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FX and capital flows in Uruguay: free transfer of profits and capital, dividend withholding, cash rules

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Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Changing

Uruguay has no exchange controls on foreign investors: Ley Nº 16.906 admits investments without prior authorization or registration and guarantees the free transfer abroad of capital, profits and other investment related sums in freely convertible currency, and the Banco Central del Uruguay (BCU) runs exchange policy under its charter, Ley Nº 16.696. The frictions are tax and anti money laundering rules, not FX rules: dividends paid abroad by IRAE taxpayers bear the non resident income tax (IRNR) at 7 percent, and from 1 January 2026 Ley Nº 20.446 also reaches some distributions of untaxed profits to foreign corporate shareholders. Cash is tightly limited: carrying more than US$10,000 across the border must be declared, and since 20 April 2026 cash payments, including capital contributions, capital refunds and profit payments of companies, are capped at UI 200,000 or 5 percent of the deal up to UI 450,000 under Ley Nº 19.210 as rewritten by Ley Nº 20.469 and Decreto Nº 238/026.

USD figures use UYU 40.214 per US dollar, the BCU quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 26 October 2026. Cash limits in Unidades Indexadas (UI) are converted at UYU 6.6516 per UI, the BCU quotation for 1 October 2026, because Decreto Nº 238/026 art. 8 uses the UI of the first day of the month in which the deal is made; the UI on 27 October 2026 was UYU 6.6792. All quotations were retrieved from the BCU quotations service on the verification date; conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Access to FX to pay dividends abroad	Free transfer guaranteed by law, no prior authorization Ley Nº 16.906 art. 5, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Repatriation of foreign capital	Free transfer in freely convertible currency Ley Nº 16.906 art. 5, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Prior authorization or registration of foreign investment	Not required Ley Nº 16.906 art. 3, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Withholding on dividends paid to non residents (IRNR) out of IRAE taxed profits	7 %T.O. 2023 Title 8 art. 18 literal B), as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Cross border cash that must be declared to Customs	10000 USDLey Nº 19.574 art. 29 (reworded by Ley Nº 20.469), as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Fine for undeclared cross border cash, first offence	30 % of excess over US$10,000Ley Nº 19.574 art. 29 (reworded by Ley Nº 20.469), as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum cash payment per operation (general ceiling)	200000 UILey Nº 19.210 art. 35 (reworded by Ley Nº 20.469); Decreto Nº 238/026 art. 1, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Alternative cash ceiling: 5 percent of the operation, capped at	450000 UILey Nº 19.210 art. 35 literal b), as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Fine for paying above the cash ceiling	25 % of amount paid by means not allowed (minimum UI 1,000)Decreto Nº 238/026 art. 9, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. The State guarantees the free transfer abroad of capital and profits, and of other sums linked to the investment, which is made in freely convertible currency. Foreign investors get the same admission and treatment regime as nationals, and investments are admitted without prior authorization or registration. There is therefore no FX registration of foreign direct investment, no prior approval to remit dividends or repatriate capital and no surrender requirement in this law.
Cost to do it: No fee, filing or FX approval is required by the law to bring money in or send profits and capital out; ordinary bank transfer charges apply and are set by each bank.
Example: A foreign parent that invested UYU 4,021,400 can repatriate that capital and the profits it earned without asking any authority for an FX permit, subject only to the tax and corporate rules on the distribution itself. / UYU 4,021,400 is US$100,000 at the BCU rate of 26 October 2026; the whole amount can be paid out in US dollars or any freely convertible currency.Ley Nº 16.906 (Investment Law), Art. 2, art. 3 and art. 5, 1998-01-07 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. The BCU applies the monetary, exchange and credit instruments needed to meet its goals, administers the State's international reserves, and regulates and supervises the public and private entities of the financial system, with power to authorize or prohibit operations in general or in particular and to set prudential rules. Exchange operations are therefore channelled through BCU regulated banks, exchange houses and transfer firms, which apply the BCU's know your customer and reporting rules.
Cost to do it: No public fee for converting or remitting currency; the spread and transfer charges are set by the bank or exchange house.
Example: A company buying UYU 4,021,400 worth of US dollars at a bank does so at a market rate; the BCU publishes a daily reference quotation, which was UYU 40.214 per US dollar on 26 October 2026. / At that reference rate UYU 4,021,400 buys about US$100,000 before the bank spread.Ley Nº 16.696 (BCU Charter, Carta Orgánica del Banco Central del Uruguay), Art. 7, literals B), D) and G), 1995-03-30 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Dividends and profits paid or credited abroad by IRAE taxpayers, and the deemed dividends imputed on IRAE taxed income older than three fiscal years, are taxed by the IRNR at 7 percent, withheld by the paying company. The 25 percent rate for entities in low or no tax jurisdictions does not apply to dividends paid by IRAE taxpayers. Dividends are exempt when they come from income that was not taxed by IRAE, except that from 1 January 2026 distributions by Uruguayan companies (the entities listed in art. 12 literal A numerals 1 to 8 of Title 4) to a foreign beneficiary are taxed when the beneficiary's country taxes them and grants a credit for the Uruguayan tax, unless the beneficiary has negative taxable income and cannot use the credit. Dividends on shares listed on a Uruguayan stock exchange stay exempt.
Cost to do it: 7 percent of the gross dividend, withheld at source by the paying company; a lower treaty rate may apply where a double tax treaty is in force.
Example: A dividend of UYU 4,021,400 out of IRAE taxed profits paid to a foreign parent bears IRNR of UYU 281,498, so the parent receives UYU 3,739,902 before any treaty relief or home country credit. / US$100,000 gross dividend, US$7,000 withheld, US$93,000 net received.Texto Ordenado 2023 (DGI), Title 8 IRNR, as amended by Ley Nº 20.446 of 16 December 2025, Title 8 art. 14, art. 18 literal B) and art. 19 literal C) (reworded by Ley 20.446 art. 657; in force under its art. 3), 2026-01-01 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Ley Nº 20.446 art. 657, in force from 1 January 2026, rewrote art. 19 literal C) of Title 8 so that the exemption for dividends out of income not taxed by IRAE no longer applies to distributions by Uruguayan companies to foreign beneficiaries that are taxed at home with a credit for the Uruguayan tax.

