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Colombia US Expat Tax Guide: Filing in Both Countries
Moving to Colombia does not end your US tax filing obligations. It does not make you invisible to the IRS or to Colombia's tax authority, the DIAN. If you are a US citizen or green card holder living in Colombia, you are filing in two countries under two separate systems, with no tax treaty to sort out the overlaps.
This guide covers what the US still taxes, how Colombian tax residency works, which US credits and exclusions actually help, what the DIAN expects, how bank reporting works, and what to do if you have fallen behind. ASTR handles the US side in-house under a federally licensed Enrolled Agent. Colombian-side compliance is coordinated through our licensed in-country partners.
Who Has to File What: Two Separate Tax Systems
The US taxes citizens and green card holders on worldwide income, no matter where they live. Colombia taxes its tax residents on worldwide income too. If you hold a US passport and become a Colombian tax resident, both countries want a return -- and there is no treaty between them.
There is no US-Colombia income tax treaty and no US-Colombia Social Security totalization agreement. Both are settled fact. That means the US side and the Colombian side are two independent filings with independent rules, and you are the bridge between them.
On the US side, you file Form 1040 every year, plus whatever additional forms your situation triggers: FBAR, FATCA Form 8938, Form 2555 for the FEIE, Form 1116 for the Foreign Tax Credit, and others. On the Colombian side, if you are a tax resident, you file the individual income tax return -- Formulario 210 -- with the DIAN, plus local registrations.
Read more in our post on whether US expats in Colombia still have to file US taxes.
Are You a Colombian Tax Resident? The 183-Day Rule
Colombia determines tax residency primarily through physical presence: if you are present for 183 days or more within a 365-day period, you can become a Colombian tax resident. The days need not be consecutive, and counting can include partial years.
Once you cross that threshold, Colombia taxes you on worldwide income -- not just Colombian-source income. Your US investment income, US pension, and US business income can all fall within Colombia's reach. That is the part that surprises people.
Additional factors can affect residency, including visa type and personal ties. There is no treaty with the US to use as a tie-breaker. We cover the residency analysis in our post on Colombian tax residency and when the DIAN taxes your worldwide income.
Article 10 of the Estatuto Tributario makes you a Colombian tax resident if you are present in the country -- continuously or discontinuously, counting arrival and departure days -- for more than 183 calendar days in any rolling 365-consecutive-day period. The rolling window is what catches people: it does not reset on January 1, so a stay split across two calendar years still counts. Residency is also not visa-dependent -- a tourist stamp does not shield you from the day count.
What the US Still Taxes When You Live in Colombia
Your US filing obligation does not pause when you move to Bogota or Medellin. The US taxes worldwide income for citizens and green card holders:
Wages, consulting, and freelance earnings -- wherever earned
Investment income: interest, dividends, capital gains
Rental income from US or foreign property
Pension and Social Security distributions
Business income, including pass-through entity income
Foreign mutual fund income (can trigger PFIC reporting -- see our PFIC and Form 8621 guide)
Informational reporting bites expats hard too. If you own or control a foreign corporation, Form 5471 can apply with severe, automated penalties. Read our post on Form 5471 automated penalties.
You file. The question is how you avoid double taxation.
FEIE vs Foreign Tax Credit: Which One Wins with No Treaty
With no US-Colombia tax treaty, you cannot rely on treaty-based relief. You must use the tools the US tax code provides: the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) and the Foreign Tax Credit (FTC).
The FEIE, claimed on Form 2555, excludes a portion of your foreign-earned income from US taxation. The exclusion amount is inflation-adjusted: for 2026 it is $132,900 per qualifying person, or $265,800 for a married couple where each spouse qualifies separately. It applies only to earned income -- salary, wages, self-employment -- not to investment income, pensions, or passive income. To qualify, meet either the physical presence test (330 full days outside the US in a 12-month period) or the bona fide residence test.
The FTC, claimed on Form 1116, gives a dollar-for-dollar credit against US tax liability for income taxes paid to a foreign country. Unlike the FEIE, it works on investment and passive income, not just earned income.
Which wins depends on your income mix. Earned income under the exclusion cap? The FEIE is often simpler. Investment income, Colombian-source income taxed by the DIAN, or earned income above the FEIE cap? The FTC becomes essential -- and without a treaty, the FTC calculation gets complicated because you must determine which Colombian taxes qualify as creditable income taxes.
