Fiscal Code, article 762-N
How to become a tax resident of Panama
You become a tax resident of Panama if you stay in the country for more than 183 days in a fiscal year or the year before, or if you establish your permanent home here. That is article 762-N of the Fiscal Code. Exactly 183 days is not enough.
Panama then taxes only your income produced in Panama, and the DGI can certify your residency for a treaty or a bank.
- Over 183days in the fiscal year
- Homeor a permanent home
- Territorialforeign income is not taxed
- 17double tax treaties
Panama tax residency, step by step
The rule: more than 183 days, or a permanent home
Article 762-N of the Fiscal Code says individuals who stay in Panama for more than 183 days, continuous or not, in a fiscal year or in the year immediately before, are tax residents. With exactly 183 days you do not qualify.
There is a second, separate route. Individuals who have established their permanent home in Panama are also tax residents, whatever the number of days.
Source: Fiscal Code, article 762-N, as amended by Law 52 of August 28, 2012, Official Gazette 27108
What counts as a permanent home
The DGI looks at three factors, among others:
- whether you have a home permanently available in Panama, be it a house, an apartment or a room;
- whether your center of economic interests is in Panama;
- whether your center of family interests is in Panama.
Having a home available, as owner or tenant, does not by itself make you a tax resident if you have no personal tie to it. The DGI first looks at the days and, only if that is not possible, at the permanent home. You carry the burden of proof.
Source: Executive Decree 958 of August 7, 2013, article 10, Official Gazette 27347-A; DGI Resolution 201-0354 of January 13, 2016, Official Gazette 27951-A
Tax residency is not immigration residency
An immigration permit lets you live in Panama. Tax residency is a fact the DGI measures in days or ties. Neither article 762-N, nor the DGI resolution, nor the DGI’s list of documents asks for a residency card. The DGI asks for your complete passport and your certificate of immigration movements.
Article 762-N counts physical presence, continuous or not, without tying it to any immigration category.
Source: Fiscal Code, article 762-N; DGI Resolution 201-0354 of 2016; DGI, questions on the tax residence certificate
What Panama taxes
Panama taxes the income produced within its territory, wherever it is received. Income produced abroad is outside the tax, and the law does not distinguish by nationality. For individuals, the first B/. 11,000 of taxable income pays nothing, the next band pays 15% and the excess over B/. 50,000 pays 25%.
| Taxable net income | Tax |
|---|---|
| Up to B/. 11,000 | 0% |
| Over B/. 11,000 up to B/. 50,000 | 15% on the amount over B/. 11,000 |
| Over B/. 50,000 | B/. 5,850 plus 25% on the excess |
Source: Fiscal Code, articles 694 and 700, Official Gazettes 27450-A and 26489-A
The DGI certificate
If a treaty, a bank or your home country asks for proof, the DGI issues a tax residence certificate. You file a petition with your identification, your address and activity in Panama and the year you ask for, and the DGI adds documents such as your immigration movements, proof of your home and utility receipts. The DGI says it answers in about three months.
Source: DGI Resolution 201-0354 of 2016; DGI, questions on the tax residence certificate
Your tax number: RUC or NT
Panama’s taxpayer number is the RUC. A foreigner without a cédula receives an NT. The NIT is only the access code to the DGI’s online services, not a tax number. This is the number you give your bank on the CRS self-certification.
Source: DGI, RUC for foreign individuals; Panama’s tax identification number profile filed with the OECD
Banks, CRS and FATCA
Panamanian banks report under the Common Reporting Standard, Law 51 of 2016, and under FATCA with the United States, Law 47 of 2016. When you open an account you self-certify every country where you are a tax resident.
Source: Law 51 of 2016; Law 47 of 2016; DGI Resolution 201-3931 of 2017
Treaties and the 2026 lists
Panama has 17 double tax treaties, none with the United States or Canada. On October 9, 2026, the EU moved Panama from Annex I to Annex II of its list. Law 526 of 2026, which taxes passive foreign income of entities in multinational groups at 15% from 2027, does not apply to individuals.
Source: DGI, double taxation treaties in force; EU Delegation to Panama, October 9, 2026; Law 526 of 2026, Official Gazette 30534-B
Your home country still matters
Becoming a tax resident of Panama does not end your ties with your home country by itself. US citizens keep filing with the IRS. Canada taxes your property as if sold when you leave. We point you to each country’s official source and tell you what to check with a professional there.
Source: IRS, U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad; Income Tax Act of Canada, section 128.1
Retirees under the Pensionado program
The Pensionado law gives a one-time duty-free import of household goods up to B/. 10,000, a duty-free car every two years and exemption from immigration deposits and fees. It has no income tax rule of its own, because a foreign pension is outside Panama’s territorial tax. A retiree can also set up the family home exemption from property tax, for a taxable base up to B/. 120,000.
Source: Law 9 of June 24, 1987, articles 2 and 3, Official Gazette 20835; Fiscal Code, article 764, numeral 6, as amended by Law 66 of 2017
Key points
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Tax residency in Panama means more than 183 days in the fiscal year or the year before, or a permanent home in Panama.
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Tax residency and immigration residency are different things. The DGI certificate does not ask for a residency card.
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Panama taxes income produced in Panama. Income produced abroad is outside the tax.
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The DGI certificate covers the year you ask for. You apply again for another year.
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Panama has 17 double tax treaties and none with the United States or Canada.
Guides
Does Panama tax foreign income?
Panama taxes only income produced inside its territory. What that means for foreign income, the 2026 rates for individuals, and when to file.
The Panama tax residence certificate
How a foreigner gets a tax residence certificate from Panama’s DGI: what the resolution asks, what the DGI adds, how long it takes and how long it lasts.
Getting a tax ID in Panama as a foreigner
Panama’s tax number is the RUC. A foreigner without a cédula gets an NT. The NIT is only the password to the DGI’s online system. How each works.
Opening a bank account in Panama: CRS and FATCA
Panamanian banks report under CRS and FATCA. The self-certification your bank asks for, which tax number to write, and how US citizens are reported.
Is Panama a tax haven?
On October 9, 2026 the EU moved Panama from Annex I to Annex II. Why, what Law 526 of 2026 changed, and where Panama stands on the Spanish and Colombian lists.
Panama taxes for US citizens
A US citizen living in Panama still files with the IRS. The 2026 foreign earned income exclusion, FBAR and Form 8938 thresholds, and why there is no treaty.
Panama’s double tax treaties
Panama has 17 double taxation treaties. The full list, how the multilateral instrument changed them, and why there is none with the United States or Canada.
Moving from Canada to Panama
Leaving Canada for Panama: the deemed disposition of your property, when Form T1161 applies, Form NR73, and why there is no Canada Panama tax treaty.
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