Before you start

A determination of whether you are tax-resident
RUC and SRI online credentials, if you have independent income
Employer withholding statements
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.
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 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.
OnlineWho: You
5
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
6
Deal with the municipality separately for property
The impuesto predial and the patente municipal are levied by the Municipio del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito rather than by the SRI. Owning property or running a business here means two authorities.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Cédula de identidad
RUC and SRI credentials, where applicable
Employer withholding certificate
Records of days present in Ecuador
Documentation of foreign income and 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

The ISD taxes money going out, and it has no equivalent in most tax systems.

The Impuesto a la Salida de Divisas is levied on funds leaving Ecuador, including bank transfers abroad and certain foreign card transactions. It exists to defend a dollarised economy that cannot print its own currency. The rate has been cut repeatedly as policy has shifted, so the number in any given article is likely stale — but the tax itself is a permanent feature to plan around if you support family abroad or pay a foreign mortgage.

Source: SRI

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

Ecuador staggers tax 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

Personal deductible expenses are declared to your employer in advance, not claimed afterwards.

Ecuadorian employees submit a projection of deductible personal expenses — health, education, housing, food, clothing, tourism within defined limits — to their employer at the start of the year, and the withholding is reduced accordingly through the year. Newcomers used to claiming at year end simply never submit the projection and overpay by a meaningful margin without ever noticing.

Source: SRI

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming Ecuador is territorial like Costa Rica or Panama, when it taxes residents worldwide.
Planning outbound transfers without accounting for the ISD.
Missing your own staggered filing deadline by using a general one.
Never submitting the projection of personal deductible expenses to your employer.
Not keeping a record of days present, which is what the residence test is built on.

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