Honduras' 2026 Tax Amnesty and RIT Extension: What Small Businesses Should Know

If you owe back taxes, municipal fees, or utility surcharges in Honduras, the clock is ticking on a rare second chance: a four-month amnesty window that wipes out fines, surcharges, and interest on arrears through December 31, 2025 closes on October 12, 2026. Miss it, and every lempira of penalties you could have erased comes back onto your books in full.

Honduras has spent 2026 layering one relief measure on top of another. In February, Congress passed two landmark decrees within a week of each other: Decree 2-2026, which extends the Temporary Import Regime (RIT) tax incentives by five fiscal periods for exporters whose benefits were expiring, and Decree 7-2026, a sweeping amnesty package covering tax, municipal, energy, vehicle, telecom, water, and even migratory obligations. Then in June, with the first windows closing, Congress approved a follow-on package (Decree 78-2026) reopening tax, social-security, municipal, and water amnesties through mid-October.

This guide walks through what each measure covers, who qualifies, which deadlines are still open, and the practical bookkeeping steps that turn the relief into lasting compliance.

The One Rule Behind Every Amnesty: Principal Stays, Penalties Go​

Before the details, internalize the principle that governs all of these programs: the amnesty forgives only the punishment, never the debt itself. Fines (multas), surcharges (recargos), and interest (intereses) — including late-payment charges already in administrative or judicial collection — are exonerated. The underlying tax, contribution, or invoice must still be paid in full.

That structure shapes every decision below. If you can pay the principal within the window, the savings on accumulated penalties can be enormous. If you cannot pay it all at once, several of the programs authorize payment plans — but you must sign up inside the window, not after it.

Decree 7-2026: The February Amnesty Package​

Published in La Gaceta on February 13, 2026, Decree 7-2026 bundled seven amnesties into a single law. Most of its three-month windows closed on May 13, 2026, and the four-month tax window closed on June 13 — but understanding it matters, because the June package builds directly on its framework, and some of its special provisions (like the vehicle nationalization window) run for years.

Municipal amnesty (Article 1)​

• Who: individuals and legal entities owing any municipal tax, fee, or contribution in any municipality in the country.
• Covers: fines, surcharges, interest on debts, surtaxes, and any other late-payment charge, in both administrative and judicial collection, on arrears accumulated through December 31, 2025.
• Original deadline: three months from February 13 — May 13, 2026.
• Special provision: the early-payment (PRONTO PAGO) discount period was extended by 30 days, to March 15, 2026.

Energy amnesty — ENEE (Article 2)​

• Who: individuals and legal entities with unpaid electricity bills.
• Covers: fines, surcharges, interest, and related accessory obligations arising from non-payment of energy invoices.
• Original deadline: May 13, 2026.
• Payment plans: expressly authorized, on terms set by the National Electric Energy Company (ENEE).

For small businesses running cold storage, workshops, or restaurants — where an electricity bill can rival rent — the ENEE payment-plan option was one of the most practical pieces of the package.

Vehicle amnesty — Property Institute (Article 3)​

• Who: any taxpayer behind on vehicle tax obligations with the Property Institute's vehicle registry.
• Covers: fines and other sanctions from non-payment, for cars, motorcycles, and similar vehicles, for fiscal year 2025 and earlier years.
• Original deadline: May 13, 2026, with payment plans authorized during the window.
• Special provision with a long tail: for three years — through February 13, 2029 — the decree authorizes the import, nationalization, and registration of vehicles with or without foreign plates at any customs office in the country, regardless of origin or year of manufacture. Vehicles from model year 2010 and older pay a single flat fee of 10,000 lempiras.

If your business runs delivery vehicles or a small fleet with registration gaps, that 2029 nationalization window is still wide open.

HONDUTEL amnesty (Article 5)​

• Who: individuals, legal entities, and public institutions behind on obligations to the national telecom company.
• Covers: fines, surcharges, and interest for fiscal year 2025 and earlier.
• Original deadline: May 13, 2026.
• Notable: payment plans may be arranged even outside the amnesty window, on HONDUTEL's terms, and public institutions may use payment-compensation procedures.

Water and sanitation amnesty (Article 6)​

• Who: citizens with arrears to any water provider — state, municipal, community water boards, patronatos, or public and private concessionaires.
• Covers: reconnection surcharges, fines, and late-payment interest on balances pending through December 31, 2025.
• Original deadline: May 13, 2026, with payment agreements authorized on SANAA's terms.

Tax amnesty — SAR (Article 7)​

This is the centerpiece for businesses:

• Who: any taxpayer (obligado tributario) with outstanding obligations.
• Covers: income tax (ISR), sales tax (ISV), the solidarity contribution, net asset tax, and withholdings — listed illustratively, not exhaustively — for all periods through December 31, 2025. Both material obligations (paying what you owe) and formal obligations (filing what you should have filed) qualify.
• Forgives: fines, surcharges, and interest.
• Original deadline: four months from February 13 — June 13, 2026.

Migratory amnesty (Articles 8–10)​

A temporary suspension of the administrative sanction for entering through unauthorized border points, for vulnerable foreign migrants in irregular status. It runs through December 31, 2026 — relevant context for employers in border-region agriculture and logistics, though it is not a business tax measure.

