Stay compliant in Puerto Rico

The certificate does not take care of itself. Every year the Department of State (Departamento de Estado) fees, the Treasury Department (Departamento de Hacienda) returns, the sales and use tax (IVU) and the municipal license tax (patente municipal) come back. Since 2025, corporations no longer file the ordinary annual report, but they still pay the charge. If you hire, unemployment, Social Security, Medicare and the State Insurance Fund Corporation (Corporación del Fondo del Seguro del Estado, CFSE) are added.

What’s different in Puerto Rico

• Corporate report versus annual charge. Since 2025, domestic corporations do not have to file the annual report with the Department of State, but they must pay the annual charge⁴. The registry still shows earlier instructions: confirm how much to pay and when for the annual charge.*
• The LLC pays its annual fee on or before April 15 each year, or the next business day if that day falls on a weekend or holiday¹, according to the registry page. The current law sets it on March 1 of each year after the close of the calendar year, or when the certificate is canceled⁴.*
• The IVU is monthly and is filed no later than day 20⁷. It does not wait for the income tax return.
• The declaration for the municipal license tax is due on or before five business days after April 15, or after the date the Treasury Department sets for the income tax return¹⁰. It is filed with the municipality, not with the Department of State.
• The general minimum wage in the 2026 report is $10.50 an hour. The 2026 report of the Department of Labor (Departamento del Trabajo) calls it the current minimum wage, after the July 2024 increase¹².

Your Puerto Rico calendar

• A corporation’s annual charge: Since 2025, domestic corporations do not have to file the annual report with the Department of State, but they must pay the annual charge. The reform also applies to foreign corporations. Since 2025, foreign corporations also do not have to file the annual report; payment of the annual charge is still pending. Article 17.01 sets an annual charge of no less than one hundred dollars for a domestic or foreign corporation⁴. The public table still shows $150² for the “Informe anual” (annual report) line of a for-profit corporation; it does not confirm the current charge.* Confirm the due date and amount with the Registry.
• An LLC’s annual fee: $150, according to the registry page, on or before April 15 each year, or the next business day if that day falls on a weekend or holiday. The LLC does not file an annual report with the Department of State¹. The current law prints a lower figure, which is not the one the registry charges, and puts the payment on March 1 of each year after the close of the calendar year, or when the certificate is canceled⁴.*
• Pending reports from years before 2025: the Law keeps extension procedures for those reports. Do not treat those extensions as extensions of the current annual charge; check the file with the Department of State.
• IVU: day 20 of each month, only through SURI⁷. The rates are in Get your tax IDs.
• Individual return: on or before April 15 if the year is a calendar year or you do not keep books. Otherwise, on the 15th day of the fourth month after the close of the tax year⁸.
• Corporation return: no later than the 15th day of the fourth month after the close of the tax year. That includes the limited liability company whose tax classification is that of a corporation. The extension is the Modelo SC 2644, through SURI⁹. Internal Revenue Circular Letter (Carta Circular de Rentas Internas) 26-06 does not say whether that extension moves the payment.* Read the form before requesting it.
• Municipal license tax: on or before five business days after April 15, or after the date the Treasury Department sets for the income tax return. The provisional license tax exempts you from payment for the half-year in which you start operating. The half-years start on July 1 and January 2¹⁰.
• Unemployment and SINOT: every quarter of the calendar year. Limits of $7,000 and $9,000¹¹. The page does not print the quarter’s due day.*
• Social Security and Medicare: check whether you must file Form 941, if you are not an agricultural employer or an employer of domestic workers and all your employees are bona fide residents of Puerto Rico. Its deadline is the last day of the month after the close of the quarter¹⁴.
• CFSE: the payroll statement for the permanent policy, on or before August 15 each year¹³.

Do this

1. Check the Corporations Registry charges every year. For corporations, the obligation changed. Since 2025, domestic corporations do not have to file the annual report with the Department of State, but they must pay the annual charge. The law keeps a charge of no less than one hundred dollars for a domestic or foreign corporation. The LLC pays $150 according to the registry, on or before April 15 each year, or the next business day if that day falls on a weekend or holiday¹; the current law sets it on March 1 of each year after the close of the calendar year, or when the certificate is canceled⁴.* Verify the due date and amount for each entity at the Registry before paying, and keep the receipt.
2. If you owe reports from years before 2025, ask how to regularize them. The old report extensions do not replace paying the current annual charge. Ask the Department of State for the instructions for the exact period of your file.
3. File the IVU even if the month was slow, if it applies to you. The monthly IVU return (Planilla Mensual de IVU, Modelo SC 2915) is due on day 20. If the certificate says you are not an IVU collector, you do not file the monthly return just to report exempt sales. You do file it if you sell any item subject to IVU⁷.
4. File the Treasury Department return on its date, not the IRS’s. Calendar-year individual: on or before April 15⁸. Corporation: no later than the 15th day of the fourth month after the close of the tax year⁹. Both go by electronic means.
5. Deliver the volume declaration to the municipality. It is due on or before five business days after April 15, or after the date the Treasury Department sets for the income tax return¹⁰. It is not the Department of State report. The provisional license tax detail is in Licenses and permits.
6. If you have employees, close the quarter on the Department of Labor portal. The portal calculates what you owe using the year's rates, in three items: unemployment, SINOT and special contribution¹¹. There is no printed rate on that page.* For Social Security and Medicare, check whether you must file Form 941, if you are not an agricultural employer or an employer of domestic workers and all your employees are bona fide residents of Puerto Rico. The deadline is the last day of the month after the close of the quarter¹⁴.
7. Renew the CFSE with the August payroll. The payroll statement for a permanent policy is filed on or before August 15 each year. The premium is paid within the deadline in the notice. A new employer does not wait for August. The policy has to be active before any work activity begins¹³.
8. Report new employees within the short deadline. The page says to report new hires within the first 19 days of hiring, full time or part time. In the paragraph on federal law, it says to report them on or before 20 days after being hired or rehired¹¹. Puerto Rico’s deadline is the shorter one.
9. Pay at least $10.50 an hour if the employee is on the general minimum wage. The 2026 report of the Department of Labor calls it the current minimum wage, after the July 2024 increase¹². The report also says that Law 47-2021 left a process to evaluate future changes. The report treats agricultural employees and employees who receive tips separately.
10. Do not leave annual fees unpaid. Law 65-2025 eliminates the ordinary annual report for corporations, not their annual charge. Confirm with the Registry what happens if you do not pay it. For the LLC, three consecutive years without paying the annual fee cancel the certificate of organization. The penalty printed on the annual fee form is $500, plus one and a half percent per month on the overdue fees and on the penalty, until they are paid⁵; the current law prints $100⁴.*

What you get back

A registry that is up to date, with the annual charges that apply to your entity paid, without filing an ordinary corporate report from 2025 or later that the law no longer requires. IVU and income tax returns filed on time, and the municipal license tax when it applies. None of this replaces the licenses for your activity.