Miss It By a Day, Pay For a Month

Miss a Colombian filing deadline by a single day and the penalty starts at 5% of what you owe, per month, with no cap until it reaches 100%. Your deadline isn't a round date you already know from your home country. It's tied to the last two digits of your tax ID, and DIAN does not send a reminder.

The Filings That Apply to You

• Declaración de Renta (income tax)
  Frequency: Annual, filed May–October
  Who it applies to: Tax residents above the filing threshold

• Retención en la Fuente (withholding)
  Frequency: Monthly
  Who it applies to: Those with Colombian-source withholding obligations

• IVA (VAT)
  Frequency: Bimonthly or quarterly
  Who it applies to: VAT-registered activities

• Formulario 160 (foreign asset report)
  Frequency: Annual, with the income tax return
  Who it applies to: Residents with foreign assets over the reporting threshold

• Impuesto al Patrimonio (wealth tax)
  Frequency: Annual
  Who it applies to: Net worth over 72,000 UVT

• Impuesto Predial (property tax)
  Frequency: Annual
  Who it applies to: Property owners, paid to the municipality

On the wealth tax: the standing threshold under Ley 2277 de 2022 is 72,000 UVT, which works out to roughly USD 1.17–1.21 million depending on the exchange rate used at the time. That's meaningfully higher than the figure some guides still quote, and it matters — a lot of expats who assume they're near the threshold are further from it than they think. Where the wealth tax does bite, it applies at marginal rates of 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5% as net worth rises through the bands above the threshold.

How the Staggered System Works

DIAN assigns your deadline based on the last two digits of your NIT (tax ID), and personal-return deadlines run from May through October. DIAN publishes the full calendar annually, and your specific date appears on your RUT, the tax ID document itself — not in a general announcement, so check your own document rather than a headline date.

What Missing a Deadline Actually Costs

• Late filing: minimum 5% of the tax owed per month late, up to 100%.

• Interest on unpaid tax: accrues at DIAN's published rate, which is revised periodically.

• Formulario 160 non-filing: substantial fixed penalties, plus ongoing exposure the longer it goes unreported.

If You're Also Filing at Home

Most people who've just become Colombian tax residents are running two calendars for their first year or two, not one.

• United States
  The deadline running alongside Colombia's: Form 1040 — April 15, extensions available

• Canada (if still Canadian tax resident)
  The deadline running alongside Colombia's: April 30

• United Kingdom
  The deadline running alongside Colombia's: Self-assessment — October (paper) or January (online)

• Germany, France, Netherlands and other EU countries
  The deadline running alongside Colombia's: Home-country filing continues until residency is formally broken

• Japan, Korea, China
  The deadline running alongside Colombia's: Depends on your specific residency exit status

Getting both calendars mapped against each other — not just tracked separately — is the part most people get wrong in year one.

The Best-Practice Checklist

• Get your RUT immediately once Colombian tax residency starts

• Confirm your specific staggered deadline as soon as the RUT is issued

• Engage a Colombian accountant who also understands your home country's system, or coordinates directly with someone who does

• File Formulario 160 alongside your income tax return, not separately

• Keep translated records of all foreign-source income in case of audit

Get Your Dates Straight First

If you're not sure which of your two filing calendars actually comes first, that's worth resolving before your first Declaración de Renta deadline, not after. Book a scoping call — bring your NIT digits, your home-country filing status, and a rough net worth figure, and we'll map both calendars and flag whether the wealth tax threshold is even in play for you.

This covers the general Colombian filing calendar. Your specific deadlines, thresholds and any dual-filing obligations depend on your own residency and income position — confirm them before relying on this.