Charity Donation Requirements

Charity Donation Requirements

Most Puerto Rico investors who apply for Act 60 or Act 22 must donate to a Puerto Rico charity each year.

Note: there is no charity requirement for business owners if you chose not to pursue the Investor incentive.

Rules for Act 60 and Act 22 Charitable Donations

  • Under Act 60, Investors are required to donate at least $10,000 annually, starting in their second year.
    • $5,000 of this must go to a charity on the CECFL list. This indicates it is an approved non-profit that helps to alleviate child poverty in Puerto Rico.
    • The other $5,000 can go to any approved PR non-profit (certified under 1101.01 of the PR law, which is equivalent to 501(c)(3) in the mainland US).
    • As organizations on the CECFL list are also qualified non-profits, it is acceptable to donate the full $10,000 to a CECFL charity. Note that there is some conflicting information on this point on some websites – see below for more details.
  • Many Act 22 Investors also have a requirement to donate $5,000 annually to PR charities.
    • No portion of this is required to go to a CECFL non-profit.
  • For all Investors, there are a few additional rules:
    • The charity cannot be an organization that is owned or controlled by the investor who is donating, or by that investor’s spouse or partner, descendants, or ascendants.
    • You can donate to multiple charities or to just one, as long as the total adds up to at least the minimum required under the Investor program you are in.
    • The deadline each year to complete your donations is December 31 of that year.
    • Receipts must be retained in your records to show evidence of the donations.

Can the full Act 60 donation can go to a CECFL organization?

Yes, it can. Some experts understand the Act 60 law to mean that only half can go to a CECFL charity. Sometimes tax and legal professionals interpret the law differently from the attorneys who work for the PR government. It’s important to find out how the PR government views the law.

Because there is differing professional advice on this point, we consulted with a DDEC attorney for clarification. DDEC is the PR department that administers the tax incentives program. DDEC advised us that investors can allocate the full $10,000 donation to a CECFL entity if they choose.

How do you find a Puerto Rico charity you can trust?

Sites such as Guidestar can help you to identify if a non-profit is transparent in their spending. We prefer to research charities before donating, to ensure that the non-profit has a good, honest reputation. After careful consideration, Puerto Rico Advantage has chosen to endorse Tech My School and is evaluating other non-profits for possible endorsement. You can find out more by downloading a recent webinar we hosted in partnership with Tech My School, or by watching a recording of it posted to YouTube.

Tech My School – Free Webinar

Tech My School – Free Webinar

Act 60 Investors (and some Act 22 Investors) are required to make annual donations to qualifying Puerto Rico non-profits. Our clients often ask if there are particular PR charities that we endorse, and after some consideration of many worthy non-profits, we are pleased to endorse Tech My School.

To find out more, please reach out to us with questions or click here to download the presentation.

Tech My School checks all of the boxes for us:

  • It meets the requirements for Act 60 and Act 22 donations.
  • Run by highly experienced educational experts, Tech My School has the potential to make a real difference for Puerto Rico schools, which is one of the best ways to improve the future of a community.
  • It already has a track record of success in Puerto Rico.
  • This charity offers full transparency, so you can really feel confident that your full donation is going toward the cause. It has no political agenda or affiliations but is only here to do good.

Puerto Rico Advantage is proud to recommend Tech My School.

Puerto Rico Labor Laws

Puerto Rico Labor Laws

Did you realize that the Puerto Rico labor laws are different in many key ways than in the mainland US? They are substantially more labor-friendly than you might expect. If you own or are starting a Puerto Rico business and have employees in PR, it’s very important to understand these key differences.

Additionally, there have been changes to these laws. Some have favored the employer, but some more recent changes, just passed in June of 2022, are more beneficial to employees.

Some key points

  • Puerto Rico labor laws are based on “right to work” rather than the “at will” employment in the mainland.
  • Employees in PR must be paid a Christmas bonus.
  • Paid vacations, sick leave, and government holidays are dictated by law.
  • Employment can begin under a probationary period of up to 3 months (which can be extended for up to another 3 months if you get permission from the PR Department of Labor).
  • Should you need to terminate an employee for cause, it’s important to show a history backing this up.

New Webinar

We had scheduled a webinar on this topic which incorporated the PR labor law changes enacted last year, but a new change is causing us to delay this webinar. A court connected to PROMESA recently declared the new laws void, and the results of this are still being worked out. We will reschedule the webinar once more details become available.

Puerto Rico Residency – Free Webinar

Puerto Rico Residency – Free Webinar

Establishing legal, “bona-fide” residency is the first step in a successful strategy to take advantage of Puerto Rico’s tax incentives. Maintaining it ongoing is also critical! Should you be audited and found to not be in compliance with the Puerto Rico residency requirements, you could be subject to significant back taxes and penalties.

For a presentation used in our recent free webinar, click here to download the PDF.

Audit Risk – Recent Developments

Even if you have already moved to Puerto Rico, you may be at risk of not be fully compliant with the Puerto Rico residency requirements. The IRS is staffing up to focus more on audits of Puerto Rico residents. It is more important than ever to ensure your strategy is sound and that you’re sticking to it.

