VAT Calculator calculates the VAT amount as well as the price with and without VAT. The VAT % is pre-filled, but you can change it or clear the value. The results are rounded to your desired precision. You can also make a currency conversion.
You can also choose the VAT% by clicking the percentages in the tables below.
Nicaragua | |
| standard rate | 15% Most sales of goods, imports, supplies of services and grants of the use or enjoyment of property that are not exempt or subject to the 0% rate. Professional services are taxable unless a statutory exclusion or exemption applies. |
| zero rate | 0% Exports of goods of national production and services supplied abroad are subject to the 0% rate when the conditions of the Tax Concertation Law are met. VAT collectors making zero-rated supplies may credit related input VAT and, where this results in a credit balance, may request compensation or a refund subject to the statutory requirements. |
| exempt with deduction | Sales to exempted persons, including Free Zone businesses where the statutory conditions apply, may give rise to compensation or refund of related input VAT under Article 140 of the Tax Concertation Law. This is a tax relief and should not be confused with the 0% rate applicable to qualifying exports. |
| exempt without deduction | The law provides objective exemptions for specified goods and services. Subject to the applicable conditions and lists, exempt goods include books and school supplies, various agricultural products and basic foods, butane or propane gas in containers of up to 25 pounds, specified fuels already subject to specific taxes, used movable goods and transfers of real estate. Exempt services include, among others, qualifying human medical and dental services, domestic passenger transport, freight transport for exports, education supplied by entities whose principal purpose is educational, public drinking-water supply, specified banking and microfinance services, interest, and unfurnished residential lettings. Residential electricity bills for consumption of up to 150 kWh are also exempt. Input VAT directly attributable to exempt transactions is not creditable; for mixed activities, common input VAT is recoverable only in the proportion attributable to taxable transactions. |
| out of scope | Services that in substance constitute an employment relationship are outside the scope of VAT. The DGI also states that professional or technical service contracts supplied to the State are outside VAT where they are in practice performed as an employment relationship. |
| Simplified Fixed-Quota Regime | Nicaragua does not use a general VAT registration threshold comparable with the small-business exemptions found in many countries. Certain natural persons operating small businesses may register under the Simplified Fixed-Quota Regime where monthly income is C$100,000 or less and inventory cost does not exceed C$500,000, provided no exclusion applies. The DGI excludes, among others, legal entities, independent professionals, businesses located in shopping centres, importers and exporters. Fixed-Quota taxpayers pay a monthly fixed amount and do not file the ordinary returns of the general regime. On moving to the general regime, properly documented input VAT attributable to existing inventory may be recognised as a credit. |
| Past changes: | |
| 12 Sep 2026 | A temporary VAT exemption begins for 12–20 September 2026 for tourism, restaurant, recreation and leisure businesses covered by Interinstitutional Agreement MHCP-INTUR-DGI No. 01-2026. Ministry of Finance and Public Credit – Agreement MHCP-INTUR-DGI 01-2026 |
| 9 Apr 2026 | Law 1279 takes effect. For domestic sales of alcoholic beverages, beer, cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes, juices, soft drinks, carbonated or flavoured waters and energy drinks, the VAT taxable amount becomes the distributor price. In the import, the customs value became the basis. The standard rate remains 15%. La Gaceta – Law 1279 |
| 1 Jan 2021 | The special 7% VAT rate for residential electricity bills with monthly consumption of 151–300 kWh ends; the 15% rate applies from this date. Bills for consumption of up to 150 kWh remain VAT-exempt. Nicaraguan Energy Institute – Law 971 |
| 1 Jan 2020 | The special 7% VAT rate for residential electricity bills with monthly consumption of 301–1,000 kWh ends; the 15% rate applies from this date. Nicaraguan Energy Institute – Law 971 |
| 18 Dec 2014 | Law 891 takes effect. The general VAT self-assessment ('autotraslación') obligation that could previously fall on the user or payer of specified services supplied by persons not responsible for collecting VAT is repealed. Dirección General de Ingresos – VAT self-assessment |
Note! The VAT information on this page is general information, not tax advice. The information is not exhaustive. VAT rules include many exceptions and special cases. Check the treatment of your situation in the tax administration's guidelines. Information last checked 5 Oct 2026.
Articles:
VAT rounding: the EU, the UK and other European countries
The EU VAT Directive and the Court of Justice of the European Union leave VAT rounding rules to be decided at national level. National rules vary. In the UK, HMRC allows VAT on B2B invoices to be rounded down to the nearest whole penny.
Roundings in VAT calculation: Mathematically impossible prices?
There are a whole range of VAT-inclusive prices that cannot be mathematically arrived at if the tax is calculated from the VAT-free price. One example is 3.99. These prices are also possible, but then the VAT-free price must be interpreted as rounded.
VAT Gap - How much VAT is left uncollected in EU countries?
9.5% of VAT was left uncollected in EU countries. See the list of EU countries and candidate countries.
In Europe there is VAT - in the US sales tax
In Europe, companies belonging to the production chain account for the VAT paid by the consumer to the state in proportion to their value added. The US sales tax, on the other hand, is billed entirely by the company that made the consumer sale. Sales tax is paid to local operators, not to the state.
Many of today's taxes were already in use in Antiquity. Deciding on taxation has moved from autocrats to parliaments and the level of taxation has risen. In earlier times taxes were used to wage wars, today taxes are used to maintain welfare states.