Engaging a contractor in Bolivia runs on the factura. An independent professional registers with the tax service (SIN), holds a NIT, issues a factura for each payment and files IVA, IT and RC-IVA on their own account. The legal risk is classification, because Bolivian law judges the reality of the relationship and not the contract’s name. This guide covers the contractor’s tax, reclassification, the contract and the payer’s paperwork. The payment side is on our Bolivia payouts page. It is general information, not legal advice.
NIT and factura
Individual. The contractor registers with the SIN and issues facturas under a NIT. The SIN’s table of taxes shows independent professionals within RC-IVA, declared quarterly on Form 610 (SIN, checked 2026-10-29).
Invoice to a foreign client. The SIN’s invoicing rule says those exporting services not subject to a tax refund issue a Factura Comercial de Exportación without tax credit (RND of 11 August 2021, checked 2026-10-29), and the SIN’s table lists the export of goods and services among operations not subject to IVA. We could not confirm how this applies to software work for a company abroad, so ask the contractor’s accountant which invoice they issue and keep a copy.
Company. A contractor working through a company issues the company’s facturas; the same question about the export invoice applies.
The contractor’s tax
Rates. The SIN’s table gives IVA 13% on the net sale price and IT 3% on gross income (SIN, checked 2026-10-29). RC-IVA for independent professionals is filed quarterly on Form 610, due within 20 days after the quarter ends (same source). Whether IVA applies to a particular export of services is for the contractor’s accountant.
Withholding. The same SIN table says that where a Bolivian company or institution pays an individual for services without a factura, it must withhold taxes, 16% in total for services (13% RC-IVA and 3% IT in the table’s breakdown). A foreign client that pays against a factura is not in that position, but the rule shows why a payment without an invoice is a problem. Ask for the factura every time.
Quoting net. The contractor carries these taxes. A contractor who quotes a net rate needs a higher invoice to keep it; say in the contract whether the fee is gross or net.
Reclassification risk
Supreme Decree 28699 lists three marks of an employment relationship: dependence and subordination of the worker to the employer, work for another’s account, and remuneration in any form. It adds that any civil or commercial contract that tends to hide the employment relationship has no effect, and that reality prevails over the apparent relationship (DS 28699, arts. 2 and 5, checked 2026-10-29). The label does not decide it.
A single client, fixed hours, a set monthly fee and your instructions are the facts a claimant would use (contractor misclassification). Vendors say the same: Deel’s and Remote’s Bolivia pages both warn that misclassification can lead to fines and penalties (Deel, Remote, checked 2026-10-29). If the role is a job, hire through an EOR; see our EOR rating.
What to put in the contract
- A written services agreement scoped to deliverables, with the fee, currency, receiving account, conversion rate and who bears transfer charges. Multiplier’s Bolivia guide says Bolivian contracts should be in Spanish to be enforceable; take that as a vendor claim and ask local counsel.
- A factura for every payment, matched to the payment reference.
- IP assignment in writing. Under the software regulation, code created under an employment or services contract belongs to the person on whose account and risk it is made, unless a contract says otherwise (DS 24582, art. 12, checked 2026-10-29). Transfers of economic rights are made by contract, and the regulation sends registration to the copyright rules (art. 11). Assign the rights explicitly and ask local counsel about formalities.
- Independence markers: the contractor’s own equipment and schedule, the right to work for other clients, and a fee tied to deliverables.
Taxes and paperwork
The contractor’s side. Hold a NIT, issue a factura per payment, pay IVA and IT and file the quarterly RC-IVA.
The client’s side. Pay against the factura. US payers collect a W-8BEN from an individual and file no 1099: pay for work done in Bolivia is foreign-source income, and Bolivia is not on the IRS list of income tax treaties (irs.gov, checked 2026-10-29).
How to pay contractors in Bolivia
The boliviano left its fixed peg in 2026 and the official rate was Bs 11.73 per dollar for 10-12 October (Correo del Sur, checked 2026-10-29). Banks have collected incoming remittances at the BCB reference rate since 7 May 2026 (eju.tv, checked 2026-10-29). Wise pays bolivianos into a local bank account (wise.com, checked 2026-10-29); a SWIFT wire is the alternative, and some platforms pay dollars into an account the contractor holds. Rails, costs and platforms are compared on our Bolivia payouts page.
Contractor of Record in Bolivia
A Contractor of Record is the contracting party for the contractor and reduces reclassification risk; it does not remove it. In Bolivia the work still has to look independent, and the COR also collects the factura, keeps contracts consistent across a team and flags engagements that look like dependency. Read the liability clause in the contract rather than the product name. Where the role is a job, with your hours, your tools and core work, hire through an EOR instead. Compare providers in our COR rating.