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Capital gains tax in Chile for foreign investors: selling Chilean shares, buyer withholding, indirect transfers abroad and listed shares

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

Shares of Chilean companies are Chilean source assets, so a non resident who sells them owes Chilean tax on the gain over its inflation adjusted cost, and the buyer must withhold 10 percent of the price, or 35 percent of the gain if it can be determined, as a prepayment. Selling a foreign holding company can also be taxed in Chile at a single 35 percent when Chilean assets make up at least 20 percent of its value or reach 210,000 UTA and at least 10 percent is sold in twelve months. Gains on qualifying sales of listed Chilean shares with stock exchange presence pay a 10 percent single tax, which Ley Nº 21.850 turns into non taxable income from 1 January 2027.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial of 23 October 2026 (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 44). Tax units use the SII values of UTM CLP 72,151 and UTA CLP 865,812 for October 2026 and UF CLP 41,221.08 for 26 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Provisional withholding by buyer on sale proceeds paid to non residents (gross)	10 %DL Nº 824, art. 74 Nº 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Alternative provisional withholding on the determinable gain	35 %DL Nº 824, art. 74 Nº 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Single tax on indirect transfers of Chilean assets by non residents	35 %DL Nº 824, art. 58 Nº 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Chilean underlying value share that triggers indirect transfer tax	20 %DL Nº 824, art. 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Chilean underlying asset value that triggers indirect transfer tax	210000 UTADL Nº 824, art. 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum share of the foreign entity sold in 12 months	10 %DL Nº 824, art. 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Single tax on qualifying listed share gains until 31 December 2026	10 %DL Nº 824, art. 107 Nº 1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Tax on qualifying listed share gains from 1 January 2027	Not income textLey Nº 21.850, art. 8 Nº 4, as of 2026-10-26 · pending

The rule

1. Income is Chilean source when it comes from assets located in Chile or activities carried out in Chile, whatever the residence of the taxpayer. Shares of a corporation incorporated in Chile, and rights in Chilean partnerships, are deemed located in Chile.
Cost to do it: None in itself.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Art. 10 first paragraph and art. 11 first paragraph, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. On a sale of shares or company rights, the part of the price up to the tax cost is not income. Tax cost is the contribution or acquisition value, increased or reduced by later capital increases or reductions made by the seller, each adjusted by the consumer price index up to the month before the sale. Losses on similar sales in the same year can be deducted if fully proven.
Cost to do it: None; keep evidence of cost.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Art. 17 Nº 8 letter a) i) to iii), 2020-02-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Anyone who pays, credits or remits to a non resident the proceeds of sales of shares, company rights, real estate and other assets listed in art. 17 Nº 8 letters a), b), c), d), i) and m) must withhold a provisional 10 percent of the total amount without deduction, or 35 percent of the gain if the taxable gain can be determined. The amount withheld is credited against the final taxes the seller declares on the same income, and any excess can be recovered through the annual return.
Cost to do it: Cash prepayment of 10 percent of gross price or 35 percent of the gain, settled in the seller's April return.
Example: On a sale for CLP 9,865,800,000 with a cost of CLP 5,919,480,000, the buyer withholds CLP 986,580,000 on the gross price, or CLP 1,381,212,000 if the gain is known. / Price US$10,000,000, cost US$6,000,000: withholding US$1,000,000 on gross or US$1,400,000 on the gain.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Art. 74 Nº 4, final paragraphs, 2020-02-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. A non resident that sells shares, quotas or rights in a foreign entity is taxed in Chile when (a) at least 20 percent of the market value of what it holds in that entity, at the sale or in the prior twelve months, comes from Chilean underlying assets (shares or rights in Chilean entities, a Chilean permanent establishment, or other assets located in Chile owned by a non resident entity), or (b) those Chilean underlying assets are worth at least 210,000 UTA, provided in both cases that at least 10 percent of the foreign entity is sold, counting all sales by group members in twelve months. Sales of entities in preferential tax regimes are taxed with any percentage of Chilean value, subject to exceptions. Intra group reorganizations that generate no gain are excluded.
Cost to do it: Analysis of the twelve month look back and valuation of Chilean underlying assets.
Example: 210,000 UTA is about CLP 181,820,520,000 at the October 2026 UTA. / About US$184,293,742.02.Decreto Ley Nº 824, as amended by Ley Nº 21.713, Art. 10 third to final paragraphs, 2024-10-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. The indirect transfer gain is taxed with additional tax at 35 percent as a single tax. The seller chooses as base either the gain on the foreign shares multiplied by the proportion of the price that corresponds to Chilean underlying assets, or the proportional price attributable to those assets minus their Chilean tax cost; without proof of acquisition cost the SII uses the second method. The seller declares and pays on an accrual basis with the annual return unless the buyer withheld in full. If unpaid, the SII may assess the buyer, and the Chilean company or permanent establishment is jointly liable.
Cost to do it: 35 percent of the Chilean portion of the gain.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Art. 58 Nº 3, 2014-09-29 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. The gain on sales of shares of Chilean open corporations with stock exchange presence that are bought and sold on a Chilean exchange, in a tender offer or in certain other qualifying ways bears a 10 percent single tax. Ley Nº 21.850 replaces that tax with non taxable treatment from 1 January 2027.
Cost to do it: 10 percent of the gain until 31 December 2026; nil from 1 January 2027 for qualifying sales.
Example: A qualifying gain of CLP 986,580,000 pays CLP 98,658,000 if realised in 2026 and nothing from 2027. / US$100,000 on a US$1,000,000 gain in 2026; nil from 2027.Decreto Ley Nº 824, as amended by Ley Nº 21.420 and Ley Nº 21.850, Art. 107 Nº 1; Ley Nº 21.850 art. 8 Nº 4 and ninth transitory article Nº 3, 2026-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.850 (Diario Oficial 17 October 2026) makes qualifying listed share gains non taxable from 1 January 2027, replacing the 10 percent single tax introduced by Ley Nº 21.420.