Decree 78-2026: The Window That Is Still Open​

Recognizing that many taxpayers missed the spring deadlines, Congress approved a second package in June 2026 extending relief for four months, from June 12 through October 12, 2026. As of this writing, that window is open — with only weeks left. It covers four areas:

1. Tax amnesty (Article 1)​

Any taxpayer may regularize all material or formal obligations for periods through December 31, 2025, with fines, surcharges, and interest exonerated. In practice, this is a second bite at the Article 7 relief above: unfiled returns, underpaid ISR or ISV, missed withholdings, and late filings can all be cleaned up penalty-free if the principal is paid by October 12.

2. Social security amnesty — IHSS (Article 2)​

Employers in the public or private sector may regularize original debts from unpaid employer and worker contributions to the Honduran Social Security Institute, with fines, surcharges, and interest forgiven. For small businesses that fell behind on payroll contributions during lean months, this is the cheapest path back to good standing — IHSS mora otherwise compounds fast and can block other procedures.

3. Municipal amnesty (Article 3)​

All 298 municipalities nationwide are included. Individuals and legal entities — including those already on payment plans — may clear municipal taxes, fees, and contributions with all fines, surcharges, interest, and surtaxes forgiven, in administrative or judicial collection alike. The PRONTO PAGO early-payment discounts were extended by 30 days (to July 12, 2026).

4. Water and sanitation amnesty (Article 4)​

Reconnection surcharges, fines, and late interest owed to any water provider may be cleared, with payment agreements authorized under the amnesty.

Bottom line for the calendar: if you have any Honduran tax, IHSS, municipal, or water arrears from 2025 or earlier, the week you read this is the time to act. October 12, 2026 is a hard stop.

Decree 2-2026: Five More Years of RIT Benefits for Exporters​

The second February decree addresses a completely different audience: businesses operating under the Régimen de Importación Temporal (RIT), the Temporary Import Regime created by Decree 37 of December 1984.

What the RIT does​

The RIT lets qualifying businesses temporarily import goods, machinery, and equipment without paying customs duties or import taxes, provided the imports feed export-oriented production. It is one of the main instruments supporting Honduras' export manufacturers, agro-processors, and assembly operations — the sectors where imported inputs are transformed and shipped abroad.

Why an extension was needed​

A 2013 fiscal-ordering law (Decree 278-2013, Article 23) imposed a default twelve-year term on fiscal benefits where the granting law set no duration. For RIT beneficiaries who were enjoying the regime when that law took effect on December 30, 2013, the twelve years ran out on December 30, 2025 — meaning hundreds of exporters faced losing duty-free import treatment at the turn of the year.

What Decree 2-2026 grants​

Published in La Gaceta No. 37,063 on February 6, 2026, the decree extends RIT benefits and incentives by five fiscal periods for three groups:

1. Beneficiaries whose incentives were still in force when the decree took effect — they may request the extension once their twelve years conclude.
2. Beneficiaries with an authorized special fiscal period whose benefit expiry falls in 2026.
3. Beneficiaries whose benefit term ended December 31, 2025 — the group that would otherwise have fallen off the cliff.

The Ministry of Economic Development (Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico) grants the extensions, with the Finance Ministry's exonerations office (SEFIN) and the Customs Administration handling authorization and verification. The customs authority confirmed the extension in a February 10, 2026 notice to operators.

What RIT businesses should do now​

• Confirm your category. If your twelve-year term ended December 31, 2025, or your special fiscal period expires this year, you are squarely in the decree's scope — but the extension is requested, not automatic.
• File the extension request promptly. Coordinate with the Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico and keep SEFIN and Customs filings aligned; mismatched paperwork across the three institutions is the classic delay.
• Audit your RIT inventory controls. The regime requires adequate records of goods imported and exported under it, and exportable production to begin within six months of authorization. Five more years of benefits means five more years of verifiable traceability — Customs acts as the regime's watchdog, and sloppy import-export registers are the fastest way to lose the privilege.

A Practical Checklist: Turning Amnesty Into Compliance​

Whether you are clearing arrears under the October window or securing RIT continuity, the same discipline applies:

1. Inventory every obligation before October 12. Pull your SAR account status, IHSS statements, municipal solvencias, and utility balances. List each by period, principal, and accumulated penalties — you cannot claim relief on debts you have not identified.
2. File first, then pay. The tax amnesty covers formal (filing) obligations too. Submit every missing return for periods through 2025 so the principal is assessed and the penalty waiver can attach to it.
3. Get payment plans in writing inside the window. Where plans are authorized (ENEE, HONDUTEL, water providers, vehicles), a signed agreement within the window preserves the benefit. A verbal understanding does not.
4. Separate principal from penalties in your books. Record the principal paid as the tax or utility expense for its proper period, and record the waived penalties as a disclosed adjustment — not as income, and not buried in miscellaneous expense. Your future self, facing an audit, will thank you.
5. Keep the proof forever. Amnesty resolutions, payment receipts, plan agreements, and RIT extension approvals belong in a permanent file. Relief granted is only as durable as the paper proving it.
6. Fix the process that created the arrears. Most small-business mora comes from the same roots: no monthly closing routine, commingled personal and business funds, or returns prepared once a year from a shoebox. The amnesty clears the balance; only a monthly bookkeeping rhythm keeps it clear.

Keep Your Records Amnesty-Proof From Here On​

Clearing years of arrears penalty-free is a gift — but it is a one-time gift, and the October 12 deadline will not move. The businesses that benefit most are the ones that pair the cleanup with records clean enough that they never need another amnesty: every return filed on time, every withholding tracked, every RIT import matched to its export.

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