Puerto Rico · Tax regime
Act 22-2012 Individual Investors Act
Closed to new applicants. It was superseded by Act 60-2019, which consolidated Puerto Rico's incentives into a single code from 1 January 2020 and doubled the annual donation from USD 5,000 to USD 10,000. Existing Act 22 decrees remain valid on their original terms. Under Act 38-2026, holders may renegotiate to adopt the new 4%/2055 regime.
We still list it because Act 22 is the name most clients and many promoters use, and because the IRS enforcement campaign is formally titled the Puerto Rico Act 22 Campaign. If a client says they hold an Act 22 decree, they hold a legacy grant with its own terms and its own election rights under Act 38-2026. That is a live planning question, not a historical footnote.
Qualifying routes
The original annual donation was USD 5,000. Act 60-2019 raised it to USD 10,000 for new decrees.
The facts
- Minimum
- $5k
- Total landed cost
- n/a. Closed to new applicants.
- Route type
- Tax regime, not a visa
- Physical presence
- Same IRC §937 bona fide residence tests as Act 60
- Family
- Not applicable
- Permanent residency
- Not applicable
- Citizenship
- Not applicable
- Language test
- Not applicable
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- Not applicable. This programme is closed.
- The IRS added the Puerto Rico Act 22 Campaign on 29 January 2021, in response to what it described as abusive tax avoidance, noncompliance, and fraud committed by decree holders. It remained one of 46 active LB&I campaigns as of July 2025. Legacy Act 22 holders are the most examined population in this file.
- Legacy decrees are not automatically extended to 2055. They continue on their existing terms through 31 December 2035, unless renegotiated or revoked.
- The GAO found that 5,852 resident-investor decrees were granted between 2012 and 2024. Beneficiaries averaged roughly USD 900,000 of AGI before relocating. After the move, their average federal tax paid fell by 46%. That pattern is why the programme draws enforcement attention.