I agree, there has been an outlandish amount of mis-information on these forums abut the world wide income tax or whatever its called. Generally, if you are middle income and pay taxes in your home country you will not be double taxed in Colombia. It really only applies to high rollers of which I am not one.

I have annual income near 18,000 and when I asked an immigration attorney in Medellin he was very sure I would not have to pay taxes in Colombia.

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That's great news, Visitando. Thank you so much for that.

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If you do not pay U.S. income taxes, you are not obligated to pay any income tax in Colombia on your U.S. income.

-- tax opinion by Colombian accountant, relayed by Langon Law Group of Medellín

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I think PRS meant the TP-7 visa, not TR-7.

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Colombia passed changes to its tax rules in December. However, it is unclear whether the bureaucrats have issued new regulations yet as a result of the changes that were passed.

cccmedia in La Zona Cafetera

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LOL, @cccmedia. I totally confused my old 70's sports car with an immigration status. #embarrassed.

Thank you for for post. That's such good news.

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@Visitando,

May I ask how long have you been living in Colombia? Have you filed and pay no taxes?

There should be at least someone who filed taxes that can attest to those theories.

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No, I have not and will not file any tax forms in Colombia. I file and pay taxes in the US only.

Don´t rely on internet forums for legal or tax advice. Go to the professionals.

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Sorry, but there is no simple answer to your question, whether you use caps or not.
Two points, I have roughly the same income and have paid Col. tax the last two years. Secondly, I would place little or no credence on one sentence pat answers furnished by an immigration attorney....like calling a plumber when your car wont start.

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Many disregard the law of the land and do not file declarations. Presently there is no tax treaty between the US and Colombia as far as I know so you can be taxed in both countries.
There are many good posts but it takes a little"search time" on this forum and Google.
I do agree that Colombia seems that have little ability to go after foreigners regarding filling declarations and collecting at this time, BUT USA and Colombia does have a legal agreement that allows sharing tax and financial information.
I agree with Salid statement that there is no simple one answer.

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@Visitando,

I'm wondering if one's visa status makes a difference. Are you on a tourist visa and making semi-annual border crossings or a residency visa like the retirement TP-7?

Thx.

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@saiid20,

Can you share how much your Colombian tax was on your "roughly the same income"?

Secondly, are you also paying tax in your "home" country?

Lastly, what is your visa status, tourist or another like the TP-7?

Thx.

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sent pm but forgot status...resident alien for last four years. Hope info helps...just remember everyone's situarion is at least slightly different

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It looks like we don't have to worry about getting slammed with COL taxes when we get there later this year, notwithstanding possible tax law changes.

If any COL tax at all is owed, it should be modest based on our income.

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Visa status does not determine tax liability.

183-plus days in country does.

cccmedia

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And those 183 days don't have to be in the same year to qualify as a Colombia tax resident.

It's in any 365 day period, so it is not necessarily a calendar year, it can straddle two years. For example, 100 days in the last six months of year one and then 84 days in the first six months of year two (the next year) would make you a tax resident in year two.

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Yes it's a running year, 183 in any 365 days

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Thats almost certainly because he has a "Buddy" in DIAN..like allthe "Local " Accountants do

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Actually talk to James Lindzey.

http://www.medellinlawyer.com/

He seems to know whats going on. His company has a whole slew of lawyers working for him.

He stated assuredly , whereas Colombia is obliged to give the tax information, the opposite is not true.

In reality, even if DIAN did have access o this information, I doubt they have the desire or ability to actualñly go out and get it, and even less likely to implement it.

Colombia does have a Tax agreement with US , and several other countries.

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Here is the official "Word" on taxation in Colombia for Expats

You will never see this from 95% of Colombian tac accountants. They will tell you "What shappens in the US stays in the US" and will tell you nothing about reporting world wide income , world wide "Net Worth" , eand the "Temporay" wealth tax.

"What happens in the US , Stays in the US", they say, no worries..just give DIAN a little tid bit, and they will be happy-for now. All the accountants have thier "buddies" in DIAN (hint.hint nudge.nudge)

Read it and weep. There are several more simplified summaries from PWH and Deloite on the internet, but I couldnt findthem now.

