SINPE Móvil, Payment Platforms, and Tax Traceability: The Next Step Toward Enhanced Digital Tax Enforcement in Costa Rica

The digital transformation of Costa Rica’s Tax Administration continues to advance.

In recent years, electronic invoicing, financial information exchange, and the implementation of TRIBU-CR have strengthened the Ministry of Finance’s tax enforcement capabilities. Now, another element is beginning to form part of this process: payments received through SINPE Móvil and other electronic payment platforms.

The Ministry of Finance has submitted for public consultation a proposed regulatory reform that would require taxpayers to register the telephone numbers associated with their business activities through which they receive payments via SINPE Móvil or similar mechanisms.

Although this may initially appear to be a simple administrative requirement, the measure forms part of a broader strategy aimed at improving the traceability of economic transactions and strengthening tax oversight.

What Is the Purpose of the Reform?

The proposal seeks to require taxpayers to inform the Tax Administration which telephone numbers they use to receive payments related to their economic activities.

In practice, this would make it easier to connect electronic payments with the taxpayer conducting the business activity, facilitating the identification of income and the analysis of potential inconsistencies between amounts received and income reported for tax purposes.

It is important to clarify that the reform does not create a new tax or modify existing tax rates. Its purpose is to strengthen the government’s ability to monitor and verify tax-related information.

The Growing Importance of Financial Traceability

For many years, a significant portion of the informal economy operated through cash transactions, making it difficult for the Tax Administration to track economic activity.

However, the widespread adoption of digital payment methods has significantly changed this landscape.

Today, thousands of individuals and small businesses receive payments through:

SINPE Móvil;
bank transfers;
electronic wallets;
digital payment platforms; and
mobile applications linked to bank accounts.

Each of these payment methods generates electronic records that can help reconstruct transactions when the Tax Administration conducts verification procedures or tax audits.

As a result, the digitalization of payment systems also increases the government’s ability to verify compliance with tax obligations.

Who Could Be Affected by This Requirement?

The proposed measure could affect a wide range of taxpayers, including:

independent professionals;
merchants and retailers;
entrepreneurs;
self-employed service providers;
family-owned small businesses;
social media sellers; and
digital service providers.

In many cases, the same telephone number used to receive personal payments is also used to collect payments for goods or services.

This practice may make it more difficult to properly distinguish transactions related to an economic activity from those that are strictly personal.

What Are the Risks for Informal Businesses?

One of the primary objectives of the proposed reform is to reduce tax informality.

When an individual regularly conducts an economic activity and receives payments through electronic platforms, those transactions may become an additional source of information during a tax audit or verification process.

This does not mean that every transfer received automatically constitutes taxable income.

However, when recurring payment patterns, payments from multiple customers, or transactions consistent with an ongoing business activity are identified, the Tax Administration may use this information as part of its analysis to verify whether tax obligations have been properly fulfilled.

Digital evidence is therefore becoming an increasingly relevant component of modern tax enforcement procedures.

The Importance of Separating Personal and Business Income

One of the most common mistakes among small taxpayers is using the same bank accounts and telephone numbers interchangeably for both personal and business transactions.

This practice can make it difficult to demonstrate which transactions genuinely relate to the business activity.

Keeping financial flows separate facilitates:

the preparation of tax returns;
maintaining adequate supporting documentation in the event of a tax audit;
accounting reconciliations; and
the accurate determination of tax liabilities.

It also reduces the risk of misunderstandings or incorrect interpretations during a review conducted by the Tax Administration.

Digital Tax Enforcement Will Continue to Strengthen

The incorporation of information obtained from payment platforms reflects a broader trend toward the digitalization of tax enforcement.

Tax administrations are increasingly relying on larger volumes of information to identify compliance risks through technological tools, automated data matching, and financial behavior analysis.

Costa Rica is progressively moving toward a model in which multiple sources of information can be analyzed collectively, including:

electronic invoicing;
tax returns;
banking information;
corporate registries;
beneficial ownership records;
digital payment platforms; and
information provided by third parties.

The ability to detect inconsistencies increases as these sources of information become more integrated.

Recommendations to Reduce Tax Risks

In light of this evolving landscape, businesses, independent professionals, and entrepreneurs should consider adopting preventive measures such as:

clearly identifying which telephone numbers are used for business activities;
separating personal payments from business income;
issuing electronic invoices whenever required;
properly recording income in the accounting records;
maintaining supporting documentation for transactions carried out through digital payment platforms; and
periodically reviewing whether reported income is consistent with the economic activity being conducted.

The proposed requirement to register telephone numbers associated with SINPE Móvil and other payment platforms represents far more than an administrative change.

It forms part of Costa Rica’s ongoing effort to digitalize and strengthen its tax enforcement framework.

In an environment where an increasing number of economic transactions leave electronic evidence, the most effective strategy for businesses, independent professionals, and entrepreneurs is to maintain well-organized processes, adequate supporting documentation, and a clear separation between personal finances and business operations.

The trend is clear: tax enforcement will increasingly rely less on traditional on-site inspections and more on the intelligent analysis of available information.

Preparing in advance can help taxpayers reduce risks, improve compliance, and respond more confidently to any review conducted by the Costa Rican Tax Administration.