We cover FEIE mechanics and traps in our post on shielding your income with the FEIE, and FTC strategy without a treaty in our post on how the Foreign Tax Credit saves you. You can sometimes use both -- but not on the same income.
Your Colombian-Side Obligations at a Glance
If you are a Colombian tax resident, the DIAN expects several things from you. Every figure is flagged for verification because Colombian rates, brackets, and thresholds change:
RUT (Registro Unico Tributario): The taxpayer registry -- you register with the DIAN to enter the system.
NIT (Numero de Identificacion Tributaria): Your taxpayer identification number once registered.
Formulario 210: The individual income tax return, filed annually with the DIAN.
Colombian resident rates are progressive and denominated in UVT (Unidad de Valor Tributario). For 2026 DIAN set the UVT at COP $52,374 (Resolution 000238 of December 15, 2025). The Article 241 table, as amended by Law 2277 of 2022, runs:
0 to 1,090 UVT -- 0%
1,090 to 1,700 UVT -- 19%
1,700 to 4,100 UVT -- 28%
4,100 to 8,670 UVT -- 33%
8,670 to 18,970 UVT -- 35%
18,970 to 31,000 UVT -- 37%
Above 31,000 UVT -- 39%
Non-residents do not use this table at all. Article 247 taxes Colombian-source income of non-residents at a flat 35%.
Filing thresholds are measured in UVT. For tax year 2025 -- the return filed during 2026 -- you must file if any one of these is true:
Gross patrimony above 4,500 UVT (about COP $224,096,000 at December 31, 2025)
Gross income of 1,400 UVT or more (about COP $69,719,000)
Credit card purchases above 1,400 UVT
You were registered as responsible for IVA at December 31, 2025
The patrimony test is the one that surprises Americans: owning a Medellin apartment can push you over the line even in a year with modest income.
Yes -- DIAN staggers deadlines. For the 2026 season (reporting 2025 income) the Formulario 210 window runs August 12 through October 26, 2026, assigned by the last two digits of your NIT or cedula, ascending from 01-02 to 99-00.
Yes. Colombia taxes ganancia ocasional -- which includes gains on assets held two years or more -- at a flat 15%, raised from 10% by Law 2277 of 2022. It sits outside the progressive table above.
This is genuinely unsettled right now, and it is worth understanding before you rely on any Colombian figure.
The government's ley de financiamiento -- a roughly COP $26 trillion tax reform filed in September 2025, which would have raised the top individual rate from 39% to 41% -- was defeated in the Senate on December 9, 2025 and archived. The government then declared a State of Economic, Social and Ecological Emergency and enacted tax measures by decree instead, touching the wealth tax, VAT on certain goods, and a financial-sector surcharge.
Those decrees are before the Constitutional Court, which has struck down comparable emergency tax measures before. Until it rules, part of Colombian tax law for 2026 is provisional and could be unwound retroactively. The bracket table, the non-resident rate, the capital gains rate and the UVT are stable. The wealth tax and some withholding rates are not.
We do not prepare the Formulario 210. ASTR is a US-licensed firm. Colombian-side filing is coordinated through our licensed in-country partners -- Colombian accountants who handle DIAN filings while we handle IRS filings. One process, each side handled by professionals licensed in that jurisdiction.
Colombian Taxes You Will Meet in Daily Life
Beyond income tax, several Colombian taxes touch expats in everyday life. Every rate is flagged for verification:
IVA (Impuesto al Valor Agregado): Value-added tax on goods and services, paid at the register.
The standard IVA rate is 19%. Reduced-rate and exempt categories exist -- notably certain foodstuffs, and some health and education services -- and the 2026 emergency decrees moved several specific goods into the 19% band. IVA is a cost of living for expats rather than a filing obligation, unless you register a Colombian business.
GMF / 4x1000 (Gravamen a los Movimientos Financieros): A tax on financial transactions -- every debit from a Colombian bank account can trigger a small percentage tax.
The GMF -- universally called el cuatro por mil -- is 4 per thousand, or 0.4%, applied to withdrawals and transfers from Colombian financial accounts. Exemption of one designated savings account up to a monthly cap is available on request, and most Americans banking in Colombia never file the paperwork to claim it. Note for the US side: GMF is a transaction tax, not an income tax, so it is generally not creditable via Form 1116.