4. Any person who carries cash, precious metals or other monetary instruments above US$10,000 or its equivalent across the border, the primary customs zone or the special customs surveillance zone must declare it to the Dirección Nacional de Aduanas; BCU supervised entities report to the BCU instead. Failure to declare is fined at 30 percent of the excess over US$10,000, rising to 60 percent of the total carried on repetition; Customs holds an amount equal to the fine as a guarantee and the funds can be seized if there are grounds to suspect a criminal origin.
Cost to do it: The declaration itself is free; the fine for not declaring is 30 percent of the excess over US$10,000, or 60 percent of the whole amount for repeat offenders.
Example: A traveller carrying US$25,000 without declaring it faces a fine of 30 percent of the US$15,000 excess, about UYU 180,963; a repeat offender faces 60 percent of the whole US$25,000, about UYU 603,210. / Undeclared US$25,000: fine US$4,500 on a first offence, US$15,000 on repetition.Ley Nº 19.574 (Integral Law against Money Laundering), as reworded by Ley Nº 20.469 of 19 March 2026, Art. 29, 2026-03-19 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Ley Nº 20.469 (promulgated 19 March 2026, published 10 April 2026) art. 1 reworded art. 29: the original 2017 text allowed a fine of up to the undeclared amount; the new text sets the fine at 30 percent of the excess over US$10,000 and 60 percent of the total on repetition, extends the duty to the primary customs zone and the special surveillance zone, and has Customs retain the fine amount as a guarantee.

