If you run a business in Colombia, or you're managing payroll and compliance for a foreign-owned entity operating there, one detail catches more companies off guard than almost anything else: your filing deadlines aren't the same as everyone else's.
Colombia's tax authority, DIAN (Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales), assigns deadlines based on the last digits of your NIT (Número de Identificación Tributaria). Two companies filing the exact same tax, in the exact same month, can have deadlines two or three weeks apart, simply because their NIT ends in a different digit.
Miss your assigned window, even by a day, and Colombia's penalty structure applies immediately: a late-filing surcharge with a fixed minimum, daily interest, and in some cases, additional scrutiny on future filings.
For businesses expanding into Colombia through EOR arrangements or direct incorporation, understanding this calendar isn't optional bookkeeping. It's the difference between smooth operations and a growing stack of avoidable fines.
Colombia's fiscal calendar is structured around obligations to DIAN, with deadlines assigned by the last digits of each taxpayer's NIT. Key obligations include annual income tax (Renta), bimonthly or four-monthly IVA (VAT), monthly withholding tax (Retención en la Fuente), and municipal ICA tax. Corporate income tax runs February through June for large taxpayers and May through July for regular companies, while individual filings run August through October, based on ID digit groupings.
Unlike jurisdictions with a single fixed deadline for all taxpayers, DIAN publishes an annual resolution, updated every year, that assigns specific filing dates to companies and individuals based on the last two digits of their NIT (for companies) or cédula (for individuals). This creates a rolling calendar spread across several weeks for each tax obligation, rather than a single date everyone shares.
Since Decree 2229 of 2023, DIAN defines these deadlines in business days rather than calendar days. That's why the exact date range shifts slightly from year to year even when the assigned month stays the same, and why a calendar built for one year can't simply be reused the next. It's also why deadlines can shift mid-year: on March 4, 2026, DIAN announced that several 2026 deadlines coinciding with April 17 (declared a national civic holiday under Decree 500 of 2024) would move forward, since business-day counting pushes every subsequent date when a working day is removed from the calendar.
Spreading deadlines across weeks reduces the operational load on DIAN's filing systems and reduces bottlenecks for taxpayers and accountants managing multiple clients. For a foreign business owner, though, it means you can't simply look up "Colombia tax deadline." You need to know your specific NIT-based window each year, and confirm it hasn't shifted due to a mid-year adjustment like the one above.
DIAN splits corporate income tax into two separate tracks with different schedules:
Grandes Contribuyentes (Large Taxpayers): File in three installments. The 1st installment payment is due in February (window: February 10 to 23, 2026), the 2nd installment (declaration plus payment) is due in April (window: April 13 to 24, 2026), and the 3rd installment payment is due in June (window: June 10 to 24, 2026). The exact day within each window depends on the last digit of the NIT.
Personas Jurídicas (regular companies): File in two installments. The 1st installment (declaration plus payment) is due in May (window: May 12 to 26, 2026), and the 2nd installment payment is due in July (window: July 9 to 23, 2026). Exact day again depends on the last digit of the NIT.
For individuals, including foreign nationals with tax residency obligations in Colombia, the filing window spans from August 12 to October 26, 2026, assigned by the last two digits of the cédula or NIT, with different day ranges published for each two-digit block.
Colombia's value-added tax return is filed either bimonthly or four-monthly, depending on the taxpayer's classification, based on prior-year revenue.
Each period's exact due day is assigned by the last digit of the NIT, typically falling between the 9th and 27th of the filing month.
Companies acting as withholding agents must file and remit withheld amounts monthly, covering the prior month's activity. DIAN publishes deadlines for every month from February 2026 through January 2027, with exact due days (typically the 9th to the 27th) assigned by the last digit of the NIT.
Businesses enrolled in the RST file a consolidated annual return (window: April 17 to 23, 2026, by last digit blocks) and a consolidated IVA return (window: February 16 to 20, 2026). Additionally, RST taxpayers make six bimonthly advance payments, due in March, May, July, September, November, and January 2027, the same bimonthly cadence as IVA filers. Individual taxpayers under the RST whose annual income doesn't exceed 3,500 UVT are exempt from the bimonthly advances and only need to file the consolidated annual return.
Note: the RST annual return window falls within the April 17 date affected by the civic holiday adjustment described above. Confirm the current window against DIAN's updated communication before relying on these exact dates.
For taxpayers subject to this tax, the first installment (declaration plus payment) is due in May, assigned by NIT digit, and the second installment payment is due September 14, independent of the NIT.
Separately from income tax and VAT, Colombia requires updates to its own beneficial ownership registry (RUB) whenever there's a reportable change in ownership or control. For 2026, the update windows fall on February 2, May 4, August 3, and November 3. You only need to file if a change occurred during the corresponding period; there's no filing obligation if nothing changed.
This is a distinct obligation from Panama's beneficial owner registry, but it follows a similar transparency logic: both require identifying the natural person who ultimately owns or controls the entity.
ICA is a municipal tax, meaning deadlines and rates vary depending on where your business operates. Bogotá, Medellín, and other cities each set their own schedules. Most municipalities require bimonthly filings, though this varies by jurisdiction and should be confirmed against your specific municipality's calendar.
