Peru · Taxes
Peru taxes for US citizens
Source-checked19 sources, 15 officialHow we checkIn brief
Pay for work done in Peru is taxed from day one: 30% of the gross for newcomers. You stay a non-resident for your whole first calendar year, so a US pension isn't taxed that year.
In short: what you'd pay in Peru
Retiree on US income
In your first calendar year, US Social Security, pensions and US interest aren't taxed in Peru. From the next January, how Peru taxes a US pension isn't settled. Needs review
Ballpark: $0 in your first year; later years not settled
Remote worker paid from the US
Pay for work done in Peru is Peruvian income, even from a US employer. Newcomers pay a flat 30% on the gross, with no deductions.
Ballpark: 30% of pay for days worked in Peru: about $4,400 on 90 days of a $60,000 salary
Working for a local employer
Local pay is taxed from day one, and you'll need worker residence through your employer.
Ballpark: 30% flat in your first calendar year; 8–30% once you're a resident
Checked against the lawThe 183-day test, the January start, the 30% rate and the pension rule.
Still being checkedHow you pay the 30% with no Peruvian employer, and the retiree's later years.
How Peruvian tax works
- Tax residence: more than 183 days in any 12 months, but it only starts on the next January 1.
- What's taxed: non-residents pay only on Peruvian income; residents on worldwide income, at 8–30% after a deduction of about $11,280 on work income.
- Your pension: a pension is Peruvian income only if a Peruvian payer sends it.
- No US tax treaty: you still file a US return every year. Peruvian tax may be credited against US tax; see a tax adviser.
- No Social Security agreement: the US and Peru have none, so US payroll tax continues.
Sources (6)
Links
- SUNAT: Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Impuesto a la Renta (DS 179-2004-EF)
- SUNAT Informe N.° 084-2019-SUNAT/7T0000 (source of a non-domiciled worker's pay)
- IRS: US income tax treaties A to Z
- SSA POMS GN 01701.005: totalization agreements in force
- IRS: US citizens and resident aliens abroad
- IRS: foreign tax credit, how to figure the credit
Nine worked examples, 2026
The retiree has $30,000 of Social Security, a $40,000 private pension and $20,000 of interest. Every row is a first year in Peru, so all are non-resident.
| Who | Days in Peru | Peru income tax | US income tax, before credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remote employee, $60,000 | 90 | $4,438 | $5,020 |
| Remote employee, $60,000 | 182 | $8,975 | $5,020 |
| Remote employee, $60,000 | 365 | $18,000 | $5,020 |
| Remote employee, $150,000 | 90 | $11,096 | $24,734 |
| Remote employee, $150,000 | 182 | $22,438 | $24,734 |
| Remote employee, $150,000 | 365 | $45,000 | $24,734 |
| Retiree, $90,000 | 90 | $0 | $8,348 |
| Retiree, $90,000 | 182 | $0 | $8,348 |
| Retiree, $90,000 | 365 | $0 | $8,348 |
Don't add the two columns: credits and the foreign earned income exclusion can cut the US part.
Still being checkedHow a non-resident pays the 30% when the employer is abroad.
Sources (13)
Legal basis and exact figures
- Residence: domiciled after 'más de ciento ochenta y tres (183) días calendario durante un periodo cualquiera de doce (12) meses' (LIR art 7(b)); status fixed at the start of each year, and changes 'sólo producirán efectos a partir del ejercicio siguiente' (art 8). Domiciled: worldwide income; non-domiciled: Peruvian-source only (art 6).
- Employees: pay for work done in Peru is Peruvian-source 'cualquiera sea la nacionalidad o domicilio de las partes' (art 9(f); SUNAT Informe 084-2019). Non-domiciled: 30% on rentas de trabajo (art 54(g)), on 100% of the amount with no 7 UIT or other deductions. Figures are 30% of the Peru work allocation: $14,794.52 → $4,438.36; $29,917.81 → $8,975.34; $60,000 → $18,000; $36,986.30 → $11,095.89; $74,794.52 → $22,438.36; $150,000 → $45,000. No digital-nomad exemption found. How a non-domiciled person pays with no Peruvian withholding agent is open.
- Retiree: pensions are Peruvian-source only when paid by a Peruvian entity (art 9(g)); interest only when the capital is used in Peru or the payer is domiciled there (art 9(c)); so 0 for 2026. From 1 Jan 2027 domiciled: pensions from personal work are 'ingresos inafectos' (art 18), but whether that covers US pensions isn't confirmed; not computed.
- Domiciled scale: work and foreign-source income at 8% (to 5 UIT), 14%, 17%, 20% and 30% by UIT bands, after a 7 UIT deduction for work income (arts 46, 53). UIT 2026 S/ 5,500 (DS 301-2025-EF).
- US side: Peru isn't on the IRS income-treaty list and has no agreement in SSA POMS GN 01701.005; FICA continues and the FTC is unilateral. US figures are federal income tax before the exclusion and credits; employee FICA is extra ($4,590 on $60,000; $11,475 on $150,000). No totals. Peruvian social security wasn't researched.
- Rates: S/ 3.414 per $1 (SBS selling rate, 11 Nov 2026).
Links
- SUNAT: Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Impuesto a la Renta (DS 179-2004-EF)
- SUNAT Informe N.° 084-2019-SUNAT/7T0000 (source of a non-domiciled worker's pay)
- Decreto Supremo N.° 301-2025-EF: valor de la UIT 2026
- BCRP statistics: tipo de cambio sistema bancario SBS
- IRS: US income tax treaties A to Z
- SSA POMS GN 01701.005: totalization agreements in force
- IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments
- IRS: US citizens and resident aliens abroad
- IRS: foreign earned income exclusion
- IRS: foreign tax credit, how to figure the credit
- IRS: FICA tax rates (Topic 751)
- IRS: enhanced senior deduction
- IRS Publication 915: Social Security benefits
Other Peru guides
Every rule with its legal source.
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