5. Cash payments (local or foreign notes and coins) in any operation or legal transaction are allowed only up to UI 200,000, or up to 5 percent of the total value of the operation as long as that amount does not exceed UI 450,000; the balance must be paid by other means, such as bank transfer. The limit also applies in commercial companies to capital contributions, irrevocable contributions, advances of funds, capital refunds, profit payments and payments on exclusion, withdrawal, reduction, redemption or amortization of shares. UI values use the quotation of the first day of the month of the deal, and payments split into parts are added together. Operations where one party is a bank, electronic money issuer or a BCU regulated exchange, credit or transfer firm are excepted. Breaches are fined at 25 percent of the amount paid by means not allowed, with a minimum of UI 1,000 (UI 10,000 on repetition), payer and payee jointly liable, and public registries will not definitively register non compliant deeds.
Cost to do it: No cost if the balance is paid by transfer or other admitted means; the fine for breach is 25 percent of the cash paid in excess, with a minimum of UI 1,000 (UYU 6,652, about US$165) or UI 10,000 (UYU 66,516, about US$1,654) on repetition.
Example: In October 2026 the cash ceiling is UYU 1,330,320 (UI 200,000 at UYU 6.6516), or 5 percent of the deal up to UYU 2,993,220 (UI 450,000). A shareholder paying in UYU 2,000,000 of capital can use at most UYU 1,330,320 in cash; paying it all in cash exposes payer and company to a fine of UYU 167,420 on the UYU 669,680 excess. / Cash ceiling about US$33,081, or 5 percent of the deal up to about US$74,432; on a capital contribution of about US$49,734 paid fully in cash, the fine on the excess of about US$16,653 is about US$4,163.Ley Nº 19.210 (Financial Inclusion Law), as reworded by Ley Nº 20.469 of 19 March 2026; regulated by Decreto Nº 238/026 of 1 October 2026, Ley 19.210 art. 35; Decreto 238/026 art. 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, 2026-04-20 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Ley Nº 20.469 art. 3 replaced the single UI 1,000,000 cash ceiling set by Ley Nº 19.889 of 9 July 2020 art. 221 with the lower ceiling of UI 200,000, or 5 percent of the operation up to UI 450,000. Decreto Nº 238/026 (published 8 October 2026) applies it to payments made from 20 April 2026 on deals made from that date, requires earlier deals with larger cash payments to obtain a certain date before 31 December 2026, and repeals Decretos Nº 350/017 and 351/017.

6. Uruguay and Argentina signed in Colonia on 23 April 2012 an agreement on exchange of tax information and a method to avoid double taxation, with a protocol, approved in Uruguay by law. It is mainly an information exchange agreement with a double tax relief method, not a full model treaty, so Uruguayan IRNR on dividends paid to an Argentine parent is still withheld under domestic law; how the Argentine side credits it is an Argentine tax question.
Cost to do it: No filing cost on the Uruguayan side; professional advice on the Argentine credit is a separate cost.
Example: A UYU 4,021,400 dividend to an Argentine parent bears the same 7 percent IRNR, UYU 281,498, as a dividend to any other foreign parent out of IRAE taxed profits. / US$100,000 dividend, US$7,000 Uruguayan withholding; see The Argentine Thread guide for the Argentine side.Ley Nº 19.032 (approval of the Uruguay Argentina tax information exchange and double taxation agreement), Art. 1 (single article approving the agreement and protocol), 2012-12-27 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Flow	FX rule	Tax or limit	Norm
Capital contribution from abroad	No authorization or registration	Cash part capped at UI 200,000 (about US$33,081) or 5% up to UI 450,000; rest by transfer	Ley 16.906 art. 3; Ley 19.210 art. 35
Dividend to a foreign shareholder out of IRAE taxed profits	Free transfer in convertible currency	IRNR 7% withheld	Ley 16.906 art. 5; T.O. 2023 Title 8 art. 18
Dividend to a foreign company out of profits not taxed by IRAE	Free transfer	IRNR 7% from 1 January 2026 if taxed at home with a credit for Uruguayan tax; otherwise exempt	T.O. 2023 Title 8 art. 19 C) as reworded by Ley 20.446 art. 657
Dividend on shares listed on a Uruguayan exchange	Free transfer	Exempt	T.O. 2023 Title 8 art. 19 C)
Capital refund or share redemption	Free transfer	Cash part capped as for contributions	Ley 16.906 art. 5; Ley 19.210 art. 35
Cash carried across the border	Declare above US$10,000	Fine 30% of excess, 60% of total on repetition	Ley 19.574 art. 29

