Engaging a contractor in Peru runs on the recibo por honorarios. An individual with a RUC issues an electronic recibo through SUNAT for each payment, and handles their own tax: an 8% monthly advance once income passes S/ 4,010 a month in 2026, unless a withholding agent has already withheld it. The legal risk is classification, because the labour law presumes employment wherever paid personal services are subordinated. This guide covers the contractor’s tax, reclassification, the contract and the payer’s paperwork. The payment side is on our Peru payouts page. It is general information, not legal advice.
Recibo por honorarios or company invoice
Individual. The contractor issues electronic recibos por honorarios through SUNAT’s portal with a Clave SOL; the form records the client’s document and name, the service, the amount and the payment method (SUNAT, checked 2026-10-26). The income is fourth-category income. How a client with no Peruvian ID is entered is a question for the contractor’s accountant.
Company. A contractor working through a company issues the company’s own comprobantes. Ask which one applies to a foreign client before the first invoice.
The contractor’s tax
Withholding and advance payments. SUNAT describes an 8% withholding on the recibo for payers qualified as withholding agents, and none when the recibo is S/ 1,500 or less (SUNAT, checked 2026-10-26). We found no rule extending it to a foreign client with no Peruvian entity. When no one withholds, the contractor files a monthly return and pays 8% of gross income once monthly income passes S/ 4,010, or S/ 48,125 for the year, in 2026; the figures follow the 2026 UIT of S/ 5,500 (Perú Contable, checked 2026-10-26).
Suspension. A contractor whose projected 2026 income stays under the annual limit can ask SUNAT for a suspension and hand the certificate to the payer; it runs to 31 December of the year (Infobae, checked 2026-10-26).
Pension. Mandatory contributions for independents, planned from 2028, were removed by Supreme Decree 061-2026-EF, which makes affiliation optional for them (revistaeconomia.com, checked 2026-10-26). The client pays none of it, but a contractor quoting a net rate must cover their own tax.
Reclassification risk
Article 4 of the TUO of the Labour Productivity and Competitiveness Law presumes an indefinite-term employment contract in any paid personal service that is subordinated (lpderecho.pe, checked 2026-10-26). The label does not decide it: in Casación 11052-2013 the Supreme Court dismissed a company’s argument that a services contract governed the relationship, because the essential elements of employment were shown (lpderecho.pe, checked 2026-10-26).
A single client, fixed hours, a set monthly fee and your supervision are the facts a claimant would use (contractor misclassification). On dismissal without cause after probation, employment brings one and a half monthly pay per full year of service, capped at twelve monthly pays (lpderecho.pe, checked 2026-10-26). If the role is a job, hire through an EOR; see Employer of Record.
What to put in the contract
- A written services agreement (locación de servicios), scoped to deliverables, with the fee, currency, receiving account and who bears transfer charges.
- A recibo for every payment, matched to the payment reference.
- Whether the fee is gross or net of the contractor’s 8% advance.
- IP assignment in writing, with local counsel confirming the 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. Get a RUC and a Clave SOL, issue a recibo per payment, file the monthly advance when it applies, and settle the annual return.
The client’s side. Pay gross against the recibo. US payers collect a W-8BEN from an individual and file no 1099: pay for work done in Peru is foreign-source income (irs.gov, checked 2026-10-26). Peru is not on the IRS list of US income tax treaty countries (irs.gov, checked 2026-10-26).
How to pay contractors in Peru
Wise delivers soles from its own account in Peru into a local bank account, with no Wise account needed by the recipient (wise.com, checked 2026-10-26). A SWIFT wire is the alternative, and some platforms pay PEN or USD directly. Rails, costs and platforms are compared on our Peru payouts page.
Contractor of Record in Peru
A Contractor of Record is the contracting party for the contractor and reduces reclassification risk; it does not remove it. In Peru the work still has to look independent, and the COR also collects the recibo, 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.