The features of annual maintenance costs for Corporations and/or Foundations are as follows:

Description	Paid to	Frequency	Required
Corporate Franchise Tax	Government	Annually	Mandatory
Tax Filing Fee	Accountant	Annually	Mandatory
Registered Agent/Office Fee	Law Firm	Annually	Mandatory
Nominee Foundation Council/Directors Fee	Law Firm	Annually	Optional
Mail Drop Services Fee	Law Firm	Annually	Optional

Below are the detailed descriptions of each of the above-mentioned costs:

1.       Government Fee

(1)      Corporate Franchise Taxes

To keep a corporation or foundation in good standing with the Panamanian Government, each entity must pay a flat annual corporate franchise tax ("tasa unica") to the Panamanian Government (Public Registry).

Please note that if the annual corporate franchise taxes are not paid, the Public Registry will not permit any changes to the entity at the Public Registry, and will not allow you to obtain any Certificates of Incumbency or Certificate of Good Standing for the entity, which are generally required by financial institutions from time to time, as part of their due diligence procedures/policies. In addition, certificates of good standing are generally required for transferring of property held within corporations and/or foundations.

According to Panamanian Law, the government corporate franchise tax payment deadlines are based on the Incorporation date, as follows:

Incorporation Date	Tax Payment Deadline
From 1 January to 30 June	15 July
From 1 July to 31 December	15 January

(2)     Late Payment Penalty

If the annual government corporate franchise tax ("tasa unica") is not paid on or before the due dates mentioned above, the entity will be charged a late penalty.

The Second Late Payment Penalty will be imposed if the company yet to settle the licence fee together with first penalty. Thereafter, extra penalty will be added after missing each additional “deadline”.

2.       Tax Filing Fes

There are two types of tax filings in Panama:

(1)      Operational Tax Filing

This is a tax filing for operational entities (corporations or foundations), in other words, entities that are operating physical businesses or generating income from sources within the territory of the Republic of Panama. This type of tax filing requires a detailed declaration of income, duly audited by a Panamanian Certified Public Accountant (CPA). The costs for operational tax filings can vary from $250 or more depending on the nature and size of the business.

(2)      Non - Operational Tax Filing

This is a tax filing for Non-Operational entities (corporations or foundations), in other words, entities that are operating offshore, outside of the territory of the Republic of Panama, or entities that are not operating businesses or generating income from sources within the territory of the Republic of Panama. This type of tax filing requires a simple declaration of non-operation (or offshore operation), duly signed by a Panamanian Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

All entities, including operational or non-operational, must conduct tax filling annually from 1 January to 31 March.

3.       Registered Agent / Office Fees

The registered agent / office is the law firm or attorney that represents the entity (corporation and/or foundation) and the name of the law firm or attorney and office address of the entity is stated on the public deed of the entity at the Public Registry. To keep a corporation or foundation in good standing with our law firm, each entity must pay an annual registered agent / office fee per year, starting one year from the date of incorporation.

See also:
Panama Company Incorporation Procedures and Fees