Predial: Property tax, charged annually by the municipality on real estate you own.
Predial is the municipal property tax, assessed on the avaluo catastral (cadastral value) rather than the price you paid. Under Law 44 of 1990 each municipal council sets its own rate, generally between 5 and 16 per thousand (0.5% to 1.6%) of cadastral value, with higher rates permitted on undeveloped urbanizable land. Because it is set municipally, Medellin, Envigado and Bogota all differ -- confirm your specific rate and cadastral value with your contador or the local municipality.
Impuesto de Patrimonio / Wealth tax: Colombia has periodically had wealth or equity taxes.
A permanent impuesto al patrimonio has existed since Law 2277 of 2022, and the December 2025 emergency decree moved to lower its entry threshold substantially and raise the top rates. That decree is under constitutional review and may be struck down, potentially with retroactive effect, so we are not going to print a threshold or rate here that a court may erase. If you hold significant Colombian assets, treat this as the open item to confirm with your contador before filing and to revisit once the Court rules.
These are not US tax issues and ASTR does not advise on them directly. But they matter to your overall picture, and your Colombian contador handles them as part of the coordinated process.
Bank Reporting: FBAR + FATCA
This is where most expats get into trouble -- not on income tax, but on reporting they did not know existed.
FBAR (FinCEN Form 114): Required when the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 USD at any point during the calendar year. "Aggregate" means you add up every foreign account -- Bancolombia, Davivienda, BBVA Colombia, any brokerage, any foreign pension. One day over $10,000 combined triggers filing. The FBAR is filed through the FinCEN BSA E-Filing system, not with your Form 1040. Due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15 -- no request needed.
Form 8938 (FATCA): A separate filing from the FBAR, filed with your Form 1040. Thresholds are higher than FBAR and differ for taxpayers living abroad: if your tax home is abroad you file when specified foreign financial assets exceed $200,000 on the last day of the year or $300,000 at any point during it, and $400,000 / $600,000 respectively for married couples filing jointly. Form 8938 covers specified foreign financial assets: foreign bank accounts, foreign mutual funds, foreign-issued stock, and interests in foreign entities.
The two forms are independent. Filing one does not satisfy the other. You can owe both, and many expats do.
One more point for Americans in Colombia: Colombia signed a Model 1 FATCA IGA with the US on May 20, 2015. Under a Model 1 IGA, Colombian financial institutions report account information to the DIAN, and the DIAN exchanges that information with the IRS. Colombian banks do not report directly to the IRS -- the reporting flows through the Colombian tax authority first.
We cover the practical implications in three posts: FBAR and Bancolombia, FBAR and FATCA for Americans in Medellin, and FBAR vs FATCA Form 8938 differences.
Deadlines: US and Colombian
US deadlines, stated as fact:
Form 1040: Due April 15. If you are living abroad on the regular due date, you get an automatic 2-month extension to June 15. You can extend further to October 15 by filing Form 4868.
FBAR (FinCEN Form 114): Due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15. No extension request needed.
Form 8938: Filed with your Form 1040, so it follows whatever deadline and extension applies to your 1040.
Colombian deadlines, flagged for verification:
For the 2026 season the Formulario 210 window is August 12 to October 26, 2026, staggered by the last two digits of your NIT or cedula.
Colombia also requires a separate informational declaration of foreign assets from residents holding assets abroad above the applicable threshold, filed on its own schedule rather than with the Formulario 210. Because that threshold and calendar are Colombian-side items that move, have your contador confirm both for your filing year.
Missing a US deadline is expensive. Missing a Colombian deadline can be too -- but the regime differs, and your Colombian contador tracks those dates.
Behind on Filings?
If you have been in Colombia for a few years and have not filed US returns or FBARs, you are not alone. It is the most common situation we see.
The IRS offers the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures for non-willful expats who are behind. If you qualify, you can catch up on delinquent returns and FBARs with reduced or waived penalties. The key requirement is non-willfulness -- you did not know you had to file, or you reasonably believed you were compliant -- plus a certification statement explaining your situation.
We walk through the process in our post on getting back on track after years abroad. Act before the IRS contacts you. Voluntary disclosure is always better than reactive compliance.
