Colombia's RST — Régimen Simple de Tributación — offers a freelancer a rare trade: give up deductions, pay a flat rate on gross revenue every two months, and forget the thicket of income tax advances, IVA, and industry and commerce tax as separate filings.
How RST Works
RST replaces income tax, IVA, ICA (industry and commerce tax), and, for some taxpayers, consumption tax, with a single consolidated rate applied to gross revenue. You file bimonthly, you pay online, and you issue electronic invoices that are pre-validated by the DIAN.
Rates: The flat rate depends on activity group and revenue band, roughly 1.8%–8.3% in 2026 for services, higher for commerce. A freelancer in group 3 (professional services) with R$80 million annual gross (around 80,000 UVT) might pay an effective RST rate of 5.9%, while a retail seller with higher turnover in group 1 pays lower.
Eligibility: Individuals with gross revenue under approximately 12,000 UVT (≈R$565 million in 2026) who are not excluded by special activities. You must be current on prior obligations and must keep electronic invoicing.
When RST Beats Ordinary
RST is attractive when your real deductions are low and the ordinary regime's progressive rates would tax your gross heavily. A consultant with R$120 million gross and R$10 million in real costs has a deemed simplicity advantage — the flat 5.9% on gross (R$7.08 million) may be lower than 20–30% on net.
It is less attractive when your real margin is thin. A commerce freelancer with high cost of goods and a net of 10% may find the ordinary regime's tax on net is lower than RST's flat on gross.
Model both every November: projected RST liability vs. projected ordinary liability, including ICA that RST wraps in. The difference is the value of simplicity.
Keep Your Finances Organized From Day One
RST is forgiving of deductions but unforgiving of invoicing gaps. Every month's gross must be invoiced electronically and summed for the bimonthly advance.
Beancount.io keeps each electronic invoice as a transaction with gross and RST advance, version-controlled and reportable before the DIAN asks. Get started for free and make bimonthly filing a report, not a Friday emergency.
