Your external tax team,
always available.
Pay the taxes required by law. No more, no less.
Continuous tax, accounting and legal advice for companies in Costa Rica.
Continuous Tax Consulting
- Unlimited tax, accounting and legal consultations
- Monthly compliance dashboard
- Annual strategic review of income tax returns
- Support for DGT formalities and applications
- Real-time tax alerts
- 50% discount on training and ICS events
- Historical database of queries and resolutions
Boutique firm - Since 1993 - Member Allinial Global
Is your company facing any of these situations?
Costa Rican companies operate in one of the most complex tax environments in Latin America. The DGT demands constant compliance, and one wrong decision can lead to costly contingencies.
- Urgent tax queries that take days to resolve and slow down business decisions.
- Without a strategic review, many companies miss out on deductions, exemptions and tax credits.
- The DGT is constantly updating procedures, laws and jurisprudence. Without an active ally, your company is exposed.
- When accounting and taxation do not speak the same language, returns concentrate errors and contingencies.
No more, no less."
Your external tax department, without the costs of an in-house one
ICS retainer is a monthly consulting model that gives you ongoing access to our tax, accounting and legal experts. You don't pay for each consultation: you have a dedicated team that understands the full context of your business.
Preventive model
We don't wait for problems to arise. We identify contingencies and savings opportunities before they impact your business.
Integral vision
We analyze each situation from a tax, legal, accounting, financial and risk perspective. Nothing remains in isolated compartments.
Monthly control panel
Each month we verify that your organization complies with all its tax obligations. You have full traceability.
Everything we solve for your company
Our analysts handle queries on any of these topics - and more - with regulatory support, historical traceability and access to Allinial Global's knowledge network in 98 countries.
Areas covered by the retainer include, among others:
The service also includes the monthly assignment of tasks related to opportunities and contingencies detected in the strategic fiscal diagnoses.
Compare your options
Do you have an in-house accountant? Do you work with project-based consulting? See why more and more Costa Rican companies are migrating to the retainer model.
| Criteria | Project consulting | ICS Retainer | Internal team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Availability for consultation | Limited / by appointment | ✓ Continued | ✓ Continued |
| Specialized experience in DGT | Limited / by appointment | ✓ +30 years | Depends on the profile |
| Monthly control panel | ✗ | ✓ Included | Manual |
| Strategic rent review | Extra cost | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Proactive tax alerts | ✗ | ✓ In real time | No warranty |
| Integrated tax + legal + accounting vision | Partial | ✓ Comprehensive approach | Rarely integrated |
| Global knowledge network | ✗ | ✓ Allinial Global (98 countries) | ✗ |
| Access to members/managers | As per contract | ✓ Included | ✓ Internal |
Everything you receive each month
The ICS retainer is not a reactive service. It is a structured accompaniment, with concrete deliverables and monthly follow-up. This is what your subscription includes:
- ✓ Unlimited consultations on corporate tax, accounting and legal issues.
- ✓ Access to historical database of all inquiries and resolutions related to your company.
- ✓ Monthly compliance dashboardICS verifies that your organization has fulfilled all its tax obligations.
- ✓ Annual strategic review of the draft income tax return to identify contingencies and opportunities for tax savings.
- ✓ Support for DGT procedures and applications, including attention to the requirements of the Tax Administration.
- ✓ Tax alerts changes in tax procedures, laws or jurisprudence.
- ✓ Newsletters and fiscal news, more access with 50% discount to ICS dissemination and training activities.
- ✓ Possibility of programming meetings with partners of the firm for specific strategic issues.
ICS Retainer
Ongoing tax, accounting and legal consulting
Do you need a customized proposal
A single well-answered query can mean savings that recoup the entire year's investment.
Our retainer clients consistently report that their investment in the service is more than recouped in tax savings and avoided contingencies.
ICS retainer adapts to your growth stage
From the SME that wants fiscal order to the corporate group with international operations, we have the level of support you need.
Tax simplicity, total peace of mind
Your priority is to comply with the IRS without errors and without spending valuable time on issues that are not your core business.
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- 100% compliance with DGT, CCSS and Tax Authorities.
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- Avoid costly fines and penalties
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- Quick answers to day-to-day tax issues
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- Support in complex procedures and declarations
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- Peace of mind to focus on the business
Tax optimization and CFO support
They already have basic order, but they need an active tax strategy and a strong second technical opinion.
