Before you start

A determination of whether you are tax-resident
RUC and SRI online credentials, if you have independent income
A municipal account with the Alcaldía de Guayaquil, if you own property or trade here
Records of foreign income and of outbound transfers

Step-by-step

1
Establish whether you are tax-resident
The principal test is presence in Ecuador for more than 183 days, continuous or not, within a twelve-month period falling in the fiscal year. There is also a test based on the core of your economic activities or interests. Keep a record of entries and exits — it is the same record the immigration absence rule needs.
OnlineWho: You
2
Understand that residence means worldwide income
An Ecuadorian tax resident is taxable on income from Ecuadorian and foreign sources alike, with relief for foreign tax paid in defined circumstances. This is the opposite of the territorial position in Costa Rica and Panama and is routinely assumed away by people comparing the two.
OnlineWho: You
3
Let withholding handle a straightforward salary
Employers withhold income tax monthly against the annual progressive schedule and you submit your projected deductible personal expenses to them. Employees with a single employer and no other income generally have nothing further to file.
Via employerWho: Your employer
4
Get a RUC and file if you invoice anyone
Independent professionals, landlords and businesses register for a RUC, issue electronic invoices through the SRI system and file periodically. Smaller taxpayers may fall within the simplified RIMPE regime, which changes both the rate and the filing frequency — check which category applies before you assume the general regime.
OnlineWho: You
5
Register with the municipality if you trade or own property here
The patente municipal is required of anyone carrying on economic activity in the canton, and businesses above the threshold also pay the 1.5 per mil on total assets. The impuesto predial is charged on property. All of it is paid to the Alcaldía de Guayaquil through its own tributos portal, on its own calendar, and none of it appears anywhere in the SRI's system.
OnlineWho: You
6
Account for the ISD on money leaving the country
The Impuesto a la Salida de Divisas applies to transfers of funds out of Ecuador and to certain foreign card transactions. The rate has been reduced several times in recent years, so confirm the current figure with the SRI before planning any regular outbound flow.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Cédula de identidad
RUC and SRI credentials, where applicable
Employer withholding certificate
Municipal account and patente, if you trade or own property
Records of days present in Ecuador and of outbound transfers

Things most newcomers don’t know

Ecuador taxes residents on worldwide income, which is the opposite of what most people assume about the region.

Costa Rica and Panama are territorial; Ecuador is not. Once you are tax-resident here, foreign pensions, foreign rental income, foreign dividends and foreign capital gains are in scope, with relief for foreign tax paid in defined cases. People comparing Latin American destinations frequently carry the territorial assumption across the whole region and get this exactly backwards. It is the most consequential single fact in this guide.

Source: SRI

There are two tax authorities in your life here and only one of them will chase you politely.

The SRI handles income tax, VAT and the ISD nationally. The Alcaldía de Guayaquil separately levies the patente municipal on anyone carrying on economic activity in the canton, the 1.5 per mil on total assets above the threshold, and the impuesto predial on property — all on its own portal and its own calendar. Newcomers who set up a consultancy and register the RUC diligently routinely never register the patente, and discover it as accumulated interest.

Source: Alcaldía de Guayaquil

Which canton you live in decides which municipality taxes you, and the metropolitan area spans three.

Samborondón and Durán are separate cantons with their own municipal governments, rates and portals. A property in La Puntilla is assessed and billed by Samborondón, not by Guayaquil, and a business registered at that address takes its patente there too. Because everyone calls the whole area Guayaquil, this is one of the easiest municipal obligations in Ecuador to file in the wrong place.

Source: Alcaldía de Guayaquil

Your filing deadline depends on the ninth digit of your identification number.

Ecuador staggers national filing deadlines across a month according to the ninth digit of your RUC or cédula, so no two taxpayers necessarily share a date. Newcomers look up 'the deadline', find a range, and pick the wrong end of it. Look up your own digit once and diary it; late filing carries interest and fines that accrue from your date, not from the last one.

Source: SRI

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming Ecuador is territorial like Costa Rica or Panama, when it taxes residents worldwide.
Registering a RUC with the SRI and never registering the patente municipal.
Paying municipal charges to Guayaquil for a property that is actually in Samborondón or Durán.
Missing your own staggered filing deadline by using a general one.
Never submitting the projection of personal deductible expenses to your employer.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.