Costa Rica rental yields in 2026: the published figures, and what comes off them.

What is the average rental yield in Costa Rica?

According to Numbeo, user-submitted, the gross rental yield in Costa Rica is 8.08% in city centres and 8.74% outside them, last updated 19 September 2026. These are Numbeo's figures, not a Brinkman Data calculation. They are crowd-sourced estimates, not a survey of listings, and they are before any cost.

The same page gives a price-to-rent ratio of 12.37 in city centres and 11.45 outside. It is built from 343 entries by 57 contributors over 18 months.

What is the rental yield in San José?

According to Numbeo, user-submitted, the gross rental yield in San José is 9.50% in the city centre and 8.98% outside it, last updated 11 September 2026. The figure rests on 114 entries by 16 contributors. These are Numbeo's figures, not a Brinkman Data calculation.

How far can you rely on published Costa Rica yield figures?

Not far on their own. The Numbeo figures come from a few hundred user entries, and the San José figure from 114. Global Property Guide's Costa Rica page could not be obtained for this page, and coastal towns were not checked. A national average says nothing about the building you are looking at.

The question that matters is never the country. It is the unit, the lease it can carry, and the rent it can actually get.

What comes off a gross rental yield in Costa Rica?

Tax on the rent, the annual property tax and, on higher-value homes, the solidarity tax. Under the capital-income regime, rent is taxed at 15% after a flat 15% deduction, which is 12.75% of gross rent. The municipal property tax is 0.25% of the registered value each year.

• Landlords abroad: how a non-resident landlord is taxed was not settled in the sources for this page, as of September 2026. The rate could differ from 12.75%.
• Short-term rentals: 13% IVA is charged on the stay.
• Solidarity tax: applies where the construction value exceeds the annual threshold set by Hacienda.
• Condominium fees: no norm was found for this page; ask the building.

The full breakdown: Costa Rica property tax for foreigners.

Can a foreign owner run a Costa Rican property as a short-term rental?

Yes, once registered. Short-term rentals, hospedaje no tradicional, are regulated by Law 9742 of 2019. Hosts and intermediary platforms must register with the ICT, and not registering means the service operates illegally. The ICT validates a registration within 15 business days.

The law covers renting homes, apartments, villas or rooms for tourism for no less than 24 hours and no more than one year; hotels are excluded. The host also registers with Hacienda, issues electronic invoices, charges 13% IVA on monthly form D-104 and pays tax on the rental income.

What are the rules for a long-term lease in Costa Rica?

The minimum term of a residential lease is three years, and a shorter or unstated term counts as three years. The lease renews automatically for another three years unless the landlord gives notice at least three months before it expires. That is Law 7527 on urban and suburban leases.

• Lease in colones: rent is adjusted once a year. Without an agreement, and with 12-month inflation at 15% or less, the increase is capped at the inflation rate. Any larger increase is void.
• Lease in foreign currency: rent stays fixed for the whole term, with no right to adjust.

Pick the lease currency on day one with that in mind. The text was read from a mirror copy, and later amendments were not checked.

Header photo: Tamarindowiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. All credits: image credits.