Countries › Chile › Guide › 5. FX and capital controls › Investing, lending and depositing abroad from Chile: what residents and Chilean companies must channel and report, peso operations abroad and worldwide taxation

Investing, lending and depositing abroad from Chile: what residents and Chilean companies must channel and report, peso operations abroad and worldwide taxation

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

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

Chilean residents and companies may invest, lend and keep deposits abroad freely, in foreign currency or in pesos. Remittances out and returns in on those assets must go through a bank or other formal FX market entity when they are US$10,000 or more, and operations funded or kept abroad are reported directly to the Central Bank, with the same size based stock and flow reports that apply to foreign liabilities. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, while a foreigner who becomes resident is taxed only on Chilean source income for the first three years.

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 and CNCI Chapter I, Section VII). UF values use UF 1 = CLP 41,205.16 (23 October 2026) and UTM values use UTM 1 = CLP 72,151 (October 2026), both as published by the Servicio de Impuestos Internos. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Minimum outbound investment, deposit or loan subject to channelling and reporting	10000 USDCNCI Chapter II, Letter B, Section IV, Nº 19, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Residents may lend, deposit and invest abroad in pesos	Yes, through the formal market and reported textCNCI Chapter I, Annex Nº 3, Nº 3 c) and d), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Residents taxed on worldwide income	Yes textDL Nº 824 art. 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Period in which a new foreign resident is taxed only on Chilean source income	3 yearsDL Nº 824 art. 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Operations on assets abroad cover: investments abroad (any act by which a Chilean resident acquires abroad ownership, use or possession of tangible or intangible, movable or immovable assets, including securities, shares, company interests, capital contributions and foreign securities or depositary certificates), which may be made by contributing or assigning shares in Chilean or foreign companies; deposits abroad (foreign currency delivered to a foreign depositary who must return it); and credits granted abroad (loans, credit lines, discounting, receivables and commercial current account credits).FX Compendium (CNCI) approved by Central Bank Agreement Nº 2617-03-240125, in force from 1 January 2026, CNCI Chapter I, Annex Nº 5, Section III, 2024-01-30 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. For individuals and companies that are not institutional investors, these operations follow the same rules as liabilities: they must be carried out through the formal market unless made with funds abroad, they are reportable only from US$10,000, and the US$10,000,000 stock and US$50,000,000 monthly flow reports apply to foreign assets counted separately from liabilities. The rules also apply to investments made to acquire foreign securities or depositary certificates under Title XXIV of the Securities Market Law.FX Compendium (CNCI) approved by Central Bank Agreement Nº 2617-03-240125, in force from 1 January 2026, CNCI Chapter II, Letter B, Section IV, Nº 18 to 20 and Nº 24, 2024-01-30 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Payments and remittances that Chilean residents bring into or send out of Chile on these assets, including returns from the use or disposal of the amounts invested, deposited or lent abroad, must go through the formal market. When the money is received, bought or delivered, the resident tells the formal market entity the type of operation and the concept, and the entity reports it. Operations made with funds abroad, and returns that are not brought into Chile, are reported by the resident directly to the Central Bank, as are later changes to the operations. Operations in foreign securities or depositary certificates are reported directly by the persons named in article 196 of the Securities Market Law.
Cost to do it: No Central Bank fee; bank FX spread and wire charges apply to remittances.FX Compendium (CNCI) approved by Central Bank Agreement Nº 2617-03-240125, in force from 1 January 2026, CNCI Chapter II, Letter B, Section IV, Nº 25 to 28, 2024-01-30 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Chilean residents may grant loans to non residents and make deposits and investments abroad in pesos under the Central Bank's authorization for peso operations; those operations must still go through the formal market (unless made with pesos held abroad) and be reported.FX Compendium (CNCI) approved by Central Bank Agreement Nº 2617-03-240125, in force from 1 January 2026, CNCI Chapter I, Annex Nº 3, Nº 3 c) and d), 2024-01-30 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Pension fund administrators (AFPs) have guaranteed access to the formal market for the investments abroad their own laws allow, and the Central Bank publishes at least monthly in the Diario Oficial the ratings of foreign instruments and issuers in which they may invest.Ley Nº 18.840, Organic Constitutional Law of the Banco Central de Chile, Art. 48, 1989-10-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Any person domiciled or resident in Chile pays tax on income from any source, inside or outside Chile, and non residents only on Chilean source income. A foreigner who takes up domicile or residence in Chile is taxed only on Chilean source income for the first three years from arrival, extendable by the regional director in qualified cases.
Example: A Chilean SpA that earns CLP 197,316,000 of interest on a deposit in Miami reports it as taxable income in Chile. / US$200,000 of foreign interest is taxable in Chile for a resident company; a foreign executive who moved to Chile on 1 July 2025 pays no Chilean tax on foreign income until 30 June 2028, unless the period is extended.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta, Art. 3, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Operation	Threshold	Route
Remittance from Chile to invest, lend or deposit abroad	US$10,000 or more (CLP 9,865,800)	Through the bank, which reports on the resident's declaration
Return of capital, interest or profit brought into Chile	US$10,000 or more	Through the bank
Investment funded from money already abroad, or returns kept abroad	US$10,000 or more	Resident reports directly to the Central Bank
Foreign securities or depositary certificates	As above	Directly by the persons named in Securities Market Law art. 196
Total foreign assets of US$10,000,000 or more (CLP 9,865,800,000)	Stock test	Quarterly stock report

Reporting route for outbound operations by Chilean residents (CNCI Chapter II, Letter B, Section IV, Nº 23 to 28). CLP at 986.58 per US dollar.

Worked example

A Chilean holding company sends US$4,000,000 (CLP 3,946,320,000) from Santiago to buy a Peruvian company. It tells its bank the remittance is an investment abroad, and the bank reports it. Because its foreign assets now exceed US$10,000,000 including earlier investments, it also files quarterly stock reports (CNCI Nº 20 b).
Two years later the Peruvian company pays a dividend into the holding company's account in Lima and the money stays there. The holding reports that return directly to the Central Bank, because it was not brought into Chile (Nº 25), and includes it in its Chilean taxable income (DL Nº 824 art. 3).
A Chilean investor buying an Argentine company follows the same Chilean steps; Argentine rules on receiving and later remitting the investment are covered in the Argentine guide.

Step by step

1. Identify the operation type (investment, deposit or credit abroad) and whether it is funded from Chile or from money already abroad.
2. For remittances from Chile, give the bank the type and concept; for operations funded abroad, report directly to the Central Bank after signing the SICAM reporting request.
3. Test foreign assets, separately from liabilities, against the US$10,000,000 stock and US$50,000,000 monthly flow thresholds.
4. Report every return kept abroad and every later change (sale, capital reduction, restructuring).
5. Include foreign income in Chilean tax returns and check available foreign tax credits and treaty relief (see Taxes: tax treaties).

Common traps

Assuming money already abroad is invisible to Chilean FX rules. Investments funded abroad and returns kept abroad must still be reported directly.
Netting outbound assets against inbound debt for the thresholds. The tests count assets and liabilities separately.
Assuming only foreign currency counts. Peso loans and peso investments abroad are also channelled and reported.
Forgetting worldwide taxation. Resident companies and individuals pay Chilean tax on foreign income, except new foreign residents during their first three years.

Sources

Related: Chile country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide

← Getting paid for exports and paying for imports: no repatriation or surrender rule, how trade finance is reported, and the stamp tax on deferred import paymentsKeeping the books and paying taxes in US dollars in Chile: when the SII allows foreign currency accounting, how peso books treat FX differences, and paying in foreign currency →