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Tax/dttl-tax-colombiaguide-2016.pdf

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If you were a tax resident in Colombia last year and had gross income of 41,654,200 million pesos ($13,881.45 USD) or higher you are technically required to file income taxes in Colombia in August/October this year for 2016. This is even if you don't have to pay any income taxes.

This is a well documented requirement. You are required to file income taxes in Colombia if gross income is 1,400 UVT or higher. UVT for 2016 is 29,753 pesos and the official exchange rate on December 31, 2016 was 3,000.71 COP to the USD.

I suggest talking to a Colombian tax accountant.

'Note that DIAN can penalize you for not filing taxes if you are required to and there is a big penalty for not filing if you owe taxes.

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cccmedia posted this earlier in this thread, but I received different information from the same firm:

"If you do not pay U.S. income taxes, you are not obligated to pay any income tax in Colombia on your U.S. income.

-- tax opinion by Colombian accountant, relayed by Langon Law Group of Medellín"

I just paid for an opinion also from Langon and they told me differently, summary as follows:

0. Are you a tax resident of Colombia?
1. If yes, is your annual income (for 2017) above 1090 UVT (for 2017 1 UVT = 31,989 COP, so 1090 UVT is almost 35 Million COP)? This includes deductions for any income tax paid in the US.
2. If the answer to 1 is yes, you must pay tax per the rate table on the amount of your annual income exceeding 1090 UVT.

Marginal tax rates for 2017:
>1090-1700 UVT: 19%
>1700-4100 UVT: 28% + 116 UVT
>4100 UVT: 33% + 788 UVT

I would caution that one should consult a Colombian tax attorney as each individual case may be and usually is different. But according to what Langon told me, it is not true that if you pay no US income tax, you will not pay any Colombian income tax.

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I have a personal friend who is also an accountant for a large accounting firm in Colombia. He has told me, on two different occasions, that retirement benefits (i.e. social security benefits, pensions) are not taxed in Colombia.

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Does he recommend to complete and submit a declaration regardless?

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Straight from an accounting firm web page - Colombia taxes

https://home.kpmg.com/xx/en/home/insights/2011/12/colombia-income-tax.html

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Everyones circumstances are different. In my opinion it is not a good idea to rely on mis-informed, un-informed or ¨just guessing¨ information on an internet formum. Rely on information presented by accounting firms with direct bearing on paying taxes in Colombia. There are dozens, even hundreds of accounting firms with web pages readily accessible in Google. many of them offer free online chat.

In my case, I determined that because i file taxes in the US, and because I do not earn taxable income in Colombia, that I do not have to file anything in Colombia nor do I have to pay taxes in Colombia.

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Relying on Colombian tax agents is hardly a great strategy either, unless you perchance find a very good one.

Most of them know very little about the tax system as it relates to expats (tax residents and non-residents) and you usually end up show them the information gleamed by perusing forums exactly like this.

I tried 7 or 8 firms in Medellin, including ones that 'cater' to foreigners and they were pretty much all clueless on quite a number of areas, and had to be shown the tax ruling to 'agree' on a particular point.

Do as much personal research as you can is my advice, read the forums , filter out what is accurate by cross referencing etc and, if a tax agent in Colombia ever tells you anything - have them back up what they say by showing you the ruling.

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The last couple of years I levelled out to not having to pay, I went to DIAN with my Colombian wife's mom who knows everyone, everywhere and they didn't even want my declarations...
That was the basis of my question. I do know for one fact, and that is there are way too many different "professional opinions" from firm to firm on foreign tax matters.

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According to this from gerencie.com referring to DIAN, foreign pensions of Colombians and foreigners who are tax residents are subject to taxation in their entirety:

"Sin embargo, la DIAN mediante oficio 58213 de 2014 deja claro que en el caso de las pensiones extranjeras, las mismas se encuentran gravadas en su totalidad en Colombia."

From
https://www.gerencie.com/tratamiento-de-la-pension-extranjera-de-residentes-en-colombia.html

Searching for references to the document from DIAN oficio 58213 de 2014 you find various hits that clarify that the foreign pension may not be treated as exempt for tax purposes:

http://actualicese.com/actualidad/2014/12/01/dian-ratifica-que-pensiones-de-jubilacion-obtenidas-en-el-exterior-no-se-pueden-restar-como-exentas/

Proceed with caution if you think you won't have to pay taxes on your foreign pension in Colombia. Think about it - on the face of it, if you are a tax resident, why would Colombia not tax your relatively high pension income, when Colombians who earn even less are taxed?

