Ecuador
Ecuador: 4 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Ecuador
The 4 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
What it is known for
Where Ecuador is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.
- World’s1stWorld-leading exports Crustaceans (shrimp and the like)Crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; smoked crustaceans, whether in shell or not, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, whether or not chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brineUS$6.3 bn · 19.7% of world exports of 170 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s1stWorld-leading exports Bananas, including plantains, fresh or driedUS$4.2 bn · 27.1% of world exports of 153 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s2ndWorld-leading exports Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roastedUS$3.1 bn · 16.3% of world exports of 135 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Ecuador. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for Ecuador.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Ecuador: where to register, file and check.
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Ecuador belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- Andean Community
- Free trade area · since November 1969
Covers goods, services, movement of people.
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La Comunidad Andina, integrada por Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador y Perú es un organismo internacional líder en integración en el continente
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 25%Official sri.gob.ec as of 2026-10-14 · the rate for the Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada (SAS)
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Las sociedades constituidas en el Ecuador, así como las sucursales de sociedades extranjeras domiciliadas en el país y los establecimientos permanentes de sociedades extranjeras no domiciliadas en el país, aplicarán la tarifa del 25% sobre su base imponible.
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- Not in our records
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- Not in our records
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Ecuador, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- The tax
- VAT (value added tax)
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la tarifa del IVA que se encuentra vigente es del 15 %, hasta que el Presidente de la República lo modifique mediante un decreto ejecutivo.
- Standard rate
- 15%
The law sets the general rate at 13% and lets the President raise it to 15% by decree; SRI Circular NAC-DGECCGC25-00000006 (26 December 2025) confirms 15% remains the rate in force. The SRI's IVA information page still prints "0% y del 13%".
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la tarifa del IVA que se encuentra vigente es del 15 %, hasta que el Presidente de la República lo modifique mediante un decreto ejecutivo.
- Other rates
- 5% transfers of construction materials
- 0% goods and services listed in the Ley de Régimen Tributario Interno (the 0% rate)
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Para la transferencia de materiales de construcción, la tarifa del Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA) vigente es del 5%.
- Registration threshold
- No threshold: from the first taxable supply
taxable supplies — every natural person and company making taxable transfers, imports or services is liable, with no turnover condition stated
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Deben declarar y pagar el Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA) todas las personas naturales y las sociedades que efectúen transferencias o importaciones de bienes gravados con una tarifa de IVA
- A foreign company
- See the note
The SRI lists non-residents who supply digital services in Ecuador among those who must declare and pay IVA, with no turnover threshold mentioned; no first-supply or representative rule is stated on the pages read.
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los no residentes en Ecuador que presten servicios digitales conforme se definan en el Reglamento para la Aplicación de la Ley de Régimen Tributario Interno
- Returns filed
- Depends on the business
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Este impuesto se declara y paga de forma mensual o semestral, según corresponda
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Ecuador, tax year ejercicio fiscal 2025 (fiscal year 2025, declared 2026), as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 10 April · each year
ES: los plazos para la declaración del impuesto a la renta de sociedades van, según el noveno dígito del RUC, del 10 al 28 de abril (10 de abril para el dígito 1); los contribuyentes especiales hasta el 11 de abril, el sector público hasta el 20 y Galápagos hasta el 28. EN: a company files the annual income tax return in April, from the 10th to the 28th by the ninth digit of the RUC (10 April for digit 1); special taxpayers by 11 April, the public sector by 20 April and Galápagos residents by 28 April. The record takes the first group, 10 April. A due date on a rest day or holiday moves to the next working day.
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Noveno dígito RUC/CÉDULA Plazo para Personas Naturales Plazo para Sociedades
- Corporate tax, final payment
- 10 April · each year
ES: la declaración y el pago del impuesto a la renta de sociedades se realizan en abril, del 10 al 28 según el noveno dígito del RUC (10 de abril para el dígito 1). EN: the balance of corporate income tax is paid with the annual return, in April from the 10th to the 28th by the ninth digit of the RUC (10 April for digit 1). The record takes the first group. A due date on a rest day or holiday moves to the next working day.
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1 10 de marzo 10 de abril
- Corporate tax, instalments
- Day 10 of the following month · each month
ES: anticipo utilidades no distribuidas, sociedades, periodicidad mensual, fecha de presentación según el noveno dígito del RUC desde el día 10 (hasta el 28). EN: a company pays the monthly advance on undistributed profits from the 10th of the month (10th to 28th) by the ninth digit of the RUC. The record takes the first group, the 10th. Ecuador no longer runs a general quarterly income-tax instalment; this monthly advance on undistributed profits, listed in the SRI's own taxpayer calendar for 2026, is the advance-payment obligation during the year. A due date on a rest day or holiday moves to the next working day.
