Country guide
Colombia for nomads: pesos, Nequi and 15% crypto tax
By DmytroLast checked
- Currency
- COP
- Crypto tax
- 15% if held 2+ years; otherwise taxed as income
- Tax residence test
- More than 183 days in any 365-day period
- Remote-work stay
- V visa: 3 minimum monthly wages, foreign employers or clients
Short answer
Budget in Colombian pesos (COP) and carry cash for cash-first places. Local wallets such as Nequi need a cédula de extranjería. Staying more than 183 days in any 365-day period makes you tax resident on worldwide income, and a gain on crypto held for two years or more is taxed at 15%.
Paying on the trip
Ask your first accommodation and transport provider whether they take foreign cards or want COP cash.
Banks and cards
Nequi opens accounts for foreigners who live in Colombia, are adults and hold a cédula de extranjería or a qualifying Venezuelan PPT. A tourist passport on its own is not enough.
Banks and other wallets, including Daviplata, set their own rules on identity documents, residence status, phone number and verification. Get their list before you count on an account.
Currency, ATMs and cash
Per-withdrawal ATM limits can be low and each withdrawal adds an operator fee, so take out the most the limit allows when you need cash, and read the fee on screen first.
Carry the pesos you need for the day and keep the reserve at your accommodation.
Crypto rules
DIAN treats crypto-assets as intangible assets. Selling crypto you held as a fixed asset for two years or more gives an occasional gain (ganancia ocasional), the category taxed at 15% for resident individuals; a gain on crypto held for less than two years, or sold in the ordinary course of a business, is ordinary income taxed with your other income.
Chapter 1.6.11 of DIAN Resolution 227 of 2025, the single compiled tax resolution, was added by Resolution 240 of 2025 and makes reporting crypto providers send data for tax year 2026 onward. The annual deadline is the last working day of May of the following year, so 2026 data are due in May 2027.
Provider reports sit alongside your own filing. Keep acquisition costs, transactions, fees and year-end holdings yourself.
Tax and residency
Entry and exit days count towards the 183 days. If the 365-day period spans two tax years, residence starts in the second year.
The V digital nomad visa restricts paid work for Colombian persons or companies; tax residence still follows the day count.
Checklist
- For the V digital nomad visa, prepare a passport from an eligible country, proof of work for foreign employers or clients, and bank statements showing at least three current statutory minimum monthly wages over the last three months.
- Buy health insurance that matches Article 46 coverage for your whole stay, including repatriation, and read the exclusions.
- Keep your entry and exit records for the day count.
- Note the purchase date of each crypto lot.
Sources
- Resolución 227 de 2025 (Resolución Única en materia tributaria, aduanera y cambiaria) — DIAN
- Concepto 5146 de 2026 — DIAN
- Oficio 915014 de 2022: compilación de la doctrina tributaria vigente en materia de criptoactivos — DIAN
- Decreto 624 de 1989 (Estatuto Tributario), Articles 300 and 314 — DIAN
- Oficio 47513 de 2014 — DIAN
- Concepto 11108 de 2026 — DIAN
- Resolución 5477 de 2022 — Colombia Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- ¿Cómo puedo crear Nequi si soy extranjero? — Nequi
Tax, visa and residence rules depend on your situation, so confirm them with the official authority. How we compare