The Panama sociedad anónima (or “SA” corporation) is a very practical and versatile tool. It can help limit liability around investments or business activities, facilitate partnerships, simplify the transfer of underlying assets, and potentially improve tax efficiency depending on how it is used.
But when you set up an SA corporation, you should know that there are some ongoing costs that you’ll incur each year to keep the company active and in good standing. So, when you incorporate, you are sort of signing up for an ongoing subscription.
The good news is that keeping a company in good standing is pretty inexpensive in Panama. The total costs for a company that is not engaged in any commercial activity starts at just US$550 per year, which includes:
US$300 annual corporate franchise tax (the “tasa única“)
US$250 annual resident agent fee
US$550 total *
* These baseline costs do not include any third-party bookkeeping, accounting services, or tax obligations that could arise if the company is engaged in an active business.
The costs of maintaining an SA corporation are pretty straightforward. But one common source of confusion for Panama corporation owners is understanding when the annual payments actually begin.
In short — these payment obligations commence the year after the company is created. Still, we sometimes receive emails from clients saying things like:
“But my company hasn’t even existed for a full year yet…”
And honestly, this confusion is understandable.
That’s because annual obligations for a Panama corporation do not always begin exactly 12 months after the company is incorporated. The timing actually depends on the calendar year in which the company was created, and whether it was incorporated during the first or second semester of that year.
And an SA corporation may also have additional obligations depending how it is registered with the DGI, if it holds real estate, if it maintains a business license, or if your attorney has provided nominee directors or officers.
So, this article is intended to provide a practical overview of the most common annual obligations related to maintaining a Panama sociedad anónima (an “SA” corporation) in good standing.
We’ll start with the ones that affect anyone who owns an SA corporation — the tasa única and the resident agent fee.
The Corporate Franchise Tax (“Tasa Única”)
Every Panama corporation must pay an annual corporate franchise tax known as the “tasa única”. This is paid each year to the Panamanian tax authority, the DGI (Dirección General de Ingresos).
To be clear — this payment is required regardless of whether or not the company:
- generates income
- owns property
- conducts business activities
One way or another, the tasa única should be paid each year. This is simply part of the cost of maintaining a Panama corporation in active and good standing.
For an SA corporation, the tasa única is currently US$300 per year.
Timing of the Tasa Única
Here is where the confusion usually starts:
The tasa única payment obligation commences during year-2 after the entity is constituted. But we should clarify that this refers to the calendar year after the company was created — not simply whether 12 months have passed.
And the specific timing of the payment obligation during each calendar year will depend more precisely when the company was created – during semester 1 or semester 2.
This is easiest to understand with a couple of examples:
Example 1 – First Semester
If your corporation was incorporated on April 1, 2025, then the first tasa única payment would become due during the following calendar year of 2026.
And since the corporation was created during the first half of 2025, it should be paid by the close of the semester 1 of the following year and each subsequent year.
More specifically, the first tasa única should be paid on or before July 15, 2026.
Example 2 – Second Semester
If your corporation was incorporated on September 27, 2025, then the first tasa única payment would also become due during the following calendar year of 2026.
But since the corporation was created during the second half of 2025, it should be paid by the close of the semester 2 of the following year and each subsequent year.
More specifically, the first tasa única should be paid on or before January 15, 2027.
Why the Difference?
Because Panama divides corporations into two payment cycles depending on when the company was incorporated.
Companies incorporated between:
- January 1 – June 30
→ payments due by July 15 each year
Companies incorporated between:
- July 1 – December 31
→ payments due by January 15 each year
This is why someone who created a corporation in October 2025 may still receive reminders from our office to pay the tasa única for the calendar year 2026, even though their corporation is less than 12 months old.
The reminders relate to the upcoming calendar-year obligations, and they do not necessarily indicate that a payment is due immediately or that it is overdue.
What Happens if the Tasa Única Is Not Paid?
Failure to pay the tasa única on time automatically results in a US$50 penalty for each year the payment is missed.
And if the corporation remains delinquent for several years:
- after 3 years → the company is assessed an additional penalty of US$1,000, and it may be suspended
- after 5 years → the company may be cancelled entirely
Resident Agent Fee
The other annual carrying cost that every owner of a Panama Corporation must pay each year is the resident agent fee.
That’s because every SA corporation in Panama is legally required to maintain a resident agent, and the resident agent must be a licensed Panamanian attorney or law firm.
We’ve written about the role of the resident agent previously. If you’d like to learn more about that, then check out our article about the Resident Agent: How to Fire your Panama Lawyer.
Resident agent fees vary from one firm to another — especially for operational companies or corporations engaged in any complex commercial activity. But many firms charge an annual fee starting at around US$250 per year.
Our office generally begins charging the resident agent fee during the calendar year after incorporation.
So, here again, regardless as to whether you created your corporation at the beginning of 2025 or the end of 2025, you’ll get a reminder in early 2026 about the resident agent fee for the new calendar year.
And because many clients pay their tasa única through our office as well, we’ll generally ask that you pay the annual resident agent fee at the same time that you pay the tasa única.
Other Obligations that May Arise for Certain SA Corporations
In the next few sections, we are going cover additional reporting and payment obligations that may arise only under specific circumstances. I’ll list the topics here so that you can determine whether or not they are relevant to you.
The next few sections of this article are going to cover:
- Municipal Tax declarations and payment obligations;
- Income Tax declarations and payment obligations to the DGI;
- Property Tax payments to the DGI;
- Nominee Director-Officer Fees; and
- Other Service Fees that some attorneys may charge.
