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RUT, start of activities and legal representatives in Chile: tax ID for the company and its foreign shareholders, deadlines and penalties

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Changing

Every Chilean company needs a RUT, its tax ID, and must file a sworn start of activities with the SII within two months of starting business. Foreign shareholders investing in a Chilean company need their own RUT too, obtained through a mandatary domiciled or resident in Chile, with documents no more than one year old. Companies formed online get their RUT instantly; afterwards, changes of representatives, capital and shareholders must be reported to the SII within two months, and late filings are fined between 1 UTM and 1 UTA.

USD figures use the dólar observado of CLP 972.60 per US dollar for 1 October 2026, the latest value in the SII dólar observado table on 26 October 2026. The UF is CLP 41,221.08 for 26 October 2026 (SII UF table) and the UTM is CLP 72,151 and the UTA CLP 865,812 for October 2026 (SII UTM table). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Months to file start of activities after the month business begins	2 monthsCódigo Tributario, art. 68, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Months to report changes of representatives, capital or shareholders to the SII	2 monthsCódigo Tributario, art. 68, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum age of documents filed for a RUT	1 yearsSII Res. Ex. Nº 77 of 2025, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Non resident investor must appoint a mandatary domiciled or resident in Chile	Yes textSII Res. Ex. Nº 77 of 2025, II letter c), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum fine for late registration or non tax declarations	1 UTMCódigo Tributario, art. 97 Nº 1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum fine for late registration or non tax declarations	1 UTACódigo Tributario, art. 97 Nº 1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Unidad Tributaria Anual, October 2026	865812 CLPSII UTM table 2026, as of 2026-10-01 · in force
Unidad de Fomento, 26 October 2026	41221.08 CLPSII UF table 2026, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. All natural and legal persons and entities without legal personality that, because of their activity or condition, cause or may cause taxes, or withhold or must withhold taxes, must be registered in the Rol Único Tributario. Registration is made through the taxpayer's electronic tax folder (carpeta tributaria electrónica). The SII Director may set simplified or alternative registration procedures in qualified cases.Código Tributario (DL Nº 830), art. 66 as replaced by Ley Nº 21.641, Art. 66, 2023-12-30 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. The SII procedure in force requires a RUT from: every legal person or entity constituted in Chile that causes or may cause taxes or only withholds them; foreign individuals without domicile or residence and foreign entities that invest in Chile, for example by acquiring interests in companies or real estate, who must also appoint a mandatary with domicile or residence in Chile with sufficient powers before the SII; and foreign persons opening agencies or branches, under the same mandatary rule. Foreign entities must prove their existence with their incorporation, origin and tax identification documents and identify their owners, partners or participants with their contributions, and their legal representatives. Documents must have been issued at most one year before the application, and incomplete applications get five days to be fixed or are deemed withdrawn. Foreign powers must be translated into Spanish and either legalized through the Chilean consul and Ministry of Foreign Affairs or apostilled.
Cost to do it: Costs are the apostille or legalization, the sworn translation and the local mandatary's fees, which depend on the provider.
Example: A Mexican parent subscribing shares of a new Chilean SpA first obtains its own RUT through a Santiago attorney holding an apostilled power less than a year old. / Plan for the documents to be reissued if more than a year passes before filing.SII Resolución Exenta Nº 77 of 2025, under Código Tributario art. 66, art. 66 bis and art. 68, Resolution 1º, II letters a) to e), IV, V and Annex I, 2025-06-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Companies formed through the Registro de Empresas y Sociedades are registered in the RUT simply by signing the constitution form; the portal displays the RUT assigned, and an RUT certificate can be downloaded from the SII site. Non resident investors whose only Chilean income is from holding or selling securities (capitales mobiliarios) may use a simplified RUT obtained through a responsible agent under SII Res. Ex. Nº 150 of 2020, and the art. 66 bis procedure lets correspondent banks in Chile obtain a RUT or alternative tax number for qualifying foreign banks and their clients for authorized peso operations.SII Resolución Exenta Nº 77 of 2025; Ley Nº 20.659 art. 13; Código Tributario art. 66 bis, Resolution 1º, VI Nº 1 to Nº 3, 2025-06-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Anyone starting business or work that may produce first or second category income under the listed provisions of the income tax law must file with the SII a sworn declaration of start of activities within the two months following the month in which activities begin. Activities start when any act or operation is carried out that is a necessary element to determine the periodic taxes of the activity, or that generates those taxes. The declaration is made in the electronic tax folder. Investment companies that only earn income from securities must also file it; foreign individuals without domicile or residence, and foreign persons or companies that only make investments in Chile such as buying shares or interests, do not.
Example: An SpA that signs its first services contract on 15 March 2027 must file start of activities by 31 May 2027. / Filing is free; filing late risks a fine of CLP 72,151 to CLP 865,812 (about US$74 to US$890).Código Tributario art. 68; SII Resolución Exenta Nº 77 of 2025, Código Tributario art. 68; Res. Ex. Nº 77 resolution 2º, II and III, 2025-06-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Taxpayers must inform the SII, through the electronic tax folder and within two months of the change or of its registration in the Commercial Registry, of any change to the start of activities information, and in the same way and term: changes of legal or conventional representatives with general management powers; capital changes; profit sharing agreements different from capital shares and share series with preferred dividends; changes of partners, shareholders or co owners; mergers, including by one company acquiring all the interests of another; divisions; and transformations. The duty to report shareholder changes does not apply to open corporations, which must still report changes of controllers. Failure is fined under art. 97 Nº 1, and limitation periods may be extended, up to a maximum of six years, where the failure seeks to avoid tax.
Example: A Spanish parent sells 40 percent of its Chilean SpA to a fund on 10 June 2027: the SpA must report the new shareholder to the SII by 10 August 2027.Código Tributario art. 68 as amended by Ley Nº 21.210 and Ley Nº 21.713, Art. 68, 2024-10-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.713 (Diario Oficial, 24 October 2024) tied the art. 68 reporting duty to the art. 97 Nº 1 fine and to an extension of limitation periods capped at six years; Ley Nº 21.210 (Diario Oficial, 24 February 2020) introduced the electronic tax folder and the list of changes to report.

