The impuesto de timbres fiscales (fiscal stamp tax) applies to documents containing certain acts and contracts: civil and commercial contracts, payment receipts, documents executed abroad, property resales and others. It is established by the Ley del Impuesto de Timbres Fiscales y de Papel Sellado Especial para Protocolos (Decreto 37-92), the law governing fiscal stamp tax and special stamped paper for notarial records.
See also our timbre notarial and timbre forense guide, in Spanish. For the full cost of buying a home, including the 3% stamp tax on a resale, see real estate closing costs.
Future amendment: Decreto 18-2026, published on 28 August 2026, adds Article 43 Bis: revenue from stamp tax on second and subsequent sales, exchanges and other transfers of real estate will be earmarked for the municipality where the property is located, after pre-existing statutory earmarks are deducted. Article 5(c) says this addition will take effect on “el uno (1) de enero del ejercicio fiscal siguiente al de la publicación”.
Quick summary
| Item | Detail | Article |
|---|---|---|
| General rate | 3% of the value of the act or contract | 4 |
| Fixed charges | Authentications, powers of attorney, titles, patents, promises to sell and other documents | 5 |
| Exemption threshold | Documents taxed by value are exempt when their value is up to Q33.00 | 7 |
| Rounding | Fractions round up to the next tenth of a quetzal | 8 |
| Who pays | Whoever issues, signs or executes the document | 3 |
| If IVA applies | An act subject to IVA (value-added tax) is exempt from stamp tax | 9 and 11 |
| How to pay | Affixed stamps, a stamp-imprinting machine or cash at government tax cashiers or banks | 17 |
| Mandatory bank payment | When the tax exceeds Q3,001.00 | 18 |
| Who manufactures them | Administración Tributaria (tax administration) | 23 |
Decreto 37-92 is available in the text published by SAT, with amendment annotations.
The 3% rate
Article 4 states: “La tarifa del impuesto es del tres por ciento (3%)” [The tax rate is three percent (3%)]. It applies to the value of taxable acts and contracts. That value is the amount stated in the document and cannot be lower than the amount in public registers, registration rolls, cadastral records or official lists.
Article 7 exempts documents taxed by value when their stated value is up to Q33.00. Under Article 8, fractions of a tenth of a quetzal in the resulting tax round up to the next tenth. Article 18 requires payment in cash at banks or authorized institutions when the tax exceeds Q3,001.00.
Illustrative calculation (our arithmetic using Arts. 4, 7 and 8, not figures published by SAT):
| Document value | Calculation | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| Q30.00 | Up to Q33.00, no tax arises (Art. 7) | Q0.00 |
| Q1,234.56 | 3% = Q37.0368; rounds up to the next tenth of a quetzal (Art. 8) | Q37.10 |
| Q10,000.00 | 3% | Q300.00 |
| Q150,000.00 | 3%; above Q3,001.00, so it must be paid in cash at a bank (Art. 18) | Q4,500.00 |
Which documents are taxable?
Article 2 lists documents containing these acts and contracts:
- Civil and commercial contracts.
- Documents executed abroad intended to have effects in Guatemala, when entered into a notary’s protocol, presented to an authority or cited in a notarial proceeding.
- Public or private documents proving payment in goods or money.
- Receipts for insurance and surety-bond premiums.
- Receipts for lottery, raffle and draw prizes.
- Receipts for withdrawals of business funds for owners’ personal expenses or travel allowances without supporting evidence.
- Documents recording commissions paid by the State for collecting taxes, purchasing fiscal stamps or stamped paper, or other commissions established by law.
- (Repealed.)
- Second and subsequent sales or exchanges of real estate (added by Decreto 10-2012).
SAT publishes guidance on this list, Documentos afectos según el artículo 2. It states that the material is illustrative and does not replace consulting the applicable laws and regulations.
For documents signed abroad: Article 2 covers documents intended to have effects in Guatemala; Article 16 sets the payment timing described below. For related procedures, see notarial protocolization and a Guatemalan notarial power of attorney from the USA.
