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UF, UTM and the dólar observado: the units Chilean law is written in

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

Most money amounts in Chilean law, contracts and fines are written in indexed units, not pesos. The UF (unidad de fomento) is set daily by the Central Bank and follows consumer prices; it is the standard unit for capital thresholds, mortgages, leases and caps such as the 90 UF severance ceiling. The UTM (unidad tributaria mensual) is set monthly and anchors taxes, fees and fines; the UTA is twelve UTM. Converting to US dollars uses the Central Bank's published exchange rate, the dólar observado. This page explains each unit, where the official value is published and how to convert.

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 amounts use UF 1 = CLP 41,221.08 (26 October 2026) and UTM amounts use UTM 1 = CLP 72,151 (October 2026), both as published by the Servicio de Impuestos Internos. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

UTM, October 2026	72151 CLPSII UTM table 2026; DL Nº 830 art. 8 Nº 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
UTM, November 2026	72440 CLPSII UTM table 2026, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
UTA, October 2026	865812 CLPSII UTM table 2026; DL Nº 830 art. 8 Nº 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
UF, 26 October 2026	41221.08 CLPBanco Central de Chile, Diario Oficial CVE 2884760, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Central Bank USD exchange rate published for 23 October 2026	986.58 CLPLey Nº 18.840 art. 44; Diario Oficial CVE 2891564, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. For tax purposes the unidad tributaria is an amount of money fixed by law and permanently updated that serves as a tax measure or reference point. The unidad tributaria anual (UTA) is the monthly unit in force in the last month of the commercial year multiplied by twelve, or by the number of months in that year; for sanctions expressed in tax units, the UTA is twelve times the UTM in force when the sanction is applied. Both are always expressed in whole pesos.
Example: UTM October 2026: CLP 72,151; UTA for a year closing in October 2026: CLP 865,812 (SII UTM table). / UTM about US$73.13; UTA about US$877.59.Decreto Ley Nº 830 (Código Tributario), Art. 8 Nº 10, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. The Central Bank of Chile fixes the value of the UF for each period from the 10th of one month to the 9th of the next under Chapter II.B.3 of its Compendium of Financial Rules (adjustment systems authorized by the Bank, Agreement Nº 05-07-900105) and publishes the daily values in the Diario Oficial. In the resolution published on 9 October 2026 the UF rises from CLP 41,136.24 on 10 October to CLP 41,295.46 on 9 November 2026, a 0.4 percent rise across the period, the same as the September 2026 CPI change shown in the SII table.
Example: A lease of 100 UF due on 26 October 2026 is paid with CLP 4,122,108 (UF CLP 41,221.08). / About US$4,178 at CLP 986.58.Banco Central de Chile, Compendium of Financial Rules Chapter II.B.3; resolution fixing the UF and IVP from 10 October to 9 November 2026 (Diario Oficial CVE 2884760), Chapter II.B.3; resolution of 9 October 2026, 2026-10-09 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. The Central Bank authorizes the adjustment systems that banks and savings and credit cooperatives may use in peso lending; an unauthorized adjustment clause is deemed not written. In peso credit operations where no bank, family allowance fund, insurer, savings and credit cooperative or other mass lender is a party, the parties may freely agree any form of adjustment, and if they used an adjustment system authorized by the Central Bank that is later repealed or changed, existing contracts keep the agreed system unless the parties replace it.
Example: An intercompany peso loan from a foreign parent to its Chilean subsidiary may be indexed to the UF or any other agreed index, because no bank is a party (Ley Nº 18.010 art. 3).Ley Nº 18.840 (Central Bank organic law); Ley Nº 18.010 (credit operations), Ley 18.840 art. 35 Nº 9; Ley 18.010 art. 3, 1989-10-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. The exchange rate in the formal FX market is the rate freely agreed by the parties. The Central Bank must publish daily the exchange rate of foreign currencies generally accepted in international FX markets, based on transactions in the formal FX market on the previous business day. The rate is published in the Diario Oficial; for 23 October 2026 it was CLP 986.58 per US dollar.
Example: CLP 98,658,000 converts to US$100,000 at the 23 October 2026 rate. / US$1 = CLP 986.58; EUR 1 = CLP 1,107.27 on the same publication.Ley Nº 18.840 (Central Bank organic law); Diario Oficial CVE 2891564 of 23 October 2026, Art. 44, 1989-10-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Many legal thresholds and caps are written in these units. Examples: capital below 5,000 UF makes Diario Oficial corporate extracts free and larger companies pay 1 UTM per extract (Ley Nº 20.494 art. 4); the municipal business licence has a floor of 1 UTM and a cap of 8,000 UTM (DL Nº 3.063 art. 24); data protection fines reach 20,000 UTM from 1 December 2026 (Ley Nº 19.628 art. 35 as replaced by Ley Nº 21.719); the Pro Pyme regime is limited to companies with initial capital up to 85,000 UF and average income up to 75,000 UF (DL Nº 824 art. 14 D).
Example: 20,000 UTM at the October 2026 UTM is CLP 1,443,020,000; 5,000 UF on 26 October 2026 is CLP 206,105,400. / About US$1,462,649 and US$208,909 respectively.Ley Nº 20.494; DL Nº 3.063; Ley Nº 21.719; DL Nº 824, Ley 20.494 art. 4; DL 3.063 art. 24; Ley 19.628 art. 35; DL 824 art. 14 D, 2024-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Unit	Who sets it	How often	Value	Approx. USD	Typical use
UF	Banco Central de Chile (CNF Chapter II.B.3)	Daily values fixed monthly for the 10th to the 9th	CLP 41,221.08 (26 Oct 2026)	US$41.78	Capital thresholds, mortgages, leases, severance and pension caps
UTM	Published by the SII (DL Nº 830 art. 8 Nº 10)	Monthly	CLP 72,151 (Oct 2026); CLP 72,440 (Nov 2026)	US$73.13	Taxes, fees, fines, municipal licence
UTA	12 x UTM (DL Nº 830 art. 8 Nº 10)	Monthly reference	CLP 865,812 (Oct 2026)	US$877.59	Annual tax fines and thresholds
Dólar observado	Banco Central de Chile (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 44)	Each business day, from previous day's trades	CLP 986.58 (23 Oct 2026)	US$1	Conversions, foreign currency obligations, tax translation

