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Taking retained profits out on exit: dividend withholding, the corporate tax credit, the end of restitution and the 10 percent window on old profits

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

Profits left in a Chilean company bear 35 percent additional tax when they reach a foreign owner, with a credit for the corporate tax already paid, and owners outside qualifying treaties must also restitute 35 percent of that credit on credits accumulated to 2026. Ley Nº 21.850 removes restitution from 2027 with a phase down for credits generated in 2027 and 2028, and opens a one off option to pay a 10 percent single tax on old FUR and STUT balances, after which those profits can leave with no withholding. The option must be filed and paid within eight months of 17 October 2026.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (CNCI Chapter I, Title VII). UF and UTA values are the SII figures for October 2026 (UF 41,221.08 on 26 October; UTA CLP 865,812). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Optional single tax on FUR and STUT balances (Ley Nº 21.850)	10 %Ley Nº 21.850, eleventh transitory art., as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Window to opt in, from publication on 17 October 2026	8 monthsLey Nº 21.850, eleventh transitory art. A) Nº 1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Additional tax on dividends to non residents (with corporate tax credit)	35 %DL Nº 824, art. 58 Nº 2 and art. 74 Nº 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Restitution of corporate tax credits generated in tax year 2028	30 % of creditLey Nº 21.850, fifth transitory art., as of 2026-10-26 · pending
Restitution of corporate tax credits generated in tax year 2029	20 % of creditLey Nº 21.850, fifth transitory art., as of 2026-10-26 · pending
Restitution of corporate tax credit for non treaty owners (credits to 2026)	35 % of creditDL Nº 824, art. 63, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Companies that, at the end of commercial year 2025 or 2026, have a positive balance in the Fund of Reinvested Profits (FUR) under the sixteenth transitory article of Ley Nº 21.210, or in the Total Balance of Taxable Profits (STUT) under the eleventh transitory article of that law, may opt to pay a 10 percent single tax, replacing final taxes, on all or part of the balance, without the credits associated with those amounts. The option is exercised within eight months of the law's publication by filing and paying at the same time on the SII form. For STUT, the base is the lower of the STUT balance and the RAI balance at the same date. The associated corporate tax credit is extinguished.
Cost to do it: 10 percent of the amount opted in; the tax and related costs are not deductible for corporate tax.
Example: Opting in CLP 493,290,000 of FUR balance costs CLP 49,329,000. / Opting in US$500,000 costs US$50,000.Ley Nº 21.850, for national reconstruction and economic and social development, Eleventh transitory article, letter A) Nº 1 to 4 and letter B), 2026-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: New one off option created by Ley Nº 21.850, published in the Diario Oficial on 17 October 2026; the eight month window runs from that date.

2. Once the 10 percent tax is declared and paid, income tax on those amounts is fully settled, they are recorded in the REX register, and they may be withdrawn, remitted or distributed at any time without following the imputation order; whoever pays or remits them abroad does not apply the art. 74 Nº 4 withholding. The amounts opted in from FUR must be deducted from the tax cost of quotas acquired through reinvestment from 1 January 2015 and of paid in S.A. shares acquired through reinvestment. On request, the company must certify that distributions came from profits taxed under this regime.
Cost to do it: No further Chilean tax on remittance of the amounts opted in.Ley Nº 21.850, for national reconstruction and economic and social development, Eleventh transitory article, letter A) Nº 6 to 12, 2026-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: New regime created by Ley Nº 21.850 (Diario Oficial 17 October 2026).

