Countries › Peru › Guide › 6. Taxes › Capital gains tax in Peru for foreign investors: selling Peruvian shares directly or indirectly, listed securities and real estate

Capital gains tax in Peru for foreign investors: selling Peruvian shares directly or indirectly, listed securities and real estate

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

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

A non domiciled company that sells shares of a Peruvian company pays 30 percent on the gain, or 5 percent if the shares are registered and sold on a Peruvian centralized market; non domiciled individuals pay 5 percent on Peruvian real estate gains. Selling a foreign holding company can also be taxed in Peru when Peruvian assets make up 50 percent or more of its value and 10 percent or more is sold in 12 months, or when the Peruvian portion sold reaches 40,000 UIT. When the buyer is also non domiciled the seller must pay the tax itself, and the Peruvian company can be jointly liable if it is related to the seller.

USD figures use S/ 3.452 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 27 October 2026, from the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. UIT based amounts use the 2026 UIT of S/ 5,500 set by Decreto Supremo Nº 301-2025-EF. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Tax on non domiciled company's gain on unlisted Peruvian shares	30 %LIR art. 56 j), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Tax on non domiciled company's gain on securities sold within Peru	5 %LIR art. 56 h), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Tax on non domiciled individual's gain on Peruvian real estate	5 %LIR art. 54 b) (DL 1258), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Indirect transfer: Peruvian share of foreign company value	50 %LIR art. 10 e) 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Indirect transfer: stake sold in 12 months	10 %LIR art. 10 e) 2, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Indirect transfer: value threshold in 12 months	40000 UITLIR art. 10 e), as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Gains from selling shares and other securities are Peruvian source income when the issuing company, fund or trust is incorporated or established in Peru, and so are gains on ADRs and GDRs whose underlying shares were issued by Peruvian companies.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Impuesto a la Renta (Decreto Supremo Nº 179-2004-EF), second paragraph added by Ley Nº 28655, Art. 9 letter h), 2005-12-29 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Selling shares of a foreign company is an indirect transfer taxable in Peru when, in any of the 12 months before the sale, the Peruvian shares it holds directly or indirectly are worth 50 percent or more of its total value, and the seller and its related parties transfer 10 percent or more of the foreign company within any 12 month period. It is also an indirect transfer when the Peruvian portion of the shares sold in any 12 month period reaches 40,000 UIT, and whenever the company sold is resident in a non cooperative or low tax jurisdiction unless the seller proves the conditions are not met.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Impuesto a la Renta (Decreto Supremo Nº 179-2004-EF), as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1424, Art. 10 letter e), 2018-09-13 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Non domiciled legal entities pay 5 percent on gains from selling securities within Peru and 30 percent on other gains, including shares sold privately. Non domiciled individuals pay 5 percent on gains from selling real estate and 30 percent on gains from selling securities abroad. A sale counts as made within Peru when the securities are registered in the Registro Público del Mercado de Valores and traded through a Peruvian centralized trading mechanism (Reglamento art. 30-B numeral 3).Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Impuesto a la Renta (Decreto Supremo Nº 179-2004-EF), art. 54 b) as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1258; SUNAT Informe Nº 068-2012-SUNAT/4B0000, LIR art. 54 letters b) and d), art. 56 letters h) and j), 2016-12-08 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. The withholding base on a sale is the price less the recovery of invested capital (the tax cost) under the Reglamento. When the buyer is also non domiciled and cannot withhold, the seller must pay the tax directly as a final tax within the first twelve business days of the month after it receives the income (Reglamento art. 39-A).Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Impuesto a la Renta (Decreto Supremo Nº 179-2004-EF); SUNAT Informe Nº 068-2012-SUNAT/4B0000, LIR art. 76 second paragraph letter g); Reglamento art. 39-A as explained in the Informe, 2012-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. When shares are sold through a Peruvian clearing and settlement institution, that institution withholds when it settles the cash, and the non domiciled seller must register its tax cost with it, supported by documents. For indirect transfers settled the same way, the seller must notify the institution of the indirect sale and the amount to withhold.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Impuesto a la Renta (Decreto Supremo Nº 179-2004-EF), letter b) as amended by Ley Nº 30050, Art. 76 letter b), 2013-06-26 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. On direct and indirect sales of Peruvian shares by a non domiciled seller, the Peruvian issuing company is jointly liable for the tax when, in any of the 12 months before the sale, the seller was related to it through control, management or capital. The liability does not apply when the buyer withholds, but it remains when a clearing institution withholds.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Impuesto a la Renta (Decreto Supremo Nº 179-2004-EF), added by Ley Nº 29663 and amended by Ley Nº 29757 and Ley Nº 30050, Art. 68, 2011-02-15 official text · verified 2026-10-28