How ASTR Works: US Side In-House, Colombian Side via Partners
ASTR is a US tax firm. Sabih Shafi, the principal, is an Enrolled Agent -- federally licensed by the US Treasury to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all fifty states and internationally. Every US return, FBAR, Form 8938, Form 2555, Form 1116, and streamlined filing is handled in-house under our authority.
Colombian-side compliance is a different jurisdiction. We do not pretend to be Colombian-licensed. We coordinate with our licensed in-country partners -- Colombian accountants registered with the DIAN who handle the Formulario 210, RUT registration, and local advisory. You deal with one point of contact (us), and we make sure both sides are done correctly by the right people.
The alternative is chaos: a US preparer who does not understand Colombia, a Colombian contador who does not understand US reporting, and the two never talking. Income gets reported differently. Credits get miscalculated. FBAR gets missed. One coordinated process eliminates the gaps.
Read more about our international practice on our international tax services page.
FAQ
Do US citizens in Colombia still have to file US taxes?
Yes. US citizenship carries a worldwide filing obligation. You file Form 1040 every year regardless of where you live. The FEIE and FTC can reduce or eliminate US tax owed, but the filing itself never goes away.
Is there a US-Colombia tax treaty?
No. There is no income tax treaty and no Social Security totalization agreement between the US and Colombia. Double taxation relief relies entirely on US statutory mechanisms -- the FEIE and the Foreign Tax Credit.
What is the FBAR threshold?
You must file FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR) if the combined value of all foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 USD at any point during the calendar year. It is an aggregate test -- you add up every account. One day over $10,000 combined triggers the requirement.
Can I use the FEIE in Colombia?
Yes, if you have foreign-earned income and meet either the physical presence test (330 full days outside the US in a 12-month period) or the bona fide residence test. The FEIE excludes earned income only -- not investment income, pensions, or passive income. The exclusion amount is inflation-adjusted: for 2026 it is $132,900 per qualifying person, or $265,800 for a married couple where each spouse qualifies separately.
How do I become a Colombian tax resident?
The primary test is physical presence: 183 days or more in Colombia within a 365-day period. Days need not be consecutive. Once you cross that threshold, Colombia can tax your worldwide income. Other factors, including visa type and personal ties, can also be relevant.
The 183-day rule in Article 10 remains the operative test, and the failed 2025 reform did not change it. Colombian nationals can also be pulled back into residency by family and asset ties even while living abroad, which is a separate analysis worth running if you hold Colombian citizenship.
Is there a US-Colombia Social Security totalization agreement?
No. Without one, if you work in both countries, you may be subject to both US and Colombian Social Security contributions on the same earnings, without the relief such an agreement would provide.
Do I need an RUT and NIT if I live in Colombia?
If you are a Colombian tax resident or have Colombian-source income, you generally need to register with the DIAN. The RUT is the registration process; the NIT is the number you receive. This is handled through our licensed in-country partners.
What happens if I do not file FBAR?
FBAR penalties can be severe -- civil penalties for non-willful violations can apply per violation, and willful violations carry much higher penalties. If you are behind, the streamlined filing procedures may reduce or waive penalties if your non-compliance was non-willful. Read our streamlined filing guide.
Can ASTR file my Colombian tax return?
No. ASTR is a US-licensed firm. We handle the US side: 1040, FBAR, FATCA, FEIE, FTC, streamlined, and related forms. Your Colombian return -- Formulario 210 -- is prepared and filed by our licensed in-country partners. We coordinate so both sides are aligned, but each jurisdiction is handled by professionals licensed there.
Does Colombia report my bank accounts to the IRS?
Colombia has a Model 1 FATCA IGA with the US, signed May 20, 2015. Colombian financial institutions report account information to the DIAN, and the DIAN exchanges that information with the IRS. Colombian banks do not report directly to the IRS. Read more in our FBAR Bancolombia post.
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This content is for education only. Every tax situation differs and results are never guaranteed. All State Tax Resolution is a US Enrolled Agent firm; Colombian figures here were verified against DIAN Resolution 000238 of 2025, the Estatuto Tributario as amended by Law 2277 of 2022, and Law 44 of 1990, and items still under constitutional review are flagged as such rather than stated as settled law. Colombian-side filings should be handled by a licensed in-country professional.
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