Expense rules in Colombia.
All DIAN rules: 19% IVA, viáticos and VAT recovery rules in Colombia.
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1Expense rules & reclaimable VAT
| Category | VAT | Reclaim | Cap / Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business meals | 19% | Limited | Gastos representación |
| Travel meals | 19% | 100% reclaimable | Viáticos cap |
| Accommodation | 19% | 100% reclaimable | E-invoice |
| Fuel | 19% | 100% reclaimable | Business records |
| Train / flight | 19% | 100% reclaimable | Public transport |
| Taxi / Uber | 19% | 100% reclaimable | E-receipt |
| Client gifts | 19% | Not deductible | Atenciones |
| Parking | 19% | 100% reclaimable | Factura |
E-invoicing
DIAN mandatory e-invoice.
Viáticos
MNC standard.
Retention
DIAN records: 5 years.
2Mileage allowance
| Mode | Allowance | Cap | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal car | COP 800/km | By company | Standard practice |
| Motorcycle | COP 400/km | By company | Reduced rate |
MNC practice
Private sector standard.
Records
Date, destination, km.
Covers
Mainly fuel.
3Per diem and travel allowances
| Destination | Meal | Lodging / night | Daily rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bogotá | COP 60,000 | COP 250,000 | COP 310,000 |
| Medellín / Cali | COP 50,000 | COP 200,000 | COP 250,000 |
| Senior executive | COP 150,000 | COP 500,000 | COP 650,000 |
| Foreign — Lima | COP 120,000 | COP 400,000 | COP 520,000 |
| Foreign — New York | COP 250,000 | COP 750,000 | COP 1,000,000 |
MNC practice
Standard executive per diem.
Hotel separate
Lodging refunded on factura.
No statutory rate
No DIAN cap.
4Foreign VAT recovery
| Zone | Mechanism | Deadline | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia → EU | No reciprocity | — | No agreement |
| France | No reciprocity | — | No agreement |
| United Kingdom | No reciprocity | — | No agreement |
| Switzerland | Reciprocity | 30 June N+1 | FTA Form 1222 |
| USA | No recovery | — | Sales tax not recoverable |
| CO IVA for foreign | None | — | No mechanism |
No B2B refund
No B2B recovery procedure.
Free zones
Zonas Francas exempt.
Outbound
CO company can recover EU VAT.
Industrialize your Colombia expenses with Illizeo.
19% IVA/5%, e-invoice OCR, MNC viáticos, multi-currency COP↔USD↔EUR↔CHF: all the DIAN rules above are natively integrated into Illizeo.
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