Chile · Tax regime
Article 3 LIR Three-Year Foreign Income Exemption
Open
Last verified July 2026
Confirmed live. SII FAQ ID 001.140.1219.015, updated 8 April 2026. Ley 21.713 did not touch art. 3 LIR.
Three years of foreign-income exemption is short by regional standards — Uruguay offers eleven — but it is automatic, requires no investment, and is discretionarily extendable with no statutory ceiling. It is the least-known planning tool in the Southern Cone and it pairs with the region's best passport.
Qualifying routes
—
New foreign resident
three years of Chilean-source-only taxation, counted from entry to Chile, extendable by the SII Director Regional 'en casos calificados' with no statutory cap
The facts
- Total landed cost
- no cost; an extension application requires a reasoned submission to the SII
- Physical presence
- The exemption runs from entry, so the clock burns whether or not you are present
- Family
- individual — each spouse has their own three years
- Permanent residency
- not applicable
- Citizenship
- not applicable
- Language test
- not applicable
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- become a Chilean tax resident as a foreignerno prior Chilean tax residencya reasoned application to the SII if an extension beyond three years is wanted
What can go wrong
- Three years is short and the clock starts on entry, not on election. Restructuring must be planned from day one.
- The extension is discretionary — 'en casos calificados' — and depends on the SII Director Regional. It is not a right and should not be assumed in a base-case model.
- It is available to foreigners only. Returning Chileans do not get it (Oficio 2123/2018).
- When it expires you fall into worldwide taxation at up to 40% plus art. 41 G CFC rules, which Ley 21.713 tightened from 1 January 2025. The cliff is steep — model the exit before the entry.
- Chile has no wealth tax and no exit tax. Both featured in the Boric reform that was rejected on 8 March 2023, and secondary sources still describe them as if enacted. Ignore those sources.
- Chile participates in CRS, but the United States does not — it uses FATCA. If the client holds US accounts, the information flows differ and should not be assumed symmetrical.