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Ja.Ja.Ja..
You bring this up now, when you are planning to show up at Armenia with all your wordly belongings in a month?

This "can of worms"is way , way higher on the list of things that can screw you up(If you want it to), than dogs barking, weather, the price of apartments, how to get your boxes from Pereira to Armenia.

Best just to say , Colombia is no way a "Tax Haven" like Panama.

You should just have the same attitude as 95% of expats that come here "Hear n evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil"..Ignorance is bliss..

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Sorry pRS-see you started this thread a long time ag0. Hoe you are happy with the answers..LOL

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Some members are quick to criticize anyone who cautions about the need to take expat taxation in Colombia seriously. Perhaps the following article in today's El Colombiano (page 19) may lead them to review their "no need to worry" mentality:

"EE.UU. sera aliado de la DIAN para atrapar a evasores fiscales".

Amongst the items of interest are the following:

"En el contexto de dicho acuerdo, las instituciones financieras de los EE. UU. deberan idetificar los activos financieros de propiedad de RESIDENTES FISCALES COLOMBIANOS y los rendimientos financieros asociados a dichos activos".

"El primer paquete de informacion que enviara la entidad estadounidense a la Dian contiene reportes para 2014 y 2015"

"13% es la tarifa vigente este ano para quienes han omitido declarar activos en el exterior"".

What is not evident to my eyes is whether, or not, "residentes fiscales colombianos" is limited the Colombian nationals, or if it includes foreigners with a tax status in Colombia?

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If you search for "residente fiscal colombia" you will get many hits - the gist of them is as many have already explained - a tax resident is anyone who is in-country for 183 days or more in any 365 day period:

http://actualicese.com/actualidad/2016/06/14/residencia-fiscal-en-colombia-como-se-debe-determinar/

https://www.gerencie.com/residencia-para-efectos-tributarios.html

I can't get into DIAN right now, it seems to be very slow or down - but the sites above are just repeating what DIAN says.

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There has been a lot of good advice in the last couple of days on this thread.

Bickmed went to at least seven tax people and did not find consensus on various points. Whoa Nellie advised caution.

I agree. Consider this: come to Colombia on a TP-7 visa, which is good for one year.

Don't buy property or take on obligations that would last more than one year.

In the meantime, when you have your taxes done, do 'em early.

Once you know your "actual" (meaning what you are paying) tax obligation, you can decide whether Colombia income taxes are too onerous to make Colombia your long-term home.

If the taxes are too high, then don't apply for a second TP-7 visa for Year 2 .. and move to a better tax-and-living situation.

Or become a 182-or-fewer-days-in-Colombia non-Tax Resident, going forward.

cccmedia in Medellín

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Like many here, I have been monitoring this situation closely for some time now. I’m not yet retired, but planning on it in the next 1-2 years. Typical advice that I have been getting is as follows…

“I have been living here for 11 years and pay both US and Colombian taxes but I have never been taxed on anything in the US by Colombia. My understanding is you are not double taxed here and I have never been taxed here for any of my US activities including social security. I have sold my home in Naples and now do not own any property in the US. While I owned my Naples home I did not pay any Colombian taxes on it.”

Fortunately, I know how to read and have visited DIAN’s webpage, where nowhere does it say that expat (residents) are excluded from taxes. I’m not an Accountant, but can easily see that tax liability in Colombia is going to depend on many factors to include income and assets. I think it’s foolish for anyone to think that the Colombian government is going to waive resources in light of the recent revenue shortfall due to tumbling oil prices. I don’t believe that anyone with a modest income has a whole lot to be concerned about, but those who have investments, 401ks, pensions and assets should proceed with caution.

With my luck, DIAN will show up at my door a few years down the road claiming a good part of my worldly possessions. DIAN is not like the IRS, but they’re getting better and will improve their technological capabilities.Talking with knowledgeable Tax Attorneys/Accountants seems the prudent way to handle this issue. Any Colombian Tax Attorney or Accountant that tells those of you in the higher income brackets “not to worry” is reason for you to START WORRYING!

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Check out this video on Colombia's wealth tax...

https://youtu.be/bZIqEK00erE

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