Countries › Chile › Guide › 10. Capital markets and finance › Stamp tax on loans in Chile (impuesto de timbres y estampillas): rates by term, loans from abroad, renewals, import financing, exemptions, deadlines and penalties

Stamp tax on loans in Chile (impuesto de timbres y estampillas): rates by term, loans from abroad, renewals, import financing, exemptions, deadlines and penalties

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

Every document recording a money loan in Chile, and every loan from abroad even without a document, bears stamp tax of 0.066 percent per month or fraction of term, capped at 0.8 percent, or 0.332 percent for sight or open ended loans. The tax accrues when the document is signed, when it arrives in or is booked in Chile, or for registered bond issues when the bonds are placed, and the borrower pays when the lender has no Chilean domicile. Renewals and extensions pay again on the extended term up to the 0.8 percent cap per capital, and late payment of the tax on private documents is fined at three times the tax.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 44). UF figures use the SII value of CLP 41,221.08 per UF for 26 October 2026 and UTM figures the October 2026 value of CLP 72,151. Conversions are for orientation only; the legal thresholds are set in UF or UTM.

Key facts

Stamp tax on loan documents and loans from abroad, per month or fraction of term	0.066 %DL Nº 3.475 art. 1 Nº 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum stamp tax on a loan	0.8 %DL Nº 3.475 art. 1 Nº 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Stamp tax on sight or open ended loans	0.332 %DL Nº 3.475 art. 1 Nº 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum stamp tax on deferred payment import documents	0.8 %DL Nº 3.475 art. 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Penalty for late payment of stamp tax on private documents	3 times the taxDL Nº 3.475 art. 25, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Bills of exchange, promissory notes, simple or documentary credits and any other document, including dematerialised ones, containing a money credit operation pay 0.066 percent of their amount for each month or fraction between issue and maturity, up to 0.8 percent. Sight loans or loans without maturity pay 0.332 percent. The same tax applies to mutuos, money lent at interest (except deposits with banks), loans by banks and financial institutions from abroad, bank discounting of bills, and the issue of bonds and debentures of any kind.
Cost to do it: 0.066 percent per month or fraction, cap 0.8 percent from the 13th month; 0.332 percent for sight or open ended loans.
Example: A CLP 1,000,000,000 loan for 6 months pays CLP 3,960,000; for 12 months CLP 7,920,000; for 2 years CLP 8,000,000. / A US$1,000,000 loan pays US$3,960 for 6 months, US$7,920 for 12 months, US$8,000 for any term of 13 months or more.Decreto Ley Nº 3.475, Ley de Timbres y Estampillas (Diario Oficial 4 September 1980), as amended by Ley Nº 20.455 and Ley Nº 20.780, Art. 1 Nº 3, 2014-09-29 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Stamp taxes accrue when the documents are issued or signed by all parties; documents issued abroad accrue on arrival in Chile or when notarised or booked; for money loans from abroad with no document, the tax accrues when the loan is booked in Chile. For promissory notes, bonds, debentures and other securities of issues registered in the Securities Registry, the tax accrues on placement.Decreto Ley Nº 3.475, Art. 2 and art. 14, 1980-09-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Renewals and extensions of documents or of credit operations from abroad pay on the capital whose term is extended: 0.332 percent if no new maturity is set, otherwise 0.066 percent per full month between the previous maturity and the new one, counting a fraction as a full month. The 0.8 percent cap applies per capital across the original operation and its renewals if they are recorded on the original document or in public deeds or notarised documents, and for credits from abroad, if registered under the FX rules. The original capital and tax paid are indexed to the UF. Capitalised interest pays separately.Decreto Ley Nº 3.475, Art. 2, 1980-09-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Documents needed for imports or for entry into free zones under collection, letters of credit, deferred payment or any system where payment or financing comes after customs acceptance pay a single tax of 0.066 percent per month or fraction between acceptance and the purchase of the foreign currency to pay, on the amount paid excluding interest, capped at 0.8 percent.
Example: An import of CLP 98,658,000 paid 90 days after customs acceptance pays 0.198 percent: CLP 195,343. / On a US$100,000 import paid at 90 days, the tax is US$198.Decreto Ley Nº 3.475, Art. 3, 1980-09-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Exempt documents include loans from multilateral financial organisations, Treasury and Central Bank paper, documents of banks' deposit taking from local savers, opening of credit lines (each drawing pays), export finance credits as determined by the CMF, letters of credit for imports opened with the importer's own funds, loans from abroad to local banks used only for imports or for lending abroad, loans by banks from Chile to other countries, and refinancing by financial institutions to pay off a prior loan, for the part where the tax on the original loan already reached the cap.Decreto Ley Nº 3.475, Art. 24 Nº 1, 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16 and 17, 1980-09-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. The creditor or beneficiary of a loan document is liable for the tax and may recover it from the obligors; the issuer pays for notes, bonds and debentures of issues registered in the Securities Registry; and the debtor pays when the creditor has no domicile or residence in Chile. For deferred payment imports, the bank or entity selling the foreign currency adds the tax and pays it. Private documents must be paid within the first five business days after signing; taxpayers keeping full accounting may pay within the month following issue; banks pay in the month after the operation. Notaries and civil registry officers authorising taxed documents are jointly liable and may withhold the tax. Paying late for private documents under art. 15 Nº 1 is penalised with three times the tax, plus the tax with indexation and interest.
Cost to do it: Penalty of three times the unpaid tax for private documents paid late, on top of the tax, indexation and interest.Decreto Ley Nº 3.475, Art. 9, art. 10, art. 15, art. 16 and art. 25, 1980-09-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Term	Rate	CLP	USD
1 month	0.066 percent	CLP 651,143	US$660
3 months	0.198 percent	CLP 1,953,428	US$1,980
6 months	0.396 percent	CLP 3,906,857	US$3,960
12 months	0.792 percent	CLP 7,813,714	US$7,920
13 months or more	0.800 percent	CLP 7,892,640	US$8,000
Sight or no maturity	0.332 percent	CLP 3,275,446	US$3,320