Money in and out of Uruguay for a foreign investor, from the official texts (Ley Nº 16.906, T.O. 2023 Title 8, Ley Nº 19.574, Ley Nº 19.210, Decreto Nº 238/026); USD at UYU 40.214 and UI at UYU 6.6516

Worked example

US$100,000 dividend out of the country: a Uruguayan S.A. declares UYU 4,021,400 (US$100,000) of dividends out of IRAE taxed profits to its foreign parent. It withholds IRNR at 7 percent, UYU 281,498 (US$7,000), and wires UYU 3,739,902 (US$93,000) or the dollar equivalent abroad without any FX permit. The parent then claims relief under its home country rules or a treaty, if one applies.
Same dividend out of untaxed income: if the UYU 4,021,400 comes from income not taxed by IRAE, before 2026 it was exempt; from 1 January 2026 it bears the same 7 percent (US$7,000) when the parent's country taxes it and credits the Uruguayan tax, and stays exempt otherwise.
Cash capital contribution in October 2026: a contribution of UYU 2,000,000 (about US$49,734) may include at most UYU 1,330,320 (UI 200,000, about US$33,081) in cash; the other UYU 669,680 (about US$16,653) must go by bank transfer or another admitted means, or payer and company face a fine of UYU 167,420 (about US$4,163).

Step by step

1. Bring capital in by bank transfer to the Uruguayan company's account; no BCU registration or investment authorization is needed, but the bank will run know your customer checks and may ask for the source of funds.
2. Keep cash within the Ley 19.210 limits for any capital contribution, advance or refund, and record the payment means (account, amount, bank) in the deed when it reaches UI 200,000; registries will not definitively register non compliant deeds.
3. Before paying a dividend, approve the distribution under the company's bylaws and Ley 16.060, and confirm the shareholder's identification and beneficial owner reporting are current (see entities/choosing-an-entity).
4. Classify the profits being distributed (IRAE taxed, untaxed, listed shares) and withhold IRNR at 7 percent where due, paying it to the DGI; check whether a treaty rate applies to the shareholder's country.
5. Buy the foreign currency at a bank or BCU regulated exchange house at the market rate and wire it abroad; there is no waiting period or quota.
6. If anyone carries more than US$10,000 in cash or monetary instruments across the border, declare it to Customs before crossing.

Common traps

The 2026 budget law narrowed the dividend exemption: groups that relied on distributing untaxed (for example foreign source or exempt) profits free of IRNR to a foreign parent should check whether the parent's country taxes the dividend and credits Uruguayan tax, because then 7 percent IRNR applies from 1 January 2026.
Deemed dividends: IRAE taxed income held more than three fiscal years without distribution is imputed as a dividend and taxed by IRNR anyway (Title 8 art. 14), so leaving profits in the company does not defer the tax indefinitely.
The cash ceiling dropped sharply in 2026, from UI 1,000,000 to UI 200,000 or 5 percent up to UI 450,000, and it covers capital contributions, refunds and profit payments; older deals with large cash payments must obtain a certain date before 31 December 2026 to stay outside the new rule.
The cash limit fine of 25 percent falls jointly on payer and payee, and the infraction prescribes only after 5 years.
Free transfer is a legal guarantee under Ley 16.906, but banks still apply anti money laundering checks under Ley 19.574 and BCU rules; incomplete beneficial owner or source of funds information can delay a remittance even though no FX permit exists.
Undeclared cash above US$10,000 at the border is not just fined: Customs retains the fine amount and the funds can be seized and referred to prosecutors if their origin is suspect.

Sources

Related: Uruguay 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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