Indexed units at a glance. Values from the SII UF and UTM tables and the Central Bank resolutions in the Diario Oficial; USD at CLP 986.58.

Month 2026	UTM (CLP)	UTA (CLP)
January	69,751	837,012
April	69,889	838,668
July	71,649	859,788
September	71,721	860,652
October	72,151	865,812
November	72,440	869,280

How the UTM moved in 2026 (SII UTM table). Each month's UTM equals the previous month's UTM adjusted by the CPI change of two months earlier; the October figure reflects August's 0.6 percent and November's reflects September's 0.4 percent.

Worked example

A foreign investor reads that a Chilean fine can reach 20,000 UTM. At the October 2026 UTM of CLP 72,151 that is CLP 1,443,020,000, about US$1.46 million at CLP 986.58.
A lease priced at 100 UF a month costs CLP 4,122,108 on 26 October 2026, and its peso cost rises each day from the 10th to the 9th in line with the previous month's CPI. Between 1 January and 26 October 2026 the UF rose from CLP 39,731.79 to CLP 41,221.08, about 3.7 percent.
A US$100,000 capital contribution converted at the 23 October 2026 rate equals CLP 98,658,000; the actual rate is whatever the investor agrees with its bank in the formal FX market (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 44).

Step by step

1. When a law or contract quotes UF, UTM or UTA, identify the date the law fixes for conversion (payment date, month of the sanction, year end) before converting.
2. Take UF values from the Central Bank resolution in the Diario Oficial or the SII UF table; take UTM and UTA from the SII UTM table.
3. Convert pesos to dollars with the Central Bank rate published for the relevant day, and state the date and source next to the figure.
4. In models, index peso costs written in UF daily and those written in UTM monthly; do not mix the two.
5. For peso loans with non bank lenders, decide whether to index to the UF; it is freely agreed (Ley Nº 18.010 art. 3).

Common traps

Treating the UTA as a fixed annual number. For sanctions it is twelve times the UTM in force when the sanction is applied, not the UTM of January (DL Nº 830 art. 8 Nº 10).
Using the wrong UF date. The UF changes every day; a UF amount converts at the value of the specific day, and the value from the 10th onward already reflects the previous month's CPI.
Unauthorized indexation in bank loans. Adjustment systems not authorized by the Central Bank are deemed not written in bank and cooperative peso lending (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 35 Nº 9).
Mixing the formal FX market rate with the published rate. Transactions settle at the freely agreed rate; the published rate is a reference (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 44).

Sources

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