This obligation is particularly relevant for foreign businesses that generate income from Colombian users or clients without a local entity, a common scenario for companies selling digital services or products into Colombia. Non-resident entities with Significant Economic Presence (Presencia Económica Significativa) must make bimonthly advance payments on the 10th business day of March, May, July, September, November, and January, regardless of NIT: January to February by March 13, 2026; March to April by May 15, 2026; May to June by July 14, 2026; July to August by September 14, 2026; September to October by November 17, 2026; and November to December by January 18, 2027.
The annual declaration is due on the 14th business day of April, which under DIAN's original 2026 calendar landed on April 22. This is the confirmed figure (not April 23, which appeared in some secondary sources). However, this specific deadline is one of the ones affected by DIAN's March 2026 adjustment for the April 17 civic holiday described above, so the exact final date may have moved by a day or more. Confirm the current date against DIAN's official communication (Comunicado No. 031 of 2026) before publishing.
Companies above certain revenue thresholds must submit detailed reporting on transactions, suppliers, and clients to DIAN annually. This reporting deadline typically falls in the first half of the year following the reporting period and requires significant advance preparation, since it demands transaction-level detail across the entire fiscal year.
Exact due days within each month are assigned by the last digit(s) of your NIT or cédula, per DIAN's official 2026 calendar. Always confirm your specific digit block against the published table before filing.
DIAN's penalty structure is designed to escalate the longer non-compliance continues:
Late filing surcharge (sanción por extemporaneidad). A percentage-based penalty calculated on the tax owed (5% per month of delay, under Article 641 of the Estatuto Tributario), which increases the longer the filing is delayed.
Minimum penalty floor (sanción mínima). Under Article 639 of the Estatuto Tributario, no tax penalty in Colombia can fall below 10 UVT. For 2026, with the UVT set at $52,374 COP by DIAN Resolution 000238 of December 15, 2025, that floor is $524,000 COP. This applies even to very small or zero-balance filings, so a minor or purely formal error can still trigger this fixed minimum charge.
Daily interest (intereses moratorios). Calculated on unpaid tax balances, compounding daily until payment is made.
Increased audit risk. Companies with a pattern of late filings or inconsistent reporting may face closer scrutiny in future DIAN reviews.
Restrictions on tax benefits. In some cases, non-compliant taxpayers may lose eligibility for certain deductions or benefits tied to timely filing.
If your business also operates in Panama or Mexico, it's worth noting how differently each country structures its calendar:
For companies managing compliance across all three jurisdictions, a common scenario for EOR clients expanding regionally, this difference in structure is one of the most frequent sources of missed deadlines. A calendar system built for Mexico's monthly cadence won't automatically catch Colombia's NIT-based windows, let alone a mid-year shift announced by DIAN.
Our compliance team tracks DIAN's annual resolution as soon as it's published, and monitors subsequent adjustment communications, then maps both against each client's specific NIT, so deadlines are never a guessing game. This includes:
Colombia's NIT-based calendar is one of the most common sources of avoidable penalties for foreign-owned businesses in Latin America. If you're not sure which windows apply to your company, or you're managing compliance across multiple countries, let's get ahead of it before a deadline slips by.
Talk to our compliance team at info@jj-associates.com to confirm your 2026 filing calendar.
Also operating in Mexico or Panama? Read our guides to the Mexico Fiscal Calendar 2026 and Panama Fiscal Calendar 2026.
Managing beneficial ownership across borders? Colombia's RUB follows a similar logic to Panama's own registry. See our guide to Panama's Beneficial Owner Registry for the comparison.
How do I know my exact filing deadline in Colombia?
Your deadline is determined by the last two digits of your NIT (for companies) or cédula (for individuals), matched against DIAN's annual resolution. Since this changes each year, and can shift mid-year if DIAN declares an adjustment, always confirm against the current year's published calendar rather than relying on last year's dates.
Do foreign-owned companies follow the same fiscal calendar as local businesses?
Yes. Once a foreign-owned entity is registered with a NIT in Colombia, it follows the same DIAN calendar structure as any domestic company.
Is VAT filed monthly in Colombia?
No. VAT (IVA) is filed bimonthly or four-monthly depending on the taxpayer's classification, not monthly.
What is ICA and why does it vary by city?
ICA (Impuesto de Industria y Comercio) is a municipal tax on business activity. Since municipalities set their own rates and, in some cases, their own filing schedules, requirements can differ significantly between cities like Bogotá and Medellín.
Do I need to update the RUB every quarter even if nothing changed?
No. The RUB update windows (February 2, May 4, August 3, and November 3 in 2026) only apply if there was a reportable change in beneficial ownership or control during that period. No change means no filing obligation for that window.
What is "información exógena" and who needs to file it?
It's a detailed annual report of transactions, suppliers, and clients required from companies above certain revenue thresholds. It requires substantial advance preparation due to the volume of transaction-level detail required.
Can I request an extension if I miss a DIAN deadline?
Colombia's system generally does not offer extensions in the way some jurisdictions do; late filing typically triggers penalties and interest rather than an extension process, so proactive planning is critical.
Does Colombia have a single corporate tax deadline like Panama does?
No. Unlike Panama's more fixed annual deadlines, Colombia splits corporate income tax by taxpayer type: large taxpayers (Grandes Contribuyentes) file across February, April, and June, while regular companies (Personas Jurídicas) file across May and July, with the exact day determined by the last digit of your NIT.
How much is the minimum penalty if I make a small filing error?
$524,000 COP for 2026 (10 UVT under Article 639 of the Estatuto Tributario), regardless of how small the underlying error or tax balance is.
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