Opening a company in Colombia: locals, foreigners, freelancers and digital nomads

At a glance: S.A.S. with no minimum capital, private document registered at the Chamber of Commerce in 1 to 5 days for about 65 to 330 euros in fees, 35 percent corporate tax, 19 percent IVA with a 3,500 UVT (about 40,000 euros) small-trader line, digital nomad visa yes (Visa V nómada digital). Legal forms. Sole trader (persona natural comerciante) in the commercial register, no capital, unlimited liability. Simplified stock company (Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada, S.A.S.): one or more shareholders, no minimum capital, shares payable within two years, private document without a notary, the default choice. Limited company (Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Ltda.): 2 to 25 partners, capital fully paid, public deed. Stock corporation (Sociedad Anónima, S.A.): at least five shareholders, board and statutory auditor. Registration. The Chamber of Commerce (Cámara de Comercio) registers the company through the single business window (Ventanilla Única Empresarial, VUE): authenticated signatures on the articles, a 0.7 percent registration tax on subscribed capital and a fee tiered by assets; the tax ID (RUT with NIT) comes from the tax authority (DIAN) in the same process, then bank account and e-invoicing. One to five business days. Total excluding capital about COP 300,000 to 1.5 million (about 65 to 330 euros) alone, COP 2 to 5 million (430 to 1,100 euros) with a lawyer. Taxes 2026. Corporate income tax 35 percent (5 points more for banks, 20 for qualified free-zone users), minimum effective rate 15 percent. Dividends from taxed profits: resident individuals pay the progressive table above 1,090 UVT with a 19 percent credit, non-residents and foreign companies 20 percent. IVA 19 percent (5 reduced); individuals with gross income below 3,500 UVT (about COP 183 million, 40,000 euros) are not IVA-responsible. Personal income tax up to 39 percent above 31,000 UVT (about 350,000 euros), worldwide income for residents. One UVT is COP 52,347 in 2026. Freelancers and the self-employed. A freelancer gets a RUT from DIAN online and invoices electronically. The SIMPLE regime (régimen simple de tributación) replaces income tax, ICA and consumption tax with about 1.2 to 8.3 percent of gross income up to 100,000 UVT of revenue (about 1.1 million euros). Social security is mandatory: health 12.5 percent, pension 16 percent and work-risk cover on 40 percent of income, floor one minimum wage (COP 1,750,905 in 2026, about 380 euros), about COP 510,000 (about 110 euros) a month at the minimum, paid through PILA. Foreigners. 100 percent foreign ownership in nearly all sectors (limits in private security and broadcasting); foreign capital is registered with the central bank. No resident director rule on paper, but DIAN and the banks expect a legal representative with a foreigner ID card (cédula de extranjería), so most foreign founders appoint a local. Visa M for the owner of a Colombian company with a capital contribution of at least 100 minimum wages (about COP 175 million, 38,000 euros), up to three years; fees about 54 dollars for the study plus about 230 dollars on approval. Incorporation works from abroad by apostilled power of attorney; the bank account needs the representative in person, two to eight weeks. Branch of a foreign company. A branch (sucursal de sociedad extranjera) is created by public deed at a Colombian notary with the apostilled and translated articles, good-standing certificate and a resolution assigning capital and appointing a permanent legal representative and a statutory auditor (revisor fiscal), then registered at the Chamber of Commerce and DIAN. Taxed at 35 percent; remittances are taxed as dividends to a foreign shareholder, 20 percent. Oil and mining contractors must use branches; others prefer an S.A.S. subsidiary. Digital nomads. Yes: the Visa V nómada digital (Resolution 5477 of 2022) for remote employees, freelancers with foreign clients or founders of a digital start-up, income of at least three minimum wages a month (about COP 5.25 million, about 1,150 euros), health insurance, up to two years, dependants as beneficiaries, fees about 54 dollars for the study plus about 177 dollars on approval, applied for online. No Colombian employment; after 183 days in any 365 you are tax resident on worldwide income. Changed recently. Minimum wage up 23 percent to COP 1,750,905 and UVT to COP 52,347 (January 2026); financing bills failed in Congress (December 2024 and late 2025); emergency decrees added a 1 percent stamp duty and a levy on oil and coal (2025), with a bill to make them permanent filed in July 2026; a new government took office in August 2026 and its own tax reform is expected. Figures checked October 2026 from the Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá, DIAN, Migración Colombia and the Cancillería visa rules, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries and Colombian law-firm pages; thresholds and fees change yearly. Confirm with a licensed adviser in Colombia before you file.