Annual ISR Income Tax Return Guatemala 2026: How to File at SAT

The annual ISR return (Income Tax — Impuesto Sobre la Renta) is the most important tax obligation of the year for businesses, self-employed, and employees with additional income in Guatemala. Filed with SAT via Declaraguate or Agencia Virtual before March 31 of the following year.

Quick summary annual ISR: Deadline March 31. Platform: Declaraguate. Cost: Free (tax separate per regime). Annual forms, per SAT’s form list: SAT-1411 (profits, optional simplified, income and exempt regimes) and SAT-1431 (employment income). Late penalty: Q50 per day of delay, capped at Q1,000 (art. 94 num. 9), plus mora and interest if tax is owed.

What Is ISR and Who Must File?

The Income Tax (ISR — Impuesto Sobre la Renta) taxes income earned by individuals and legal entities in Guatemala. Required to file an annual return:

Verify your situation in RTU →

The 3 ISR Regimes

1. Optional Simplified Regime (Gross Income)

2. Regime on Profits

3. Employee Regime (Dependent Relationship)

Calculate your ISR as an employee with the Net Salary Calculator to verify your employer’s withholdings.

Preparation Before Filing

Documents to Gather

1. Employer withholding certificate (employees) — under Decreto 10-2012 art. 78 the employer delivers it within 10 days of each payment; if it is included in the payslip, a final certificate is due within 10 business days of the last payment of the year (regulation, art. 70)
2. IVA planilla (personal expenses with NIT for the year) — download from Agencia Virtual
3. Annual IVA returns (general regime)
4. FEL reports — sales and purchases for the period
5. Exemption certificates if applicable (donations, special medical expenses)
6. Financial statements (profits regime — companies)
7. IGSS deduction certificate (employees)

Data Reconciliation

• Add all your annual income from January 1 to December 31
• Verify the ISR amount your employer withheld vs what you actually owed
• Add your IVA planilla — IVA paid on personal expenses invoiced to your name, up to Q12,000 (art. 72 lit. a)
• Identify donations supported to qualified entities

How to File the Return Step by Step

Employees (With or Without Other Income)

1. Go to declaraguate.sat.gob.gt with CUI/NIT
2. Select form SAT-1431 (Employees)
3. Review preloaded data: automatic employer certificate, IGSS deducted, withholdings
4. Add other income if applicable (fees, rentals)
5. Report IVA planilla — system validates with FEL
6. Report supported donations
7. System calculates ISR to pay or balance in favor
8. Validate and freeze the return
9. If tax to pay: generate slip and pay at bank
10. If balance in favor: request refund in the same return

Self-Employed (Optional Regime)

1. Select form SAT-1411 (the annual return; SAT-1311 is the optional regime’s monthly payment)
2. Report monthly gross income for the year
3. Report withholdings received from clients (7% at source)
4. Report advance payments made monthly
5. Apply deductions (donations)
6. System calculates final tax and adjustment against payments made
7. Pay difference or request refund

Companies (Profits Regime)

1. Select form SAT-1411
2. Report total income for fiscal year
3. Deduct all necessary, verifiable expenses
4. Calculate net income (profit)
5. Apply 25% ISR on net income
6. Subtract quarterly advance payments
7. Determine balance to pay or in favor
8. Attach financial statements and tax reconciliation

Key Deadlines and Dates

Penalties for Late Filing

Source for the penalties and reductions: SAT’s guide Reducción de sanciones tributarias en el Código Tributario guatemalteco (Intendencia de Asuntos Jurídicos), read 24 September 2026.

One day late is already Q50, and the fine rises Q50 a day up to Q1,000. With the 85% reduction for filing voluntarily, the cap drops to Q150.

Correction (24 September 2026): this page gave the late-filing fine as a fixed Q50 per return and Q1,000-Q5,000 if filed after a SAT requirement. Per SAT’s guide to Tax Code art. 94 numeral 9, it is Q50 per day of delay, capped at Q1,000. See our corrections policy.

