Auxadi 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.
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 Auxadi is trusted as an expert outsourcing provider in Guatemala
Auxadi is your ideal partner in Guatemala to support you with all your business processing outsourcing requirements – from accounting and reporting, to tax compliance, to payroll services. Our 40 years’ experience, a single-point-of-contact delivery model and our leading MySPV technology platform make us a leader in the industry.
Company registration takes about 15 days in Guatemala, less than half the regional average of 31 days, and there’s a one-stop portal – Mi Negocio – that lets businesses simultaneously register with the Mercantile Registry (Registro Mercantil) and the tax authority (SAT). It is intended that the platform will also include the social security institute (IGSS) and the Ministry of Labour in the future.
Our experts in Guatemala offer services including:
International Accounting, Tax and Payroll in 50 countries
Corporations
We can help you with your international expansion and we serve more than 600 clients across many different sections. We become an extension of your finance departments abroad and you can access the accounting information of all your international subsidiaries through a single portal, customised to meet your needs.
Funds
With nearly $7 billion of assets under management, we can take of the corporate management and SPV administration of your investment structures. Whether you’re creating a holding structure in Luxembourg or setting up a SPV in Europe and Latin America, we offer accounting, reporting, tax compliance and directorship solutions to help make your life easier.
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.
Meet the team
M. Alejandra Folgar Giron
Country Manager Guatemala
Claudia Nunes
Director International Corporations
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.