the amount you enter below. Please enter a number with no commas or spaces.

The sales tax rate provided is an estimate based solely on the information provided. Sales tax rates are impacted by product or service types, customer type, and shipping address. If you intend to rely on these rates, please use the Kintsugi platform.