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Anticipo utilidades no distribuidas Sociedades Periodicidad Mensual Fecha de presentación Según noveno dígito del RUC desde el día 10.
- Personal income-tax return
- 10 March · each year
ES: los plazos para la declaración del impuesto a la renta de personas naturales van, según el noveno dígito del RUC/cédula, del 10 al 28 de marzo (10 de marzo para el dígito 1). EN: a resident individual files the annual income tax return in March, from the 10th to the 28th by the ninth digit of the RUC or cédula (10 March for digit 1). The record takes the first group. A due date on a rest day or holiday moves to the next working day.
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Noveno dígito RUC/CÉDULA Plazo para Personas Naturales Plazo para Sociedades
- Personal income tax, final payment
- 10 March · each year
ES: la declaración y el pago del impuesto a la renta de personas naturales se realizan en marzo, del 10 al 28 según el noveno dígito del RUC/cédula (10 de marzo para el dígito 1). EN: the individual's balance of income tax is paid with the annual return, in March from the 10th to the 28th by the ninth digit of the RUC or cédula (10 March for digit 1). The record takes the first group. A due date on a rest day or holiday moves to the next working day.
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1 10 de marzo 10 de abril
- Personal income tax, instalments
- Not required here
Ecuador does not require the resident individual to make periodic advance payments of income tax. The SRI's own taxpayer calendar for 2026 lists the annual income tax return for natural persons (March) and no individual instalment; the only anticipo it lists is the 'anticipo utilidades no distribuidas', which applies to sociedades and not to natural persons. The individual's tax is settled in the single annual return. Pages read: the SRI taxpayer calendar at https://srienlinea.ec/calendario and the SRI income tax page at https://www.sri.gob.ec/impuesto-renta.
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Anticipo utilidades no distribuidas Sociedades Periodicidad Mensual Fecha de presentación Según noveno dígito del RUC desde el día 10.
- VAT return
- Day 10 of the following month · each month
ES: los plazos para presentar la declaración del IVA varían según el noveno dígito del RUC/cédula: para el dígito 1, el 10 del mes siguiente. EN: a business files and pays the monthly VAT return by the 10th of the month following the period (for ninth digit 1), the date rising to the 28th for digit 0. Businesses whose transactions bear the 0% rate, or that are subject to the total withholding of the VAT caused, and RIMPE Emprendedor taxpayers file half-yearly instead (by 10 July and 10 January for digit 1). The record takes the standard monthly case and the first group, the 10th. A due date on a rest day or holiday moves to the next working day.
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Los plazos para la presentación de la declaración varían de acuerdo con el noveno dígito de la cédula o RUC del contribuyente
- Payroll withholding
- Day 10 of the following month · each month
ES: la declaración de retenciones en la fuente del impuesto a la renta, personas naturales y sociedades, vence según el noveno dígito del RUC desde el día 10 (hasta el 28). EN: an employer withholds income tax from salaries and files and pays the monthly return of withholdings from the 10th of the month following the period (10th to 28th) by the ninth digit of the RUC. The record takes the first group, the 10th. A due date on a rest day or holiday moves to the next working day.
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Declaración de retenciones en la fuente del Impuesto a la Renta Personas naturales y sociedades Según el noveno dígito (día 10 al 28)
Running the company
Running a company here
Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for Ecuador yet.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Ecuador exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Ecuador’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude HS 2709 | 34.3% | 33.6% | 38.2% | US$15.4 bn |
| Crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; smoked crustaceans, whether in shell or not, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, whether or not chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine HS 0306 | 20.5% | 19.0% | 15.6% | US$6.3 bn |
| Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried HS 0803 | 8.8% | 13.4% | 10.5% | US$4.2 bn |
| Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted HS 1801 | 2.7% | 3.3% | 7.6% | US$3.1 bn |
| Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs HS 1604 | 4.0% | 3.7% | 3.9% | US$1.6 bn |
| Gold (including gold plated with platinum), unwrought or in semi-manufactured forms, or in powder form HS 7108 | 3.1% | 4.1% | 2.8% | US$1.1 bn |
| Copper ores and concentrates HS 2603 | 3.9% | 3.4% | 2.8% | US$1.1 bn |
| Cut flowers and flower buds of a kind suitable for bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh, dried, dyed, bleached, impregnated or otherwise prepared HS 0603 | 3.2% | 3.1% | 2.3% | US$938 m |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 4.0% | 2.2% | 2.1% | US$836 m |
| Precious-metal ores and concentrates HS 2616 | 1.8% | 1.9% | 2.0% | US$816 m |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$40.3 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.