Colombia charges a 0.4% tax — the famous 4x1000 — on money leaving your bank accounts. Type an amount below and see instantly what one transfer costs you, or what a year of banking adds up to, with the 350 UVT exemption built in.
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Start freeIf you've just opened a Colombian bank account and noticed small mystery deductions on every transfer, meet the GMF — the Gravamen a los Movimientos Financieros, universally known as the 4x1000. It's a tax of 0.4% (four pesos per thousand) charged every time money leaves your Colombian accounts: withdrawals, transfers, payments from your account, checks. Not on money coming in — on money going out.
Its origin story is a Colombian classic. It was born in 1998 as the “2x1000”, a temporary emergency measure to deal with that era's financial crisis. The temporary part didn't last: it climbed to 3x1000, then 4x1000, and in 2006 it became permanent. Its phase-out has been officially announced several times — there were even published timetables for gradually eliminating it — and every single time the timetable got postponed. As of 2026 it's still here, quietly collecting its four pesos per thousand, now simply part of the landscape.
The math is simple: transaction amount × 0.004. Withdraw COP 1,000,000 from a non-exempt account and the bank deducts COP 4,000 in GMF. Transfer COP 5,000,000 and that's COP 20,000. It looks small per movement, but it's charged every time: if you move COP 10,000,000 a month across payments and transfers, that's COP 40,000 monthly — COP 480,000 a year leaving your pocket almost without you noticing. That's why the calculator above has a “per month” mode: the annualized number is usually the one that opens people's eyes.
The law exempts withdrawals of your own money from the GMF up to a monthly cap of 350 UVT (the UVT is Colombia's inflation-indexed tax unit). With the 2026 UVT at COP 52,374, that cap works out to roughly COP 18,330,900 per month: below that amount your movements pay nothing, and only what exceeds it is taxed at the normal 0.4%.
For years the rule was to mark one single savings account as exempt with your bank — a detail that surprised many newcomers who never got told. Since late 2024 (Law 2277 of 2022 taking effect) the scheme changed: the benefit can apply automatically and be spread across several of your own accounts — savings, electronic accounts or prepaid cards — even at different banks, as long as together you stay under the monthly cap. In practice, implementation varies bank by bank, so as of 2026 the prudent move is to ask your bank whether the benefit already applies to you automatically or whether you still need to flag it.
Make sure the exemption is active. It's the biggest and easiest saving: if your monthly movements fit within the 350 UVT cap, a properly configured exemption means you pay zero. A surprising number of people — locals and expats alike — pay 4x1000 for years simply because they never asked about the benefit.
Concentrate your movements. As much as possible, have money leave from the account covered by the exemption: salary lands there, payments and transfers go out from there. Every peso you move from an uncovered account pays the full tax.
Avoid unnecessary hops. Moving money from account A to account B just to pay from B can trigger two taxed movements where one would have done. If you can pay directly from the source account, do. None of this is aggressive tax engineering — it's the tax's own rules used exactly as written. For large amounts or edge cases, confirm with your bank or an accountant.
A few things regularly catch newcomers off guard. The tax applies to international transfers too: sending money from your Colombian account to an account abroad is money leaving your account, so the 0.4% generally applies on top of the FX spread and wire fees. Digital wallets like Nequi and Daviplata are not automatically exempt — treatment depends on the specific product and its configuration, so check inside the app. And moving money between your own accounts at different banks usually counts as a taxable movement, even though same-bank, same-owner transfers are typically exempt. When in doubt, the pattern as of 2026 is always the same: verify with your bank, because implementations differ.
The 4x1000 is the quintessential invisible expense: you never “decide” to spend it, it just appears as a deduction on your statement. In Guaca you can categorize those bank fees and taxes as you record or import transactions, and see in one place what the GMF cost you last month and year to date — across every account, in every currency. If you're building a financial life in Colombia, that same panel is where you track your net worth in Colombia and size up local products like fixed-term deposits with our CDT calculator. Seeing the annualized cost of your banking habits is, very often, all it takes to change them. Esta herramienta también está disponible en español: calculadora del 4x1000.
Paying with a credit card at a store doesn't trigger the GMF for you: the tax is charged when money leaves your accounts, not on the purchase itself. Where it does show up is when you pay off the card from an account that isn't covered by the exemption, or when you take a cash advance — those are taxable movements of money. Each bank applies the details slightly differently, so check your statement or confirm with your bank.
It depends. Transfers between accounts of the same owner at the same bank are usually exempt, but moving money between different banks generally does trigger the charge — unless the source account is covered by the exemption and you haven't exceeded the monthly cap. Before setting up a 'bridge' between your accounts, it's worth confirming with both banks whether that movement is taxed.
Historically you had to visit your bank (or open its app) and mark one single savings account as exempt. Since late 2024 the rule changed: the 350 UVT monthly benefit can be applied automatically and spread across several of your accounts, even at different banks. In practice each bank is implementing this at its own pace, so the safest move is to ask your bank whether the benefit is already active on your account or whether you still need to request it.
Partially. The rules have allowed deducting a percentage of the GMF you actually paid, as certified by your bank (historically 50%), regardless of whether it relates to your income-producing activity. Tax rules change and every case is different, so keep the GMF certificate your bank issues and confirm with an accountant before filing.
It depends on the product and how it's set up. Low-amount deposit accounts have enjoyed special exemptions, and these wallets usually let you apply the GMF benefit, but the conditions vary by account type, caps and current regulation. Don't assume 'digital wallet' means 'exempt': check inside the app or with the provider what treatment your product gets today.
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