3. Distributions to non residents bear 35 percent additional tax. When a general regime company remits or distributes taxable profits, it withholds on a base grossed up by the credit, with a provisional corporate tax credit at the rate of the year of distribution and a provisional foreign tax credit when it has a SAC balance; if the credit turns out to be excessive, the company pays the difference and may recover it from the owner. The credit equals the distribution multiplied by the corporate rate divided by 100 minus that rate, capped at the SAC balance at year end.
Cost to do it: 35 percent on the grossed up dividend less the corporate tax credit.
Example: A dividend of CLP 493,290,000 with a 27 percent credit: base CLP 675,739,726, tax CLP 236,508,904, credit CLP 182,449,726, net withholding CLP 54,059,178. / On a US$500,000 dividend the treaty owner's withholding is US$54,795.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta, Art. 58 Nº 2; art. 74 Nº 4, second and third paragraphs; art. 14 letter A) Nº 5, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Owners that use a SAC corporate tax credit subject to restitution must restitute 35 percent of that credit as additional tax, except additional tax payers resident in a country with a tax treaty in force with Chile that are beneficiaries of the income, provided the treaty makes the corporate tax deductible from the additional tax or has a clause with the same effect.
Cost to do it: 35 percent of the credit, for non treaty owners.
Example: Restitution on a CLP 182,449,726 credit is CLP 63,857,404. / On a US$500,000 dividend a non treaty owner pays US$119,521 in total, against US$54,795 for a treaty owner.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta, Art. 63, final paragraph, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. From 1 January 2027 the general restitution rule is removed from art. 14, art. 38 bis, art. 56, art. 63 and art. 74 Nº 4. During 2027 and 2028, corporate tax credits generated by general regime companies still go to the SAC register with restitution of 30 percent for credits generated in tax year 2028 and 20 percent for those generated in tax year 2029, with the treaty exception maintained. Credits accumulated up to 31 December 2026 are allocated first, in the form and order in force on that date, then those of 2027, then those of 2028.
Cost to do it: Restitution falls from 35 percent to 30 and 20 percent for new credits, then disappears.
Example: A 2027 credit of CLP 98,658,000 carries restitution of CLP 29,597,400 at 30 percent. / On US$100,000 of 2027 credit, restitution is US$30,000.Ley Nº 21.850, for national reconstruction and economic and social development, Art. 9 and fifth transitory article, 2026-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.850 (Diario Oficial 17 October 2026) ends restitution from 1 January 2027 with a 30 and 20 percent phase down for credits generated in 2027 and 2028.

6. At termination of business, undistributed taxable profits are deemed distributed and bear the 35 percent tax with credit, and excess credits are lost, so profits left inside the company do not escape tax when it closes.
Cost to do it: 35 percent of the deemed distribution, less SAC credit.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta, Art. 38 bis Nº 1, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Route	Chilean tax US$	Chilean tax CLP	Net to owner US$
Dividend, treaty owner without restitution	54,795	54,059,178	445,205
Dividend, non treaty owner with 35 percent restitution	119,521	117,916,582	380,479
10 percent single tax option, then remit without withholding	50,000	49,329,000	450,000

Taking out US$500,000 of old profits carrying a 27 percent credit: dividend in 2026 versus the 10 percent option (DL Nº 824 art. 58, 63, 74 Nº 4; Ley Nº 21.850 eleventh transitory article). Assumes the profits carry a full 27 percent credit. CLP at 986.58.

Worked example

A Chilean SpA owned by a foreign parent has US$500,000 (CLP 493,290,000) of old reinvested profits in its FUR balance at 31 December 2025, assumed to carry a 27 percent corporate tax credit.
Paid as a dividend under current law, the treaty owner bears US$54,795 and a non treaty owner US$119,521 after restitution (DL Nº 824 art. 58 Nº 2, 63 and 74 Nº 4).
Under the Ley Nº 21.850 option the company files and pays US$50,000 (CLP 49,329,000) on the SII form within eight months of 17 October 2026, the credit is extinguished, and the profits move to REX and can be remitted at once with no withholding.
For a treaty owner the gain from the option is small, while for a non treaty owner it is large. An Argentine parent should check whether the Chile Argentina treaty listed by the SII qualifies for the restitution exception; the Argentine taxation of the dividend is in the Argentine guide.

Step by step

1. Pull the FUR, STUT, RAI and SAC balances at 31 December 2025, and at 31 December 2026 once available.
2. Compute the cost of distributing those profits as dividends under the owner's treaty position, including restitution on credits accumulated to 2026.
3. Compare with the 10 percent option, which extinguishes the credit; decide how much to opt in.
4. File and pay on the SII form within eight months of 17 October 2026 (Ley Nº 21.850 eleventh transitory article).
5. Record the amounts in REX, adjust the tax cost of reinvestment shares or quotas, and remit without the art. 74 Nº 4 withholding.
6. Time other dividends knowing that restitution falls in 2027 and 2028 and ends afterwards.

Common traps

The option extinguishes the corporate tax credit attached to the amounts opted in, so for owners that can use the credit fully, the gain may be small.
The STUT base is capped at the RAI balance, so a large STUT does not help if RAI is small (Ley Nº 21.850, letter B).
Amounts opted in from FUR reduce the tax cost of shares or quotas acquired through reinvestment, raising a later gain on sale (letter A Nº 10).
The 10 percent tax and related costs are not deductible from corporate taxable income (letter A Nº 12).
Profits left in the company are taxed anyway at termination under art. 38 bis.

Sources

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