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VAT in Chile: the 19 percent IVA on sales, services and imports, reverse charge on foreign services, export refunds and filing deadlines

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

Chile levies a single value added tax (IVA) of 19 percent on sales of goods, on services provided or used in Chile and on imports, under Decreto Ley Nº 825. Registered businesses offset input VAT against output VAT, exporters recover VAT on their inputs, and a Chilean VAT taxpayer that buys services from a provider abroad self assesses the VAT. Monthly VAT is declared and paid by the 12th of the following month (the 20th for online filers who issue electronic invoices), and a one year window under Ley Nº 21.850 exempts first sales of completed new homes.

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

VAT standard rate	19 %DL Nº 825, art. 14, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Monthly VAT payment and return deadline (day of following month)	12 dayDL Nº 825, art. 64, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Monthly VAT deadline for online filers issuing electronic invoices (day of following month)	20 dayDecreto Nº 1.001 of 2006; DL Nº 825, art. 64, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Average annual income ceiling for the two month VAT payment deferral	100000 UFDL Nº 825, art. 64, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Reverse charge on services from abroad to Chilean VAT taxpayers	Yes textDL Nº 825, art. 11 letter e), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
VAT on exported services qualified by Customs	Exempt textDL Nº 825, art. 12 letter E Nº 16, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Start of one year VAT exemption window for first sale of completed new homes	2026-12-01 dateLey Nº 21.850, fourth transitory article, as of 2026-10-26 · pending

The rule

1. VAT is charged at 19 percent on the taxable base of each sale or service. The base is the price of the operation plus interest, adjustments and financing charges of credit sales, but excludes the VAT itself and certain specific taxes.
Cost to do it: The tax itself; a registered business recovers it through the input VAT credit.
Example: A service invoiced at CLP 10,000,000 carries CLP 1,900,000 of VAT, total CLP 11,900,000. / About US$10,136.03 plus US$1,925.84 of VAT, total US$12,061.87.Decreto Ley Nº 825, Ley sobre Impuesto a las Ventas y Servicios, Art. 14 and art. 15, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Services are taxed when provided or used in Chile, wherever the fee is paid. A service is provided in Chile when the activity that generates it takes place in Chile. For remotely provided services, use in Chile is presumed when at least two of four indicators point to Chile at the time of contracting or payment: the IP address or other geolocation of the device, a card or account issued in Chile, a billing address in Chile, or a SIM card with a Chilean country code.
Cost to do it: No registration cost in itself; determines whether 19 percent VAT applies.Decreto Ley Nº 825, as amended by Ley Nº 21.210 and Ley Nº 21.713, Art. 5, 2024-10-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. When a provider domiciled or resident abroad renders a taxed service to a Chilean business that is itself a VAT taxpayer, the Chilean beneficiary is the taxpayer for that VAT (reverse charge). Sales to Chilean persons who are not VAT taxpayers instead fall under the simplified regime for non residents (see the digital services page).
Cost to do it: Cash cost is neutral for a fully taxed business, which declares the VAT and takes it as input credit in the same month.Decreto Ley Nº 825, Art. 3 and art. 11 letter e), 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Imports are taxed whether or not habitual. The base is the customs value of the goods or, failing that, their CIF value, plus the customs duties of the same import. The VAT accrues when the import is legally completed, and customs will not release the goods until it is paid, except for deferred payment cases under the Ordenanza de Aduanas.
Cost to do it: VAT of 19 percent on customs value plus duties, paid before release and recoverable as input credit.
Example: Goods with a customs value of CLP 98,658,000 and 6 percent duty of CLP 5,919,480 pay import VAT of CLP 19,869,721. / On US$100,000 of goods: US$6,000 duty and US$20,140 of VAT.Decreto Ley Nº 825, Art. 8 letter a), art. 9 letter b) and art. 16 letter a), 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Exports are relieved. Services provided to persons without domicile or residence in Chile are exempt when the National Customs Service classifies them as exports, provided they are rendered wholly or partly in Chile for use abroad. Exporters may recover the VAT charged on goods and services used for their export activity, by offsetting it against output VAT or by refund under the procedure set by supreme decree.
Cost to do it: No VAT on qualifying exported services; refund procedure costs are administrative only.Decreto Ley Nº 825, Art. 12 letter E Nº 16 and art. 36, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. A VAT taxpayer or exporter that accumulates excess input VAT for at least two consecutive months from buying fixed assets, or services forming part of their cost, may offset that accumulated balance, adjusted for inflation, against any other fiscal tax or customs charge, or ask the General Treasury to refund it. The refund is later repaid out of future output VAT.
Cost to do it: No fee; improves cash flow for start up and expansion investment.Decreto Ley Nº 825, Art. 27 bis, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. VAT accrued in a month is paid by the 12th of the following month together with a sworn return of all operations, including exempt ones. A presidential decree published on 12 October 2006 extended the deadline to the 20th for taxpayers who file and pay online and issue electronic invoices. Companies whose average annual business income over the last three calendar years is within 100,000 UF may defer payment by up to two months if they are registered for electronic notification, have no repeated arrears and have filed all returns for the previous 36 months and three tax years.
Cost to do it: Late payment triggers inflation adjustment, interest and fines under the Código Tributario (see tax audits and disputes).
Example: The 100,000 UF deferral ceiling equals about CLP 4,122,108,000 of average annual income. / About US$4,178,179.16.Decreto Ley Nº 825; Decreto Nº 1.001 of 2006, Ministerio de Hacienda, Art. 64 first to fourth paragraphs, 2006-10-12 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. For one year counted from the first business day of the second month after publication of Ley Nº 21.850 (so from 1 December 2026), the first sale of a new dwelling that already had its final municipal acceptance at the publication date (17 October 2026) may be exempt from VAT, if made by public deed in that period or under a promise of sale signed in that period. The seller keeps the right to use the related input VAT against other taxed sales, and transfers between related companies do not count as a first sale.
Cost to do it: Saves 19 percent VAT on the taxed base of a qualifying home sale.Ley Nº 21.850, Fourth transitory article, 2026-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: New temporary exemption created by Ley Nº 21.850 (Diario Oficial 17 October 2026), for deeds or promises signed in the year starting 1 December 2026. Sales deeded between the filing of the bill and that date that paid VAT can obtain a refund if the VAT is returned to the buyer.

