In Circular Letter (CL) 26-13, the Puerto Rico Treasury Department (PRTD) announced the integration of the municipal sales and use tax (SUT) in the Unified Internal Revenue System (SURI). The integration resulted from legislation that was enacted in June 2025 and mandated the establishment of a conceptual framework for a collaborative agreement between the PRTD and municipalities. As part of the integration, the PRTD will process the filings and payments for 73 participating municipalities.

New SUT account

Beginning July 1, 2026, each merchant account in SURI will reflect separate accounts for SUT-State and SUT-Municipal. For new merchant accounts created on or after July 1, 2026, SURI will automatically create both accounts.

Merchants will use the SUT-State account to:

• File the Monthly SUT Return, obtain copies of submitted returns or access their filings
• Make state SUT payments
• Update the Merchant Register, including adding new localities and correcting certain information

Merchants will use the SUT-Municipal account to:

• Pay the municipal SUT of the participating municipalities
• Pay the municipal SUT for taxable items that are not attributable to a locality in Puerto Rico or multi-level businesses
• Pay the municipal SUT for items imported for use

Merchants should not use the SUT-Municipal account to file or amend the Monthly SUT Return.

Although merchants can access the SUT-Municipal account beginning July 1, 2026, they will not be able to complete transactions until August 1, 2026.

Non-participating municipalities

Bayamón, Carolina, Guaynabo, Mayagüez and San Juan are not participating in the municipal SUT integration. Merchants, however, should not calculate the municipal SUT for those municipalities separately from the Monthly SUT Return, as the return requires certain information from all municipalities, including the non-participating ones.

Merchants also must comply with filing the Monthly Municipal SUT Return for each of the non-participating municipalities, using the procedures established by those municipalities.

New Monthly SUT Return

As part of the integration, the PRTD issued a new version of the Monthly SUT Return to allow merchants to report taxable and exempt items corresponding to the municipal participants. The new version includes three new annexes:

• Annex 7 for sales summaries by municipality
• Annex 8 for inventory use and self-consumption
• Annex 9 for the reconciliation of sales of tangible personal property and exempt sales at the municipal level

The new version of the return applies July 1, 2026, and can be filed electronically through SURI by following the same procedure used for filing the previous version of the form through SURI. For filings corresponding to periods before July 1, 2026, merchants must follow the procedures in effect before the integration of the municipal SUT in SURI.

CL 26-13 outlines the procedures for filing the new Monthly SUT Return through SURI, including how to determine the municipal SUT, and making payments. It also sets out how to complete the information for imports.

Restitution of a bond used in import transactions

The integration of the municipal SUT in SURI does not alter the bond-restitution requirement applicable to import transactions. As part of the process for filing the Monthly SUT Return, the merchant must replenish the portion of the bond used in import transactions that occurred during the period covered by the return.

Any additional amount determined on the Monthly SUT Return that is not related to the return of the bond must be paid through SURI after the return is filed but no later than the date established in the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, as amended.

Implications

Although CL 26-13 does not create new municipal SUT liabilities, it fundamentally changes how merchants report and remit the tax for participating municipalities. As a result, management may want to evaluate both the administrative and compliance implications of transitioning municipal SUT filings to SURI. Merchants should consider reviewing their internal filing controls, so that their municipal SUT obligations are properly reported and paid through SURI, beginning with the July 2026 return.

Merchants should also consider confirming that all business locations are properly registered and updated in SURI well in advance of the due date for filing the July monthly return (August 20, 2026), as incorrect or incomplete locality information could result in municipal SUT being attributed to the wrong municipality and, therefore, reported incorrectly.

Lastly, for merchants with operations in non-participating municipalities, the Monthly SUT Return filed through SURI will require certain information relating to those municipalities. Notwithstanding the integration, merchants must continue to file and remit municipal SUT directly to each non-participating municipality in accordance with the forms, platforms, and procedures established by the respective municipality.