Puerto Rico

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Your vacations in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico – officially, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico) – is an unincorporated territory of the United States that is located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands.

Geographically, Puerto Rico is composed of an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico as well as a number of smaller islands and keys, the largest of which are Vieques, Culebra, and Mona.

The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest by land area and second smallest by population among the four Greater Antilles, which also include Cuba, Hispaniola, and Jamaica.

According to a Special Committee of the United Nations, ethnically, the people of Puerto Rico "constitute a Latin American and Caribbean nation that has its own unequivocal national identity."

Under the Constitution of Puerto Rico, the country is described as a “Commonwealth”. Puerto Ricans enjoy a degree of administrative autonomy similar to that of a U.S. state.

Puerto Rico is classified by the U.S. government as an independent taxation authority by mutual agreement with the U.S. Congress.

Contrary to common misconception, residents of Puerto Rico do pay some U.S. federal taxes: import/export taxes, federal commodity taxes, social security taxes, etc. Most residents do not pay federal income tax but do pay federal payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) as well as Puerto Rico income taxes.