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Peru's tax treaties: the eight bilateral treaties, Andean Decision 578, the Pacific Alliance convention, treaty withholding rates and how to claim them

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

Peru has bilateral income tax treaties in force with Chile, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, Switzerland, Portugal and Japan, and applies Andean Community Decision 578 with Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador. Treaties mostly matter for royalties, technical assistance and interest, where Peru's 30 percent domestic rate falls to 10 or 15 percent; Peru's 5 percent dividend tax is already below the treaty caps. A 2017 Pacific Alliance convention, applied from 2024, adds benefits for Chilean, Colombian and Mexican pension funds. Neither the United States nor Argentina is among Peru's treaty partners.

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

Bilateral income tax treaties in force (plus Andean Decision 578)8 treatiesSUNAT Informe 0055-2021 and 000038-2026, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Income tax treaty with Argentina in forceno booleanArgentina official DTT list, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Typical treaty cap on royalties15 %Peru treaties art. 12, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Pacific Alliance cap on interest to recognized pension funds10 %Pacific Alliance convention art. 5, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Chile: treaty signed 8 June 2001, approved by Resolución Legislativa Nº 27905 and ratified by Decreto Supremo Nº 005-2003-RE, applicable from 1 January 2004 (protocol ratified by Decreto Supremo Nº 006-2003-RE). Canada: signed 20 July 2001, Resolución Legislativa Nº 27904, Decreto Supremo Nº 022-2003-RE, applicable from 1 January 2004. Brazil: signed 17 February 2006, Resolución Legislativa Nº 29233, Decreto Supremo Nº 019-2008-RE, applicable from 1 January 2010.SUNAT Informe Nº 0055-2021-SUNAT/7T0000 and Informe Nº 000087-2023-SUNAT/7T0000 (base legal of each treaty), Treaty approval, ratification and application dates, 2003-01-17 official text · verified 2026-10-28
2. Mexico: signed 27 April 2011, Resolución Legislativa Nº 30144, Decreto Supremo Nº 003-2014-RE, in force 19 February 2014 and applicable from 1 January 2015. South Korea: signed 10 May 2012, Resolución Legislativa Nº 30140, Decreto Supremo Nº 004-2014-RE, in force 3 March 2014, applicable from 1 January 2015. Portugal: signed 19 November 2012, Resolución Legislativa Nº 30141, Decreto Supremo Nº 009-2014-RE, in force 12 April 2014, applicable from 1 January 2015. Switzerland: signed 21 September 2012, Resolución Legislativa Nº 30143, Decreto Supremo Nº 008-2014-RE, applicable from 1 January 2015.SUNAT Informe Nº 0055-2021-SUNAT/7T0000 (base legal of each treaty), Treaty approval, ratification and application dates, 2014-03-06 official text · verified 2026-10-28
3. Japan: treaty and protocol signed 18 November 2019, approved by Resolución Legislativa Nº 31098 (published 29 December 2020), ratified by Decreto Supremo Nº 060-2020-RE (published 30 December 2020), in force 29 January 2021 and applicable from 1 January 2022.SUNAT Informe Nº 000038-2026-SUNAT/7T0000 (base legal), Treaty approval, ratification and application dates, 2020-12-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28
4. Andean Community Decision 578 applies between Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador on a source basis: income is taxable only in the member country where its source is, and the others treat it as exempt. Royalties are taxable only where the intangible is used; dividends only where the distributing company is domiciled; interest only where its payment is charged and recorded; and fees for professional, technical, technical assistance and consulting services only where the benefit is produced, presumed to be where the expense is charged and recorded. It applies from the first tax year after its publication in the Gaceta Oficial of 5 May 2004.Decisión 578 de la Comisión de la Comunidad Andina, Régimen para evitar la doble tributación y prevenir la evasión fiscal (Gaceta Oficial del Acuerdo de Cartagena Nº 1063), Art. 3, art. 9, art. 10, art. 11, art. 14 and art. 22, 2004-05-05 official text · verified 2026-10-28
5. Treaty withholding caps for residents of the other state who are beneficial owners: Chile dividends 10 percent (company holding at least 25 percent of voting shares) or 15 percent, interest 15 percent, royalties 15 percent; Canada dividends 10 percent (at least 10 percent of voting shares) or 15 percent, interest 15 percent, royalties 15 percent; Mexico dividends 10 percent (at least 25 percent of voting shares) or 15 percent, interest 15 percent, royalties 15 percent; South Korea dividends 10 percent, interest 15 percent, royalties 15 percent and technical assistance 10 percent; Portugal dividends 10 percent (at least 10 percent holding) or 15 percent, interest 10 percent on bank loans or 15 percent, royalties 15 percent and related technical assistance 10 percent; Switzerland dividends 10 percent (at least 10 percent of capital and votes held directly) or 15 percent, interest 15 percent (10 percent on equipment credit sales and bank loans), royalties 15 percent and technical assistance and digital services 10 percent.
Example: A royalty of S/ 100,000: 30 percent domestic withholding is S/ 30,000; under the Chile, Canada, Mexico, Korea, Portugal or Swiss treaty it is at most S/ 15,000. / Royalty of US$28,969: US$8,691 domestic versus at most US$4,345 under those treaties.Treaties with Chile, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Portugal and Switzerland, as published by the Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas, Art. 10, 11 and 12 of each treaty, 2014-03-06 official text · verified 2026-10-28
6. SUNAT's view is that fees for digital services, which Peruvian law treats as Peruvian source income, are business profits under the treaties with Chile, Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Portugal, taxable only in the provider's country unless it has a permanent establishment in Peru.SUNAT Informe Nº 0055-2021-SUNAT/7T0000, Analysis of art. 7 of those treaties, 2021-05-28 official text · verified 2026-10-28
7. The Pacific Alliance convention, signed 14 October 2017 by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, approved by Resolución Legislativa Nº 31580 and ratified by Decreto Supremo Nº 050-2022-RE, in force 2 July 2023 and applicable from 1 January 2024, amends their bilateral treaties so that recognized pension funds are residents and beneficial owners; interest received by such funds can be taxed at source at no more than 10 percent; and their gains on shares of companies resident in a party sold through a stock exchange in the Mercado Integrado Latinoamericano (MILA) are taxable only in the fund's state.Convención para homologar el tratamiento impositivo previsto en los Convenios para Evitar la Doble Imposición suscritos entre los Estados Parte del Acuerdo Marco de la Alianza del Pacífico, Art. 1 to 6, 2022-10-28 official text · verified 2026-10-28
8. Peru does not appear on Argentina's official list of double taxation agreements in force, so payments between Peru and Argentina bear each country's full domestic withholding, with relief only through each country's unilateral foreign tax credit.Argentina, Ministerio de Economía, list of double taxation agreements in force, Country list, 2026-10-28 official text · verified 2026-10-28
Treaty partnerApplies fromDividendsInterestRoyaltiesTechnical assistance
Chile1 Jan 200410% (25% voting) / 15%15%15%Domestic
Canada1 Jan 200410% (10% voting) / 15%15%15%Domestic
Mexico1 Jan 201510% (25% voting) / 15%15%15%Domestic
South Korea1 Jan 201510%15%15%10%
Portugal1 Jan 201510% (10% holding) / 15%10% bank loans / 15%15%10% (related to royalties)
Switzerland1 Jan 201510% (10% held directly) / 15%10% equipment credit and bank loans / 15%15%10% (also digital services)
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador (Decision 578)1 Jan 2005Only where the payer is domiciledOnly where chargedWhere the intangible is usedOnly where the benefit is produced

