Auxadi Guatemala
Located between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala boasts a diverse landscape of rainforests, active volcanoes, and ancient monuments.
The country benefits from free trade agreements with the United States and the European Union, offering privileged access to key international markets. Its strategic location, abundant natural resources, favorable business environment, and well-developed logistics and tourism sectors position Guatemala as a leading regional hub. This is further strengthened by a growing focus on technological development and the presence of eight free economic zones that provide tax incentives for investors.
While Guatemala is the only oil-producing country in Central America, its key industries include sugar, coffee, bananas, furniture, chemicals and petroleum, metals, textiles, and rubber. Exports are primarily directed to the United States, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua, and also include energy. The renewable energy sector continues to expand, with a target of generating 60% of domestic energy from renewable sources by 2027. Additionally, the sugar industry has begun producing biodiesel and generating energy from sugarcane pulp, contributing to the country's sustainable development goals.
Ranked 96th out of 190 in the Ease of Doing Business index, Guatemala actively promotes foreign investment. However, regulatory challenges remain, requiring careful navigation to ensure compliance and operational efficiency.
Guatemala
Located between the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, Guatemala holds rainforests, active volcanoes, and ancient monuments.
Guatemala holds free-trade agreements with the USA and EU, and its strategic location provides them access to both coasts, excellent natural resources, good business environment, and strong logistics and tourism sectors, making it an excellent regional hub. This is further bolstered by interest in technological development and the eight free economic zones offering tax incentives to investors.
While Guatemala is the only oil producing country in Central America, its major industries are sugar, coffee, bananas, furniture, chemicals/petroleum, metals, textiles, and rubber. Exports generally go to the USA, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua, and include energy. The renewable energy sector in Guatemala is also growing, aiming for 60% of domestic energy to be from renewable sources by 2027, and the sugar industry is now producing biodiesel and energy from sugarcane pulp.
Ranking 96/190 for Ease of Doing Business, the government promotes foreign investment but there are regulatory hurdles to be navigated.
Why Trust Auxadi as Your Expert Outsourcing Provider in Guatemala?
At Auxadi, we provide comprehensive support to meet all business process outsourcing requirements in Guatemala, from accounting and reporting to tax compliance and payroll management.
With over 45 years of experience, a single-point-of-contact service model, and our innovative MySPV technology platform, we are industry leaders, ensuring efficiency and regulatory compliance for our clients.
Company registration in Guatemala is a streamlined process, taking approximately 15 days, significantly faster than the regional average of 31 days. Additionally, the country offers the Mi Negocio platform, a one-stop portal that enables simultaneous registration with the Mercantile Registry (Registro Mercantil) and the tax authority (SAT). In the future, this platform is expected to integrate the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) and the Ministry of Labour, further enhancing business formalization in the country.
Our experts in Guatemala offer services including:
International Accounting, Tax, Payroll, Transfer Pricing and Corporate Legal Services in 50 countries
Services
At Auxadi, we are proud to offer a comprehensive range of professional services, such as accounting, tax, payroll, transfer pricing and Corporate Legal Services to over 1,300 clients. In addition to these core services, we also provide a range of key services for multinationals and funds. Our MySPV platform and local experts enable us to provide comprehensive financial management services, acting as an extension of your finance department.
Our services
Accounting Specialists
Guatemala companies must submit their tax documentation under local GAAP, as specified by the Tax Update Law. Companies that need to file financial statements under IFRS due to requirements of the parent company can do so internally, however these aren’t presented to the Tax Administration (SAT).
We help global corporations and fund managers with all their corporate accounting requirements. Our accounting experts in Guatemala can help manage:
- Accounting and bookkeeping
- Management accounting
- Statutory accounting
- Official Books and Annual Accounts
- Cash management (including payments)
- Reporting
- Consolidation of finanical statements
- Bank account tracking
- Treasury and cash flow forecasts
- Audit assistance
Tax Specialists
Standard corporation tax in Guatemala is set at 25% and, though there are variations, resident and non-resident companies pay the same rate on Guatemalan-sourced income. Start-up expenses, interest charges (with limits), charitable donations (up to 5% net income), and bad debt (up to 3%) are deductible.
A 5% withholding tax applies to dividends and to remittances to a foreign head office by a Guatemalan branch, and non-residents have withholdings on invoices (which vary depending on the activity).
A solidarity tax (ISO – Impuesto de Solidaridad) of 1% applies on the higher of either net assets or gross income of a corporation for those companies under the regime of ‘lucrative activities on profits’.
Our expert tax team in Guatemala can help ensure you comply with the intricate local taxation rules, using our purpose-built automation technology.
- Tax compliance – covering multinational, federal, state, and municipal taxes
- Official Books and Annual Accounts
- Assistance with tax inspections and audits
- Tax reviews and claims
Payroll Specialists
Guatemala’s average monthly wage varies according to the type of work, and there are different rates for agricultural and non-agricultural work.
The majority of the country’s workers have no formal employment contract in place. In Guatemala, verbal contracts are valid for domestic services, agricultural work, and temp work under 60 days, but the employer must provide a document with the start date and salary information.
Social security contributions payable by the employer amount to 12.67% of the gross salary, and around 8% of workers are unionised.
Our experienced and knowledgeable team of payroll specialists in Guatemala will use our unique payroll technology platform to manage your payroll function.
Monitor and manage your international subsidiaries with our MultiCountry online platform
Access our online platform that provides you with a global and harmonized view of the accounting of your international subsidiaries, with drill down functionality to check support documentation, such as: invoices, outstanding creditors, approve payment orders, manage the payroll processing cycle and so much more. Request a demo to see how our technology can help you.
Get access to Auxadi corporate materials and technical guides to know more about us.
Auxadi in Guatemala
Diagonal 6 12-42 zona 10,
Edificio Design Center,
Torre II Oficina 605
Ciudad de Guatemala
Tel: + 502 2277 2626
Count on our professional and extensive experience in the Guatemalan market, for your investments in Guatemala and elsewhere in Europe, the United States and Latin America.