It is fairly easy to comply with the rules for Puerto Rico residency. Invest a little time in educating yourself, and then check now and then to ensure you are maintaining this all-important part of your tax reduction strategy.

Questions – How to Become a Bona Fide Resident of Puerto Rico

We recently co-hosted a free webinar with an experienced CPA firm, to explain in more detail how to stay compliant with the residency rules so that your PR tax breaks can continue.  If you missed it, you can click here to download the PDF and we do intend to schedule a replay in the future.

The webinar discussed topics such as:

    • What is the minimum you need to do to first establish Puerto Rico residency?

    • Are there exceptions to the 183-day rule?

    • Can I keep a house outside of Puerto Rico and still be a legal PR resident?

    • What happens if the IRS audits you and finds you not to be a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico?

    • Is there a way to “game the system”? Why is this risky?

    • What are the benefits of moving to PR?

    • Does moving to PR automatically mean I will pay lower taxes?

Transfer Pricing Webinar

Transfer Pricing Webinar

PR Advantage is pleased to offer a free webinar series on transfer pricing!

What is transfer pricing?

Some entrepreneurs who relocate to Puerto Rico have existing businesses that continue after their move, which gives them the opportunity to use a PR Export Services company to provide management and other services from PR. Once they have relocated to PR, formed a new business here, and applied for the Act 60 Export Services tax incentive, their new PR company becomes a service provider to the pre-existing business.

Such business owners may have controlling interest in both companies, which means the relationship of the two businesses is not “arm’s length”, from a tax perspective. If this describes your strategy, you may need to consider transfer pricing. It doesn’t affect everyone who moves to Puerto Rico, but for some business owners, it can be an important consideration. This page provides a bit more detail.

Free Webinar Schedule

Because many of our clients have had questions about transfer pricing, PR Advantage has partnered with an experienced firm to offer a free, educational webinar series about transfer pricing. Come and get your questions answered by an expert who has helped many other Act 60 applicants. We are offering the following timeslots:

Session dateRegistration link
Tuesday, February 14, 20234-4:30pm PR time (12-12:30pm Pacific time)
Wednesday, February 15, 20231-1:30am PR time (12-12:30pm Eastern time)

FAQ

Here are some common questions about this issue, as a preview for what we will discuss on the webinar. We encourage you to send additional questions in advance of the session, to ensure the best chance that we can accommodate them.

Q: What is transfer pricing?A: Fees paid by a company you own or control to another company you own or control.
Q: Why does it matter?A: This type of vendor relationship is not “arm’s length”, because you control both sides of the transaction.
Q: When would this affect you?A: In an audit, transactions that are not “arm’s length” could result in fees, penalties, and back taxes owed.
Q: What can you do about this?A: Obtain a Transfer Pricing Study from a qualified 3rd party vendor to set the prices one of your companies charges the other company.

We look forward seeing you on the webinar! Don’t forget to send us your questions in advance.

Shipping in Puerto Rico

Shipping in Puerto Rico

Shipping – The Differences and Similarities of Mail and Express Shipping Services in Puerto Rico vs. the U.S.

Shipping to Puerto Rico has its challenges. You can expect some delays, and there are some online stores that don’t ship to PR – it’s always good to check this up front on a new online shopping site.

The USPS mail service is used in Puerto Rico and standard mail rates apply in Puerto Rico as they would in the US.  USPS is often the fastest and least expensive option! It’s very reasonably priced compared to FedEx, UPS, and any other Express mail services.  Packages sent via USPS generally arrive very quickly, sometime faster than interstate mail. 

There are post offices all over the island and like their U.S. counterparts, they also complete U.S. Passport services.  For Expedited and/or special passport services you should locate the nearest Federal office in Puerto Rico.  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html 

For those shopping on Amazon, Prime shipping does apply in Puerto Rico although standard Prime items tend to take an average of 5+ days to arrive.  However, some sub-vendors under Amazon don’t ship to Puerto Rico, so be sure to go all the way through to the shipping section at checkout, to check on whether your selected items can reach you in Puerto Rico.  In some cases it is not until check-out that you may find an item cannot be shipped to Puerto Rico.

The FedEx/UPS and other express mail services in Puerto Rico treat Puerto Rico as an “international” location and all shipping rates are international rates.  As a result, shipping things via these express services from Puerto Rico tend to be considerably more expensive than these same mail services on the mainland U.S.

Two good local shipping locations to visit for services are:

We Can Help

Our company helps people like you take advantage of Puerto Rico’s excellent tax incentives!  We can help you determine which tax incentives are right for you, help you plan your residency and relocation strategy, and simplify the entire process for you.

Contact us for a free initial consultation.

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Puerto Rico Tax Changes

Time-Sensitive Tax Reform Updates

 

Puerto Rico is in the process of implementing tax reforms that are likely to impact the Investor program.  If you are considering a move to PR soon, it is beneficial to consider applying for the Investor program before the end of 2025 to lock in the current benefits.

Click here to read a blog post with more details.  Click here to schedule a free consult today.

Or sign up for our mailing list for updates as they become available.

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