If you are certain that these obligations don’t apply to your SA corporation, then feel free to JUMP AHEAD to the last sections of the article about the payment reminders our office sends out to our clients each year.
Municipal Tax Obligations
If your corporation maintains an active business license in Panama (known as an Aviso de Operaciones or “AO”), then the company will generally have a municipal tax filing obligation (and potentially a payment obligation).
A company with an active AO should submit a municipal tax declaration by March 31 of each year.
If the company is not actually conducting business or generating taxable income in Panama, then there may be no actual municipal tax liability. But to be clear — even a company without operations should generally still submit the declaration if the AO remains active.
And failure to submit the municipal declaration by the March 31 deadline can result in a US$500 fine.
On the other hand — a corporation that does not maintain an active AO generally does not need to file a municipal tax declaration at all.
Income Tax Declarations to the DGI
Whether a corporation must file an income tax declaration with the DGI depends largely on whether the company is registered:
Registered “without obligations”
A corporation that is registered “without obligations” (or “sin obligaciones” in Spanish) generally does not need to submit an income tax declaration to the DGI.
If your company is not engaged in any economic activity in Panama, then your company should probably be registered this way.
Registered “with obligations”
A corporation that is registered “with obligations” (or “con obligaciones” in Spanish) should generally file an annual income tax declaration to the DGI by April 30 of each year.
To be clear — we are talking about the obligation to file a tax declaration. Whether or not the Panama corporation actually owes any taxes will depend whether the company generated taxable income in Panama.
For example, a company registered “with obligations” must file a tax declaration. But if the company did not generate taxable income in Panama, then it could simply file a declaration reflecting no taxable income.
One other thing to make clear — an SA corporation that is conducting business in Panama and/or generating taxable income in Panama should be registered with the DGI as an entity “with obligations” and, hence, should file a tax declaration with the DGI.
If you aren’t sure whether your company is registered “with obligations” or “without obligations”, then ask your resident agent to confirm!
Property Tax Payments to the DGI
A Panama corporation generally only pays property taxes if it owns real estate property in Panama.
Property taxes are paid in 3 annual installments:
- April
- August
- December
However, if the entire amount is paid by April 30, the taxpayer may qualify for a 10% discount.
Most of our clients who hold real estate through Panama corporations pay these taxes through our office.
We have written separately about how Panama property taxes are calculated, so we won’t go too deep into that topic here. If you want to read more about this, then check out our article about Calculating Property Taxes on a Residential Property in Panama.
To be clear — this payment obligation pertains to the underlying property, so it isn’t actually a cost of maintaining an SA corporation. But if your Panama corporation owns a real estate, then you may hear from our office at the same time that we remind you of the company’s other annual payment obligations.
Nominee Director and Officer Fees
Some clients request that our office provide nominee directors and/or officers for their SA corporation. These services involve trusted individuals from our office serving in those roles on behalf of the company. We also have our clients sign short agreements with any nominee directors or officers providing that the nominees can only act on the specific instructions of the shareholder(s).
Unlike the resident agent fee and tasa única, nominee service fees generally begin during the same calendar year in which the corporation is incorporated.
So whether the company is incorporated in April or October, the initial nominee fee for that year is usually included together with the initial incorporation costs.
Then, for subsequent years, these fees can generally be paid simultaneously with the corporation’s other annual maintenance payments (i.e. with the tasa única and the resident agent).
Service Fees for Taxes Paid through your Attorney
One more thing — some resident agents in Panama allow clients to pay corporate taxes and government fees through the law firm’s office.
This can include:
- tasa única payments
- property taxes
- other corporate maintenance payments
This way, the client doesn’t have to learn to navigate the DGI’s payment platform, which is in Spanish and is not all that user-friendly.
I mention this, because some firms will charge separate and additional administrative fee for these payment services, while others include them as part of the broader resident agent relationship.
Why You May Receive Reminder Emails “Early”
Because we manage a large number of corporations, our office sends annual payment reminders proactively throughout the year.
However, as we’ve explained above, a Panama corporation will have different payment deadlines depending:
- whether they fall into the first or second semester cycle (depending when they were incorporated);
- whether the corporation holds real estate subject to property taxes;
- whether they have tax obligations or municipal filings; and
- whether the client maintains nominee services for the company.
As a result, you may receive an automated reminder email before your actual statutory payment deadline arrives.
But receiving a reminder from our office does not necessarily mean your company is already delinquent. Rather, the purpose is to help clients stay ahead of upcoming obligations and avoid last-minute problems or penalties.
If you aren’t sure when these payments should be made — well, that is the purpose of this article. But you can also just ask your resident agent for confirmation!
Bottom Line?
Maintaining a Panama corporation in good standing involves more than just creating the entity. Depending on how your corporation is structured and whether it conducts business activity in Panama, your company may have:
- municipal obligations
- DGI obligations
- resident agent and nominee service fees
The most common source of confusion is understanding when these obligations begin.
And the key thing to remember is this:
Many annual corporate obligations in Panama begin during the following calendar year after incorporation — not necessarily 12 months after the company was created.
On top of that, corporations incorporated during the first and second semesters of the year follow different payment cycles.
We know this can feel confusing at first, especially when receiving automated reminders from our office. But the goal of those reminders is simply to help clients remain proactive and avoid penalties or interruptions to their company’s good standing.
And of course, if you are ever unsure about what applies to your corporation, our team is always happy to help clarify things.
Did you find this article helpful, or have we left you more confused than before? Send us your feedback at info@theindependentlawyer.com.
