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Costa Rica will include airport tax in ticket prices

Costa Rica will include airport tax in ticket prices

Old Nov 21, 2014, 12:44 pm
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Costa Rica will include airport tax in ticket prices

Starting Dec. 3, Costa Rica will begin including the $29 airport tax in ticket prices, just like many countries do. That will eliminate that extra step at the airport of standing in line to pay the tax. I assume if you bought your ticket before Dec. 3, you will still have to pay the tax at the airport, but the end is in sight for having to perform this tedious task and for having to make sure you have $29 on you when you get to the airport.

It's about time.
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Old Nov 21, 2014, 4:39 pm
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That is good news.
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Old Nov 23, 2014, 6:47 pm
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Fantastic! With the new fast security and now this check-in should be a breeze.^
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Old Nov 23, 2014, 8:34 pm
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To be honest, I never found that part of the check-in process to be so time-consuming. The tax line moves pretty fast. It's just an extra step that so many countries have eliminated by including the tax in the price of the ticket. It's about time that Costa Rica does it too.

I'll still get to do it two more times, flying home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, both with tickets purchased under the old regimen.
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Old Nov 24, 2014, 8:23 am
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Excellent News! One less line. I guess we will now need to fill our an outbound immigration form at the counter.

Honduras is still holding out with their $39.00 + exit tax and extra lines, and checks. Maybe in my lifetime, we'll see this go away too.
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Old Dec 1, 2014, 9:37 pm
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Just returned from SJO on Saturday, and the line was very long but it moved quickly. It will make the check in process slightly less chaotic. I'm not surprised the separate line has stuck around, as it provides a whole lot of jobs at the counters at the airports.
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Old Dec 4, 2014, 6:07 pm
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Today's La Nacion newspaper says that implementation of the new system will be "gradual." United, for example, won't even begin including the tax in the price of the ticket until April or May. Bottom line is the tax counters aren't going away anytime soon.
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Old Dec 4, 2014, 9:20 pm
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Why not pay it at your hotel? Many offer this and you do nothing at the airport at all.
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Old Dec 4, 2014, 9:58 pm
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Not a surprise that this wasn't smooth! How is one to know if we need to purchase exit tax prior to flight or not? United is a good data point, but what about Copa flights? Avianca?

Living here, going to a Hotel to get exit tax, does not really help. I send the messenger to the bank a day or two before, because I do not do lines very well. But how do I know if I need it? Oh well, like most things, in a few months, or longer, things will work themselves out, and the worst that could happen is I will pay twice for a flight.

Look how far we've come since buying a group of exit stamps from shady characters outside the airport 15 or 20 years ago. For a time $64 worth!
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Old Dec 5, 2014, 5:36 am
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Right. For those of us who live here, going to a hotel to pay the tax would take a lot more time than just doing it at the airport. And I'm sure not going to stand in line at a branch of Bancredito, the state bank that collects the tax, to do it. I'll continue to pay at the airport.

The spokesman for Bancredito told La Nacion that the new system should be up and running for all airlines in six months. I should have known when I first posted this news.

Yes, I remember the days of the three-tiered tax: tourists, citizens, residents. They also pasted stamps in your passport to show that you had paid the tax. If they ran out of high-denomination stamps, they'd use a combo of low-denomination ones. I remember flying out once years ago and that one exit took up a whole page in my passport.

They have come a long way, but as with all things here, it's been slooooooow.

Last edited by SJOGuy; Dec 5, 2014 at 6:00 am
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Old Dec 6, 2014, 5:53 am
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I knew that was too easy.
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Old Dec 7, 2014, 9:28 pm
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My hotel offered to handle the fee payment at check out, for a small additional fee of course. As I was traveling with my wife and kids, and would have had to pay multiple fees, I felt I had better uses for my $20. And really, the line was pretty darn quick considering how long it was.
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Old Dec 17, 2014, 6:23 am
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Leaving this past Monday, I questioned the COPA counter agent about when they might include the tax in the ticket price, and she had no idea. She said she saw the story about the 3 Dec. date, but claimed it was false. They have not been briefed on anything of the sort. Now, granted she was not management, but just saying.

They have however, added yet another line to the exit process in Honduras!
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Old Jan 15, 2015, 5:29 pm
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Any Updates?

Anyone have experience with departure taxes for tickets purchased this year?

We purchased tickets about a week ago on Delta, for a trip in February.

My receipt shows this:
- Costa Rica - Common Area User Charge (FS) $3.52 USD
- Costa Rica - Security Fee (IK) $5.30 USD
- Costa Rica - Tourism Arrival Tax (NW) $15.00 USD

But doesn't show any departure tax, so I guess Delta isn't online with this yet.
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Old Jan 21, 2015, 3:19 pm
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At the tax counter at SJO is a sign showing the components of the $29. It's made up of four different fees, but none of those are included in your list. (The tourism tax has existed for years and it has always been included in the price of the ticket.) I'm sure you'll have to pay upon departure.

This is so typical of Costa Rica: Announce a move with big fanfare, and then not be able to implement it. I should have known.
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