Transaction	VAT treatment	Who pays	Rule
Sale of goods or service in Chile by a Chilean business	19 percent	Seller, recovered by business buyer as credit	Art. 14, 23
Service from a foreign provider to a Chilean VAT taxpayer	19 percent, reverse charge	Chilean business buyer	Art. 11 letter e)
Digital service from abroad to a Chilean consumer	19 percent under simplified regime	Foreign provider	Art. 8 letter n), 35 A to 35 I
Import of goods	19 percent on customs value plus duties	Importer, before release	Art. 8 letter a), 9 letter b), 16 letter a)
Export of goods	Not taxed; input VAT recoverable	Exporter recovers	Art. 36
Service exported, qualified by Customs	Exempt	None	Art. 12 letter E Nº 16
First sale of completed new home, deeds from 1 December 2026 for one year	Optional exemption	None	Ley Nº 21.850 fourth transitory

How common transactions are treated for Chilean VAT (DL Nº 825 as in force on 26 October 2026).

Worked example

A Chilean SpA buys cloud engineering services for US$50,000 (CLP 49,329,000) from its US parent. As a VAT taxpayer it self assesses VAT of US$9,500 (CLP 9,372,510) under art. 11 letter e), declares it in its monthly return and takes the same amount as input credit, so the net VAT cost is nil if all its sales are taxed. Income tax withholding on the fee is a separate question (see withholding on remittances).
The same SpA imports machinery with a customs value of US$200,000 (CLP 197,316,000). It pays 6 percent duty of US$12,000 and import VAT of US$40,280 (CLP 39,739,442) before release. If its output VAT is low in the following months, the art. 27 bis mechanism lets it recover the accumulated fixed asset credit after two consecutive months instead of waiting for future sales.

Step by step

Register for VAT through the start of activities with the SII before the first sale (see Start here).
Issue electronic invoices for every taxed sale and keep purchase and sales ledgers (art. 54 on tax documents).
Each month, file the F29 return and pay by the 12th, or the 20th if you file online and issue electronic invoices.
Self assess reverse charge VAT on services bought from abroad in the month the service is invoiced or paid.
If you export, apply for VAT recovery on export inputs under art. 36, and ask Customs to qualify exported services where art. 12 letter E Nº 16 applies.
When investing heavily, track two consecutive months of excess fixed asset credit and apply under art. 27 bis.

Common traps

The remote use presumption only needs two of four indicators (IP, payment instrument, billing address, SIM), so a foreign platform can be caught even without a Chilean entity.
Exported services are only exempt once Customs qualifies them as exports; otherwise a service used abroad but performed in Chile is still taxed because the activity took place in Chile.
Art. 27 bis refunds are repaid out of future output VAT, and must be restituted faster if the company later has exempt or non taxed sales.
The two month deferral does not postpone the return itself, only the payment, and is lost with repeated arrears.
The new home exemption under Ley Nº 21.850 requires the final municipal acceptance to predate 17 October 2026 and an express mention in the deed.

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

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