Puerto Rico Sales and Use Tax (IVU) for Businesses

The Puerto Rico Sales and Use Tax (IVU) for businesses is a 11.5% consumption tax that registered merchants collect at the point of sale, report on a monthly return through the SURI portal, and remit to the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (Hacienda) and the applicable municipality by the 20th of the following month. Certain sales qualify for a reduced 7% or 4% rate, and some categories are fully exempt, but every transaction is presumed taxable unless the merchant holds documentation proving otherwise.

What the 11.5% Rate Actually Includes

The headline 11.5% is two taxes stacked. The central government charges 10.5%, remitted to Hacienda. Every municipality adds a uniform 1%, which goes to the local government where the sale takes place rather than to San Juan. Merchants have to track and remit each portion separately, even though the customer sees a single line on the receipt.

Registering as a Merchant

Before collecting a cent of IVU, a business must obtain a Certificado de Registro de Comerciante (Merchant Registration Certificate) from Hacienda. That certificate is the legal authorization to charge the tax. The application asks for a Federal Employer Identification Number (or a Social Security Number for sole proprietors), the physical business location, and the NAICS code that best describes the activity.¹

Registration runs entirely through SURI (Sistema Unificado de Rentas Internas), Hacienda’s online tax platform.² Once approved, the certificate must be displayed prominently at each business location, and the merchant has to update the registration whenever ownership, location, or business activity changes.¹

Operating without a valid certificate carries penalties of up to $10,000, and forging or possessing a forged certificate triggers the same $10,000 fine per certificate. Those fines apply per violation, so a business running several unregistered locations can accumulate them fast.

When You Charge Less Than 11.5%

Two reduced rates cut the standard IVU on specific kinds of transactions. Both require paperwork that has to survive an audit years later.

The 4% Rate on Professional and B2B Services

Designated professional services such as accounting and engineering are taxed at 4% rather than the full rate. Business-to-business services between two registered merchants generally qualify for 4% as well. To charge the reduced rate, the purchasing merchant has to give the seller a completed Certificate for Exempt Purchases and Services Subject to the 4% Special-SUT (Form AS 2916.1) along with a copy of their Merchant Registration Certificate at the time of the transaction.³ Without a valid certificate on file, an auditor will treat the sale as taxable at the full 11.5%.

Both parties have to keep Form AS 2916.1 for six years from the date the corresponding monthly return was filed.³ The paperwork feels trivial at the point of sale. Six years later, a missing form converts a legitimate 4% invoice into an 11.5% assessment with interest.

The 7% Rate for Prepared Food

Restaurants and merchants selling prepared food, carbonated beverages, candy, and pastries may qualify for a 7% IVU rate under Administrative Determination 19-03. Qualification isn’t automatic. The merchant must hold a valid Merchant Registration Certificate under a qualifying restaurant or food-service NAICS code, be current on all SUT filings, have no outstanding debts with Hacienda (or be on an active payment plan), and maintain a fiscal terminal at each point of sale. Merchants also have to apply for and receive a specific Hacienda certification authorizing the 7% rate before charging it.

Fully Exempt Sales

Certain categories are exempt from both the state and municipal portions of the IVU:

Unprepared food and food ingredients such as fresh produce, meat, and dairy. Prepared food, candy, dietary supplements, and carbonated beverages are excluded from this exemption.
Prescription medications and insulin, regardless of where they are purchased.
Legal and consulting services rendered by authorized members of the bar, which are exempt entirely rather than taxed at the 4% professional rate.⁴
Raw materials, machinery, and other inputs acquired for qualifying manufacturing operations.
Goods sold for export and sales at duty-free stores in airports and seaports.

The law presumes every transaction is taxable unless the merchant has documentation showing otherwise. A buyer claiming an exemption has to present a valid Exemption Certificate at the time of purchase, and the merchant must archive those certificates for at least six years.⁵

Use Tax on Goods Brought Into Puerto Rico

The “use tax” side of the IVU applies to tangible personal property shipped or carried into Puerto Rico from outside the territory. The rate is the same 11.5%, and it is due on importation. In practice, goods can be held at the port until the tax is paid.

Two exceptions release goods from the port without immediate payment. Bonded merchants post a surety bond with Hacienda’s Consumption Tax Bureau covering the IVU due on imported merchandise plus an additional 25% for potential fines and interest, with a minimum bond of $10,000.⁶ Bonded importers then pay by the 10th of the month following the import. Eligible resellers can also import without paying at the port.

Importers who do pay use tax at the port can claim that amount as a credit on their regular monthly SUT return, so the goods are not taxed a second time when they are later sold.

Remote Sellers and Marketplace Facilitators

Selling into Puerto Rico from outside the territory does not exempt a business from IVU. Since January 1, 2021, remote sellers must register with Hacienda and begin collecting the tax once they cross either of two economic nexus thresholds during their accounting year: more than $100,000 in gross sales delivered into Puerto Rico, or at least 200 separate transactions with Puerto Rico buyers. The gross sales calculation includes exempt sales and services, not just taxable ones. Sales made through a registered marketplace facilitator do not count toward the individual seller’s threshold.

Marketplace facilitators have their own obligation. Platforms that facilitate sales on behalf of third-party sellers must collect and remit the IVU on those transactions themselves, shifting collection off the individual sellers and onto the platform.⁷

Monthly Filing and Payment

Merchants file the Monthly Sales and Use Tax Return through SURI. It is due on or before the 20th day of the month following the period in which the taxes were collected.⁸ Importers file a separate use tax on imports return by the same deadline for goods brought in during the prior month.

The return asks for total gross sales, then breaks out exempt transactions from taxable ones to calculate the final liability. Payment goes through SURI electronically, typically by ACH debit or credit card. The system produces a digital confirmation receipt. Keep the confirmation number. It is the only proof that the filing went in on time if the deadline is ever questioned.

What Happens When You File or Pay Late

Missing the 20th triggers both interest and a flat surcharge. Interest accrues at 10% annually, calculated daily, from the due date until the balance is paid.⁸ The surcharge depends on how far past the deadline the payment lands:

31 to 60 days late: 5% surcharge on the unpaid amount
More than 60 days late: 10% surcharge on the unpaid amount

The penalties stack. On a $5,000 liability paid 90 days late, a merchant owes the original $5,000 plus roughly $123 in daily-accrued interest and a $500 surcharge. Because the surcharge jumps at 60 days, paying inside the first 30 days matters even when the full amount isn’t available. Partial payments shrink the base that both interest and surcharges run against, so anything paid by the deadline reduces the eventual bill.

Retain SURI confirmation receipts and payment records for at least six years to match the general document-retention rule Hacienda applies during audits.⁵

1
Justia Law. Laws of Puerto Rico Title Thirteen 32141 – Registry of Merchants
2
SURI. SURI – Portal Oficial del Gobierno de Puerto Rico
3
Departamento de Hacienda de Puerto Rico. Certificate for Exempt Purchases and for Services Subject to the 4% Special-SUT (Form AS 2916.1)
4
Department of the Treasury of Puerto Rico. Regulation of the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011
5
Puerto Rico Recovery. Document Retention
6
Departamento de Hacienda de Puerto Rico. Bond to Guarantee the Payment of Taxes, Fines, Interests and Penalties on Articles for Use and Consumption or Alcoholic Beverage (Form AS 2058.1)
7
Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Act No. 210-2024
8
Departamento de Hacienda de Puerto Rico. Sales and Use Tax Monthly Return (Form AS 2915.1)