Hacienda Interest, Surcharges and Penalties: How They Work

When you pay or file late, your balance with the Departamento de Hacienda (Puerto Rico's Treasury Department, "Hacienda") grows in three different ways: interest, which makes up for the time the money went unpaid; surcharges, which penalize late payment; and penalties, which punish conduct such as not filing on time. Each one has its own rule in Subtitle F of the 2011 Código de Rentas Internas (Internal Revenue Code of Puerto Rico).

The figures in this guide come from the current text of the Code published by the Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto (Office of Management and Budget), revised as of May 28, 2026, and from the instructions for the 2025 individual income tax return.

Summary of the three charges

Interest: 10% a year

The Code sets interest at 10% a year in several situations:

• Tax you determined on your return and did not pay on time: interest from the date set for payment until you pay (Section 6030.02(a)).
• A deficiency (deficiencia) determined by Hacienda: interest from the date the tax should have been paid until the deficiency is assessed (Section 6030.01).
• An assessed deficiency you do not pay within 10 days of notice and demand: interest from the date of that notice until payment (Section 6030.02(b)).
• Extensions granted to pay: 10% interest during the extension period (Sections 6030.04 and 6030.05).

How it is calculated. The Code says "10% a year" without further detail. In the examples in Circular Letter (Carta Circular) of Internal Revenue 17-05 (CC RI 17-05), the interest Hacienda shows matches simple interest of 10% a year calculated daily, on a 365-day basis, starting April 15. In other words: principal × 10% × days late ÷ 365. It is a good way to estimate, although the official figure is the one in your account in SURI (Hacienda's online system).

Surcharges: 5% or 10%, one time

In every case where interest for nonpayment applies, Section 6030.02(c) adds a surcharge that depends on how long the delay lasts:

• 30 days or less: no surcharge.
• More than 30 days and up to 60: 5% of the unpaid amount.
• More than 60 days: 10% of the unpaid amount.

The surcharge does not build up month after month. It is a single percentage that rises from 5% to 10% once the delay passes 60 days. In the examples in CC RI 17-05, Hacienda calculates the surcharge on the principal. The surcharge does not apply if you were granted an extension to pay and you met its terms.

Penalties

For not filing on time

If you do not file the return or statement by the required date, and you cannot show it was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, Section 6030.11(a) adds to the tax:

• 5% if the delay is not more than 30 days.
• An additional 10% for each additional 30-day period or fraction of a period.
• Not to exceed 25% in total.

In practice: 5% during the first 30 days, 15% from day 31 to day 60 and 25% from day 61 on. The penalty is calculated on the net tax owed, meaning the tax on the return minus what you paid on time and the credits you can claim. If your return shows a refund, there is no tax to calculate it on. The 2025 instructions describe this penalty as progressive, from 5% to 25%.

Knowingly failing to file can also be a misdemeanor, and a felony if done to evade tax.

Other common penalties

For individuals, there is a substantial understatement when the difference is more than the greater of 10% of the correct tax or $5,000. If you have a business, also see our guides on IVU (sales and use tax) and the monthly IVU return.

Extensions and paying in two installments

An extension to file is not an extension to pay. The instructions for the 2025 return make clear that requesting an automatic extension does not extend the payment date. If you pay after April 15, interest and surcharges run from that date.

Paying in two installments does avoid interest. Section 1061.17(b) allows individuals who were not required to pay estimated tax to pay the balance in two equal installments: the first on the due date and the second on the 15th day of the sixth month after that (October 15 if your tax year is the calendar year). If you do not send at least half with the return, you lose that option. If you paid at least 50% with the extension request, you can defer the rest until October 15.

In declared emergencies, the Secretary can postpone the payment date through a Determinación Administrativa (Administrative Determination). For example, DA 26-02 postponed until May 15, 2026, without interest or penalties, payment of the 2025 return, but only for employees of the federal Department of Homeland Security affected by the partial federal government shutdown.

How your payments are applied

Section 6030.25 provides that, if you make a partial payment, Hacienda applies it first to the oldest assessed debt and, within each period, in this order: principal, interest, penalty and surcharge. You can give written instructions designating what your voluntary payment should be applied to.

Can they be removed?

It depends on the charge:

• Penalty for not filing, estimated tax penalty and monthly IVU return penalty: they do not apply if you show reasonable cause and not willful neglect.
• Penalty for not sending in IVU: Hacienda can waive it if you show circumstances beyond your control.
• Incorrect written advice from Hacienda: Section 6030.08 requires removing penalties attributable to incorrect information a Hacienda employee gave you in writing, in response to your written request.
• Payment plans: according to CC RI 17-05, penalties are forgiven as long as you comply with the payment plan.
• Interest and surcharges: as a general rule, they are not removed. The Code gave the Secretary broad authority to forgive surcharges, but the same text limited it to June 30, 2012. Closing agreements also cannot forgive interest or surcharges, except as the Code allows.

The amnesties that eliminated interest, surcharges and penalties have been temporary and approved by law, such as Act 12-2013 and Act 44-2015. As of October 12, 2026, we did not find an amnesty in effect in Hacienda's official publications.

787TAX is an independent guide. It is not Puerto Rico's Departamento de Hacienda, the CRIM or the IRS. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Example figures are hypothetical. Found an error? Tell us.