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- Tax planning to reduce tax burden
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- Alignment of accounting-tax criteria Support in dividend, intercompany and financing decisions
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- Board and shareholder support
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- Prevention in the face of auditing processes
Advanced strategy and global expansion
Complex operations, multiple entities or international presence require a partner with a global vision
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- Intercompany transactions and transfer pricing
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- Application of international conventions
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- Expansion support outside Costa Rica (Allinial network)
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- Defense against complex DGT audits
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- Tax alignment in corporate restructurings
We are not just another firm.
We are your ally strategic.
In a market with many options, ICS stands out for four reasons that its customers have valued for more than three decades.
Experience that speaks for itself
ICS is an established name in tax consulting in Costa Rica. Our founding partner is a former Director General of Taxation, which gives us a unique perspective on how the Tax Administration thinks.
Integrated approach, not isolated solutions
We analyze each problem from a tax, legal, accounting, financial, risk and market perspective. A dividend decision is not only fiscal: it is legal, accounting and strategic at the same time.
Boutique approach: On time and well done.
We select the cases in which we get involved to ensure the best possible care. Our philosophy is simple: no generic solutions. Each client receives personalized attention.
Global support, local knowledge
As members of Allinial Global, we have access to case databases, international case law and knowledge of similar firms in 98 countries. Your problem has already been solved by someone else in the world.
Allinial Global
248
partner firms
98
countries present
60
years of operation
Your company ready in less than 30 days
The onboarding process is agile and structured. From the first meeting to having your control panel active, we accompany you every step of the way.
Diagnostic meeting
A 30-60 minute session to understand your company's current structure, liabilities and risks.
Strategic fiscal diagnosis
We identify pending contingencies and savings opportunities. Here you can already recover part of your annual investment.
Panel configuration
We activate your compliance control panel and set up the historical database with your queries and resolutions.
Continuous accompaniment
From the first month, it has unlimited queries, tax alerts and monthly compliance review.
Companies that have already decided to pay no more, no less
Each month, our retainer clients receive advice that allows them to make better decisions and reduce their tax burden in a legal manner.
"Thanks to the ICS retainer we identified in the annual rent review a savings opportunity that far exceeded the cost of the service. Today we could not conceive of operating without this support."
"Before, we would arrive at each fiscal close with unpleasant surprises. With ICS we have monthly control and know exactly where we stand. The peace of mind that gives is priceless."
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Your questions answered before the meeting
These are the most common questions managers and CFOs ask us before hiring a retainer.
Do you have a different question?
Our team answers specific questions before you make any decision.
What happens if we do not make many inquiries in a month?
The retainer's unlimited consultations are designed to do just that: so you never hesitate to contact us for the cost. But the value of the service goes beyond direct inquiries: each month you receive your compliance dashboard, tax alerts and proactive monitoring of your obligations. Quiet months are exactly what retainer protects to keep them that way.
We already have an internal counter, does the ICS retainer replace it?
No. ICS retainer is a strategic complement to your in-house accounting team, not a replacement. Your team runs the day-to-day operations; we advise on complex cases, strategic decisions, regulatory interpretation and tax planning. It is the combination of the two that generates the best results: internal order plus specialized external judgment.
What are the terms of the annual contract?
The retainer operates under an annual contract, which allows us to commit to a continuous and structured level of service for your company. The specific terms of cancellation, renewal and special conditions are defined at the initial meeting. If you have any specific questions about the contractual modality, please contact us at info@ics.cr.
Can we really reduce what we pay in taxes?
Yes, in a completely legal way. Effective tax planning identifies deductions, exemptions, VAT credits and structures that many companies are not taking advantage of. The annual strategic review of the tax return - included in the retainer - is designed to do just that. In most cases, the opportunities identified generate savings that exceed the year's total investment in the service.
What type or size of company is the retainer intended for?
The ICS retainer is suitable for any formalized company in Costa Rica that has active tax obligations (VAT, income, payroll) and wants to organize its compliance, reduce risks and optimize its tax burden. It is especially valuable for companies with annual invoicing over ₡500 million, operations with an international component, structures with multiple companies, or in sectors with high exposure to taxation such as professional services, manufacturing, commerce and technology.
What differentiates ICS from other large firms (Deloitte, PwC, etc.)?
ICS operates with a boutique approach: we select the clients and cases we get involved in to ensure personalized and quality care, not generic solutions. This means you have direct access to partners, not inexperienced analysts. At the same time, our membership in Allinial Global gives us the technological and knowledge backing of a world-class firm. It's the best of both worlds: global scale, local and personalized service.
Let's schedule 30 minutes.
No commitment.
We present the service, answer your questions and evaluate together if the ICS retainer is what your company needs. No cost, no obligation.