Article 5 fixed charges
These documents pay a fixed amount rather than 3%:
| Document | Charge |
|---|---|
| Auténtica de firmas (signature authentication) by a State agency, each | Q10.00 |
| Signature authentication abroad, each | Quetzal equivalent of US$10.00 at the exchange rate in force on the authentication date |
| Razón (endorsement) placed by a public registry at the foot of a document | Q0.50 |
| Accounting books, loose accounting sheets, minutes or registers, per sheet | Q0.50 |
| Appointment titles, credentials or documents establishing representation of a legal entity, issued in a notarial record or another form | Q100.00 |
| Indexes, testimonios especiales (special certified copies), plain or authenticated copies and actas notariales (notarial records), per sheet | Q0.50 |
| Actas de legalización notarial de firmas o documentos (notarial records authenticating signatures or documents) | Q5.00 |
| Poder general (general power of attorney), first sheet of the testimonio (certified copy) | Q10.00 |
| Poder especial (special power of attorney), first sheet of the certified copy | Q2.00 |
| Cover of a testamento cerrado (sealed will) | Q200.00 |
| Patent of invention, corresponding title | Q50.00 |
| Registro Mercantil (Commercial Registry) patent: individual enterprise / commercial company | Q50.00 / Q200.00 |
| Patent for a vessel registered under the Guatemalan flag, per hundred tons or fraction | Q100.00 |
| Legally recognized professional qualification: university / technical | Q100.00 / Q25.00 |
| Concession title for exploiting national forests, mines, quarries or other resources | Q1,000.00 |
| Promesa de compraventa (promise to sell) real estate | Q50.00 |
| Certified copy of a public deed establishing, transforming, modifying, liquidating or merging a commercial company, first sheet | Q250.00 |
Appointments or documents establishing representation of cooperatives are excluded from the appointment charge and are governed by special laws (Art. 5, item 5). Papel sellado especial para protocolos (special stamped paper for notarial protocols) has its own charge: Q10.00 per sheet (Art. 6).
When stamp tax is not payable
- If the act is subject to IVA. Article 11, item 1, exempts documents covering acts taxed under IVA, whether or not the person carrying them out is an IVA taxpayer. For property, stamp tax applies to second and subsequent sales (Art. 2, item 9); IVA on the first sale is discussed in closing costs.
- Salary and benefit receipts. Item 2 of the same article exempts receipts for salaries, aguinaldos (annual bonuses), employment benefits and other remuneration under an employment relationship, and receipts for court-ordered maintenance payments. It also covers travel allowances and representation expenses in that relationship, retirement benefits and pensions, proof-of-survival documents for retired personnel or beneficiaries, and employer and employee contributions to pension funds.
- Checks and certificates of deposit (Art. 11, item 4).
- Certain persons and entities (Art. 10): the State, its decentralized and autonomous entities, municipalities and their enterprises, when they would otherwise owe the tax; authorized universities; private educational establishments following official study plans or authorized experimental programs, when they would otherwise owe the tax; and cooperatives, federations and their confederation in transactions with one another and their members. Their transactions with third parties remain taxable. Eligible nonprofit associations, foundations and other institutions must meet the statutory conditions, including no distribution of profits and use of funds for their stated purposes. Unless expressly exempted by law, they must first request the corresponding declaration from the Ministerio de Finanzas Públicas (Ministry of Public Finance). An express statutory exemption must be identified in the document. Where exempt and nonexempt parties participate, tax is payable only in proportion to the nonexempt parties.
How to pay
Article 17 provides three methods: affixing timbres fiscales, using stamp-imprinting machines, or paying in cash at government tax cashiers or any bank in the national banking system.
For notaries, Article 18 adds that they may pay in cash at banks or authorized institutions, imprint the amount using an authorized machine, or buy and affix stamps. When the tax exceeds Q3,001.00, cash payment at banks or authorized institutions is mandatory. Where no special payment method is specified by this law, its regulations or another tax law, Article 18 also permits certified, cashier’s or manager’s checks. If a notary affixes stamps to a certified copy, the amount and number of each stamp must be recorded (Art. 19). Notarial fees are covered in our notary fees guide.
When to pay
Article 16 sets the payment timing according to the document. Examples include:
- Escrituras públicas (public deeds): when the corresponding certified copy is issued.
- Documents executed abroad: on the document itself, before its protocolización (incorporation into a notary’s protocol); if protocolization is not compulsory, before authentication by the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
- Documents subject to annual tax: when issued, covering the remainder of that calendar year, and then within the first fifteen calendar days of January each year for annual renewal.
- Other taxable documents: on the date they are issued or payments are received.
Who manufactures and sells the stamps?
The Administración Tributaria is responsible for manufacturing fiscal stamps and special stamped paper for notarial protocols (Art. 23). Public sales are preferably through authorized patentados (licensed fiscal-stamp sellers) (Art. 25); seller licenses cannot be issued to legal entities.
Notaries have the privileges of licensed sellers, but stamps and special stamped paper cannot be sold to inactive or disqualified notaries. Such notaries also cannot pay the tax using stamp-imprinting machines or cash (Art. 27).
Licensed sellers receive a 10% commission on their purchases, paid in the same fiscal stamps or stamped paper. Active notaries receive 10% when purchasing stamped paper or fiscal stamps, using a stamp-imprinting machine authorized in their name, or paying the tax in cash on taxable documents they authorize (Art. 28).