Stamp tax on a loan of CLP 986,580,000 (US$1,000,000) by term (DL Nº 3.475 art. 1 Nº 3). Each fraction of a month counts as a month.

Worked example

A US parent lends its Chilean SpA US$3,000,000 (CLP 2,959,740,000) for 18 months, documented only by a loan agreement signed abroad and the SpA's books. The stamp tax accrues when the loan is booked in Chile; since the lender has no Chilean domicile, the SpA pays 0.8 percent, US$24,000 (CLP 23,677,920) (DL Nº 3.475 art. 1 Nº 3, art. 2, art. 9 Nº 7 and art. 14). As a full accounting taxpayer it pays within the month after booking (art. 15 Nº 2).
After 18 months the parties extend the loan by 12 months. Because the original loan already paid the 0.8 percent cap, the extension pays nothing more if it is recorded properly and the loan is registered under the FX rules (art. 2).

Step by step

1. Identify every document or booking that contains a credit: notes, loan agreements, intercompany loans, bonds.
2. Count months between issue and maturity, rounding fractions up, and apply 0.066 percent up to 0.8 percent.
3. Decide who pays: the creditor, the issuer for registered bonds, or the debtor when the lender has no Chilean domicile (art. 9).
4. Pay within 5 business days of signing, or in the following month if you keep full accounting.
5. Record renewals on the original document or in a public deed, and keep FX reporting up to date, to benefit from the cap.
6. Check exemptions before paying: credit lines, export finance, refinancing that already hit the cap.

Common traps

Thinking a loan without a document escapes the tax: loans from abroad pay when booked in Chile (art. 2 and 14).
Rolling a short loan monthly: each renewal pays 0.066 percent per month until the 0.8 percent cap is reached, and only if renewals meet the formal conditions.
Missing the 5 business day deadline on private documents: the penalty is three times the tax (art. 25).
Assuming a credit line agreement is taxed in full at signing: the line is exempt and each drawing pays (art. 24 Nº 9).
Forgetting import financing: deferred payment imports pay their own 0.066 percent per month tax (art. 3).

Sources

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