7. When a non domiciled person sells Peruvian real estate or rights over it, the buyer must withhold and pay the tax as a final tax within the monthly deadline for the month after payment, under the art. 76 rules.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Impuesto a la Renta (Decreto Supremo Nº 179-2004-EF), Art. 76-A, 2004-12-08 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Asset sold	Seller	Rate	Who pays	Rule
Shares of a Peruvian company, private sale	Foreign company	30% of the gain	Domiciled buyer withholds; non domiciled buyer: seller pays within 12 business days of next month	LIR art. 56 j), 76
Peruvian securities registered and traded on a Peruvian centralized mechanism	Foreign company	5% of the gain	Clearing institution withholds at settlement	LIR art. 56 h), 76 b)
Shares of a foreign holding company meeting the indirect transfer tests	Any	Same rates on the Peruvian portion	Seller; Peruvian company jointly liable if related	LIR art. 10 e), 68
Peruvian real estate	Foreign individual	5% of the gain	Buyer withholds	LIR art. 54 b), 76-A

Peruvian tax on gains of non domiciled sellers

Worked example

A Delaware company sells all the shares of its Peruvian S.A.C. to a Peruvian buyer for S/ 10,000,000 (US$2,896,871). Its certified tax cost is S/ 4,000,000, so the gain is S/ 6,000,000 (US$1,738,123).
The buyer withholds 30 percent, S/ 1,800,000 (US$521,437). Had the shares been registered and sold on the Lima Stock Exchange, the tax would be 5 percent, S/ 300,000 (US$86,906).
If the buyer were also foreign, the seller would have to pay the 30 percent itself within the first twelve business days of the following month, and the Peruvian company would be jointly liable because seller and company were related.

Step by step

Before signing, test whether a sale of a foreign holding company meets the 50 percent, 10 percent or 40,000 UIT indirect transfer tests.
Document the tax cost of the shares with acquisition documents so the withholding applies to the gain and not the price.
If the buyer is domiciled, agree in the contract that it withholds on the gain; if not, plan for the seller to file and pay in Peru within twelve business days of the following month.
Check whether a tax treaty limits Peru's right to tax the gain and gather the residence certificate.
Coordinate with the Peruvian company, which is jointly liable if related to the seller.

Common traps

Without documented tax cost the withholding agent may apply the rate to the full price.
A sale between two foreign parties still triggers Peruvian tax; there is no withholding agent, so the seller must register and pay.
Issuing new shares below market value in a foreign holding company can be treated as an indirect transfer by that company (art. 10 e).
The 5 percent rate needs both registration in the Peruvian securities registry and a trade through a Peruvian centralized mechanism; an off market sale of listed shares is taxed at 30 percent.

Sources

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

← Withholding tax on payments abroad from Peru: dividends, interest, royalties, technical assistance, services and the deductibility linkIGV in Peru: the 18 percent value added tax, the 2026 to 2029 shift to the municipal tax, input credit, foreign services, exports and refunds →

Get rule changes weekly

Free. One email a week from The LatAm Thread.

One more step after you press the button: we take you to Substack, where your email is already filled in. Confirm there to start. No spam, unsubscribe anytime, we never share your address. By subscribing you agree to the privacy policy.