7. For individuals, gains on shares, quotas and similar assets that together do not exceed 10 UTA in the year are not income, and the gain on Chilean real estate is not income up to a lifetime total of 8,000 UF.
Cost to do it: None; these are exemptions.
Example: 10 UTA is CLP 8,658,120; 8,000 UF is CLP 329,768,640. / About US$8,775.89 and US$334,254.33.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Art. 17 Nº 8 letter a) vi) and letter b) ii), 2020-02-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Route	Tax in Chile	Collected how	Rule
Direct sale of shares of an unlisted Chilean company	Final taxes on gain over adjusted cost	Buyer withholds 10 percent of price or 35 percent of gain; seller files in April	Art. 17 Nº 8 a), 74 Nº 4
Sale of a foreign holding company above the art. 10 thresholds	35 percent single tax on Chilean portion of gain	Seller files; buyer and Chilean company liable if unpaid	Art. 10, 58 Nº 3
Sale of listed Chilean shares meeting art. 107	10 percent single tax in 2026; not income from 2027	As per art. 107	Art. 107; Ley Nº 21.850
Return of capital brought into Chile	Not taxed up to capital actually brought in	Not applicable	Art. 17 Nº 7; art. 58 Nº 2

Chilean tax on a non resident's exit from a Chilean investment, by route (DL Nº 824 as in force on 26 October 2026 and Ley Nº 21.850).

Worked example

A US company sells its 100 percent stake in an unlisted Chilean SpA to a Chilean buyer for US$10,000,000 (CLP 9,865,800,000); its inflation adjusted cost is US$6,000,000. Since the gain of US$4,000,000 can be determined, the buyer withholds 35 percent of it, US$1,400,000 (CLP 1,381,212,000), pays it by the 12th of the following month and the seller settles its final tax in the April return. Without a determinable gain, the buyer would have withheld US$1,000,000 of the gross price. Treaty limits on capital gains, where a treaty applies, should be checked case by case.
If instead the US group sold the Cayman or Delaware company that owns the SpA, and the SpA represents at least 20 percent of that company's value or is worth at least 210,000 UTA, the gain attributable to the SpA is taxed in Chile at 35 percent as a single tax, and the SpA itself is jointly liable if the tax is not paid. Exits involving Argentine holding structures follow the same Chilean rules; Argentine taxation of the seller is covered in the Argentine guide.

Step by step

Document the tax cost of each Chilean holding from day one: contribution or purchase price and later capital changes.
Before signing a sale, agree who will withhold under art. 74 Nº 4 and whether the gain is determinable.
For sales of foreign parents, run the art. 10 tests (20 percent value, 210,000 UTA, 10 percent sold, preferential regimes) over the last twelve months.
Check the applicable treaty's capital gains article for any limit on Chile's taxing right.
File the annual return in April for the year of sale and recover any excess withholding.

Common traps

Without proof of acquisition cost, the SII computes the indirect transfer gain under the least favourable method and the option is lost.
The Chilean company whose shares are indirectly sold is jointly liable for the seller's tax.
The 10 percent stake test aggregates all sales by members of the seller's group over twelve months.
Listed share relief needs both acquisition and sale through qualifying channels; shares bought before the company listed are partly taxed under general rules.
Capital returns are tax free only up to capital actually brought into Chile, so keep evidence of each contribution.

Sources

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