ISR Refunds (When You Get Money Back)

Three situations generate recoverable balance in favor:

1. Employees: if the employer withheld too much, art. 79 requires the employer to refund the excess in the annual settlement and report it to SAT within the first two months of the year
2. Self-employed: 7% withholdings from your clients exceed your final annual tax
3. Companies: quarterly payments exceed effective annual ISR

Refund procedure:

• Request in the same return (mark “balance in favor” box)
• SAT verifies internally (cross-references with employer withholdings and FEL)

Diaspora: Guatemalans Abroad

If you live outside Guatemala but have active NIT:

Case A: NIT with Activity

If you generate Guatemalan income (rentals, dividends, sales, fees), you must file Guatemalan income. Your U.S. salary is not taxed (territorial criterion).

Case B: NIT without Activity

If your NIT is active but you don’t generate Guatemalan income:

• File a zero return each year to avoid fines
• Or temporarily suspend (Temporary Suspension) if you won’t operate for months
• Or close the NIT if you permanently emigrated

How to File from the U.S.

1. Verify Agencia Virtual access — from any country
2. Gather documents — request certificates by email from Guatemalan employers
3. File online at Declaraguate
4. If payment required: international transfer to Guatemalan bank
5. If gestor needed: grant power of attorney at Guatemalan consulate

Frequently Asked Questions

“How much can I deduct in IVA planilla?”

Up to Q12,000 of IVA paid on personal expenses, through the planilla of invoices filed with SAT in the first 10 business days of January (Decreto 10-2012, art. 72 lit. a).

“My employer didn’t give me a withholding certificate. What do I do?”

Decreto 10-2012 art. 78 requires the employer to deliver it within 10 days of each payment (or, if it is in the payslip, a final certificate within 10 business days of the last payment of the year, per regulation art. 70). The same art. 78 says a worker who does not receive it should report it to SAT.

“I worked with 2 employers in the year. How do I file?”

You need certificates from both employers. Under Decreto 10-2012 art. 77, the employer who pays you the most acts as withholding agent on your total income, based on a sworn statement of what the others pay you (SAT form SAT-1901); if that was not done and less was withheld than due, art. 81 requires you to file and pay within the first three months of the following year.

“I have a rental property. What regime applies?”

Rentals tax as capital income at 10% on gross rental income. Filed separately and does NOT add to salary. Specific form and deadlines.

“Can I deduct gasoline, restaurants, and entertainment?”

Only if necessary to generate your income and you have FEL invoice to your NIT. Personal gasoline does NOT deduct; sales rep gasoline visiting clients DOES. Restaurants with clients DO (representation expense); personal dinners DON’T. SAT can audit these deductions.

“I forgot to file last year. What do I do?”

File as soon as possible. The late-filing fine rises Q50 per day up to Q1,000 (art. 94 num. 9), and filing before SAT requires you gets an 85% reduction (art. 94 “A”). If tax is owed, mora and interest keep running until you pay.

Practical Tips

1. Gather documents in Jan-Feb — don’t wait until March when everyone overloads the system.
2. Use the net salary calculator throughout the year to verify employer withholdings.
3. Request invoices with your NIT all year — you accumulate deductible IVA planilla.
4. Keep digital and physical copies of the return and payment receipt.
5. If your situation changed (marriage, child, new home), check if it affects deductions.
6. Call 1550 or use Declaraguate chat if you get stuck in the system.
7. Companies: hire an accountant experienced in tax reconciliation — one error can cost thousands in fines.

Official Links

• Declaraguate
• SAT — Agencia Virtual
• SAT — Main Portal
• SAT Information Line: 1550

Related SAT Procedures

• Declaraguate SAT — filing platform
• SAT Agencia Virtual — alternative portal
• Monthly IVA Return — parallel monthly obligation
• CUI-NIT Lookup — verify your NIT before filing
• Print RTU — confirm your regime
• Tax Regime Change — if you changed regime, affects filing
• IVA Tax Credit Refund — balances in favor can apply to ISR
• Net Salary Calculator — calculate your estimated monthly ISR
• SAT Guatemala Portal — SAT services gateway