Treaty caps on Peruvian withholding (beneficial owner resident in the other state) for the six treaties whose texts were checked on the MEF site, plus Decision 578; Peru's domestic rates are 5% dividends, 4.99% or 30% interest, 30% royalties and 15% technical assistance

Worked example

  • A Peruvian subsidiary pays a Swiss affiliate S/ 100,000 (US$28,969) for a software licence and S/ 100,000 for technical assistance. Without the treaty it withholds 30 percent and 15 percent, S/ 45,000 in total.
  • With a Swiss residence certificate, the caps are 15 percent on the royalty and 10 percent on the assistance, S/ 25,000 (US$7,242), saving S/ 20,000 (US$5,794).
  • A US or Argentine licensor gets no treaty relief in Peru and bears the full 30 percent, creditable at home only under its own country's foreign tax credit rules.

Step by step

  1. Confirm the recipient is resident in a treaty country and is the beneficial owner of the income.
  2. Obtain the residence certificate issued by the other state's tax authority before the payment date.
  3. Classify the payment under the treaty (dividend, interest, royalty, technical assistance, business profits) and apply the lower rate when withholding.
  4. Keep the certificate and contracts for the limitation period; SUNAT checks treaty claims in audits.

Common traps

  • Dividends get no practical treaty benefit, since Peru's domestic 5 percent is below every treaty cap.
  • Technical assistance is not reduced under the Chile, Canada or Mexico treaties, so the 15 percent domestic rate stays.
  • Several treaties contain most favoured nation clauses with floors; check the protocol before assuming a lower rate.
  • The United States and Argentina are not among Peru's treaty partners; structures routed through a treaty country need real substance and beneficial ownership to hold up.

Sources

Related pages

Related: Peru 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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