Panama Tax Calendar 2026: All DGI Deadlines

For a formal business in Panama, missing a tax deadline is not just a fine. It is a mark on your tax compliance status with the DGI and a friction point every time you need a clearance certificate for a tender, a bank loan, or to renew an operations notice. Keeping the calendar in order is the difference between operating calmly and constantly playing catch-up.

This guide organizes, month by month, every recurring deadline that affects formal businesses in Panama during 2026. It covers the most frequent DGI obligations, the monthly CSS payroll filing, the three installments of the 13th-month bonus, the three installments of estimated income tax, and annual accounting milestones such as the income tax return.

Important: exact deadlines may shift by decree or resolution when a date falls on a national holiday. Always confirm with your accountant or check the official calendars published by the DGI and the CSS before locking in your monthly plan.

The recurring obligations to plan for

Before the month-by-month calendar, it helps to be clear on what is due when at a high level. These are the obligations that repeat monthly or annually for every formal business in Panama:

Obligation	Frequency	Typical deadline	Authority
Form 430 (ITBMS return)	Monthly	By the 15th of the following month	DGI
CSS payroll filing (SIPE)	Monthly	Within the month following the one it covers, per the CSS calendar	CSS
13th-month bonus (3 installments)	Three per year	April 15, August 15, December 15	Employer
Annual income tax return, legal entities	Annual	Within three months of the fiscal year end (March 31 for a December 31 close)	DGI
Operations Notice tax (Aviso de Operación)	Annual	March 31, paid to the DGI together with the income tax return	DGI
Estimated income tax (3 installments)	Three per year	June 30, September 30 and December 31	DGI
Annual Single Tax for corporations	Annual	July 15 for companies registered in the first half of the year; January 15 for those registered in the second half	DGI

Larger companies may have additional obligations: transfer pricing reports, country-by-country (CbC) reports, consolidated financial statements, ultimate beneficial owner registration, and others. This guide focuses on the calendar that applies to most SMEs and mid-sized formal businesses.

2026 fiscal calendar month by month

Below are the annual dates and installments that fall in each month of 2026. Every month, add the monthly obligations: Form 430 and the other day-15 filings, the CSS payroll filing and the DGI Planilla 03 report. The dates are the nominal ones: when a DGI deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day, unless the DGI explicitly states otherwise.

January 2026

January 15: Single Tax for companies registered in the second half of the year.
January 1 to March 15: window for individual income tax returns.

February 2026

No annual deadlines. A good month to close the prior period and prepare the income tax return.

March 2026

March 15: last day for individual income tax returns.
March 31: annual income tax return for fiscal year 2025 (legal entities with a December 31 close), Operations Notice tax, Form 20 (payments to third parties), and payment of the tax even when an extension is requested.

April 2026

April 15: first installment of the 13th-month bonus (December 16 to April 15 period). Extension limit for individuals (filing only).
April 30: extension limit for legal entities (filing only; the tax is still due March 31).

May 2026

No annual deadlines.

June 2026

June 30: first installment of estimated income tax. Transfer pricing, Form 930 (regular period).

July 2026

July 15: Single Tax for companies registered in the first half of the year.

August 2026

August 15: second installment of the 13th-month bonus (April 16 to August 15 period).

September 2026

September 30: second installment of estimated income tax.

October and November 2026

No annual deadlines. A good time to project the fiscal close with your accountant.

December 2026

December 15: third installment of the 13th-month bonus (August 16 to December 15 period).
December 31: third installment of estimated income tax. Fiscal year close for companies on a calendar fiscal period.

Year-end fiscal close milestones

The December 31 fiscal close kicks off a schedule of activities that runs through March of the following year. For a company on a calendar fiscal year, the critical milestones are:

January: consolidation of accounting balances, final bank reconciliations, inventory valuation and AR review.
February: closing adjustments, depreciation and amortization, labor provisions (13th-month, vacations, seniority premium), review of deferred tax items.
March: issuance of IFRS financial statements, preparation of the annual income tax return, and filing with the DGI before March 31.

Companies above external audit thresholds must also coordinate with their audit firm during this period. The audit covers the financial statements of the closed year and must be available when the return is filed or shortly after.

Late-filing penalties

These are the amounts the DGI and the cited resolutions publish. Always confirm the current amount before deciding whether to file late or amend.

Late ITBMS return (Form 430): a fine of B/.10.00, according to the DGI ITBMS General Information page. Amending the return more than 3 months after the original carries B/.100.00 for individuals and B/.500.00 for legal entities.
Late Form 43: B/.1,000.00.
Late Planilla 03: B/.100.00, B/.500.00 or B/.1,000.00 depending on the employer's annual income.
Late Single Tax: a B/.50.00 late-payment surcharge.

How to keep the calendar under control

The artisanal way to manage this calendar is a spreadsheet with reminders and an external accountant who flags each upcoming deadline. It works until it does not: when the company grows, adds operations, opens a second entity or expands to another country, the deadlines multiply and spreadsheets stop being reliable.

The modern alternative is to operate the fiscal cycle from the same ERP that records the operation. When your accounting system already has every invoice (with CUFE), every payment, every payroll record and every contribution, generating Form 430, the CSS payroll and the reports for the annual return is a matter of minutes, not days. And deadline reminders live in the system, not in someone's head.

If your accounting team is spending more time assembling returns than analyzing the business, it is probably time to reassess the stack. See the complete Panama tax compliance overview to dig into each obligation, or talk to a certified cifraHQ partner for a live demo.