Ownership in Costa Rica is fee simple. Foreign and domestic owners are equal in all ways before the law. Property taxes are typically 0.25% of the assessed value.

Under current Costa Rica laws, any profits resulting from the future sale of personal property are considered “capital gains” and therefore are NOT subject to taxation.  Thus, for non Costa Rican citizens, the property owner will owe no tax on profits realized from the sale of a home or other property in Costa Rica. Depending on his or her nationality, the seller may owe a capital gains tax under the rules of his or her country of citizenship (typically when the funds are repatriated).  These rules differ for China, Japan, Europe, and the U.S.  For US residents, for example, repatriated capital gains are typically taxed at a rate of 15%.