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duty and tax exemptions when immigrating?

11 years ago
Hi: We are planning on moving to live full time in the Antigua area. We have a preference (at least given what we think we know) of arranging our visa/residency status before we depart and entering the country with out dogs, driving our vehicle, towing a small trailer of personal goods. I am wondering about the Duty and VAT implications of this plan. I saw a great post on the Slow Travel site (http://unwireme.com/guatemala-pensionado-program-benefits/) suggesting duty is exempted on a vehicle’s value up to 25 times the resident’s monthly income. So if my visa status is arranged showing $2000/month income, can I enter with a $50,000 vehicle (not that I have one) duty free but then need to pay VAT on the full value? And what of duty and/or VAT on personal items? I have a table indicating SAT’s value for vehicles, and understand IPRIMA typically makes a one-time charge of 20% of that value on regular passenger vehicles. I guess I’m wondering if anybody has experience moving to Guatemala in a similar manner or whether there might be a better way to move with a vehicle, personal items, and dogs. Thanks.

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