6. Late filing or omission of declarations, reports or applications for registration in compulsory rolls or registers that are not the immediate basis to assess a tax is fined from one UTM to one UTA. For late or omitted reports about operations with third parties, if the taxpayer does not comply within 30 days of an SII demand, an extra fine of up to 0.2 UTM per month or part of a month of delay and per person omitted applies, capped at 30 UTA.
Cost to do it: 1 UTM CLP 72,151 (US$74.18) to 1 UTA CLP 865,812 (US$890.20) in October 2026; the extra fine is capped at 30 UTA, CLP 25,974,360 (US$26,706).
Example: Missing the start of activities deadline exposes the company to a fine of CLP 72,151 to CLP 865,812.Código Tributario, Art. 97 Nº 1, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. A person acting for a taxpayer must prove the representation, which only needs to be in writing; the SII may accept it and later require ratification within ten days. Taxpayers may also grant online mandates on the SII website. Whoever acts before the SII as administrator, representative or mandatary is deemed authorized to be served on the taxpayer's behalf until the SII is notified that the representation ended. Legal representatives informed to the SII must match the manager, administrator or chair of the legal person, and foreign individuals named as legal representatives must hold a residence permit allowing them to carry out activities in Chile.Código Tributario art. 9; SII Resolución Exenta Nº 77 of 2025, Annex I, Código Tributario art. 9; Res. Ex. Nº 77 Annex I letter j), 2025-06-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Person	RUT	Start of activities	Local mandatary
Chilean company or branch doing business	Yes (automatic if formed online)	Yes, within 2 months	Branch: yes
Foreign company buying shares or real estate	Yes	No	Yes, domiciled or resident in Chile
Non resident individual investor	Yes	No	Yes
Non resident holding only securities through a responsible agent	Simplified RUT	No	Responsible agent
Investment company with only securities income	Yes	Yes	Not applicable

Who needs a RUT and start of activities, per SII Res. Ex. Nº 77 of 2025

Worked example

A Canadian mining services group sets up an SpA online on 4 January 2027 and gets its RUT that day (Ley Nº 20.659 art. 13). Before signing, the Canadian parent obtained its own RUT through a mandatary resident in Santiago, filing its certificate of incorporation, tax ID and list of owners, all issued within the previous year (SII Res. Ex. Nº 77 of 2025).
The SpA invoices its first client in February 2027, so it must file start of activities by 30 April 2027 (Código Tributario art. 68). When it replaces its general manager in September, it reports the change within two months; failing to do so risks a fine of 1 UTM to 1 UTA, CLP 72,151 to CLP 865,812 at October 2026 values (art. 97 Nº 1).

Step by step

1. Obtain the foreign shareholder's RUT through a Chilean mandatary, with apostilled or legalized and translated documents no more than one year old (SII Res. Ex. Nº 77 of 2025).
2. Form the company online to get its RUT instantly, or apply separately after a traditional deed.
3. Name a legal representative; a foreign individual needs a residence permit allowing activities in Chile (Res. Ex. Nº 77, Annex I).
4. File start of activities in the electronic tax folder within two months of the month operations begin (art. 68).
5. Report changes of representatives, capital, shareholders, mergers or transformations within two months (art. 68).

Common traps

Naming a non resident foreign executive as legal representative before they hold a suitable residence permit (Res. Ex. Nº 77, Annex I).
Powers older than one year are rejected (Res. Ex. Nº 77, V).
Shareholder changes go unreported after a share sale; Ley Nº 21.713 linked this to fines and longer audit periods (art. 68).
A representative stays authorized to receive SII notices until the SII is told the mandate ended (art. 9).
Assuming a foreign parent can skip the RUT: investing in shares or real estate requires one (Res. Ex. Nº 77, II letter c).

Sources

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