Business accounts: Chile

Updated 6 October 2026

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Chile is one of Latin America's most stable economies, and Santiago is its business and financial centre. Banks are supervised by the Financial Market Commission, and tax registration is handled by the Internal Revenue Service (SII): without a tax number (RUT) for the company and its owners, a bank will not open an account. A corporate account in Santiago is usually opened for a Chilean company, so the company and the account are planned together.

What a corporate account needs

• A Chilean company with registration and a tax number.
• Tax numbers for foreign members and representatives.
• A local representative and an address in Chile.
• A business plan, contracts and expected turnover.
• The source of funds of the owners and capital.

Company taxes in Chile

First category tax, i.e. corporate income tax, is 27% under the general regime. Small and medium businesses have a separate regime with a permanent rate of 25%, temporarily reduced to 12.5% for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 commercial years and to 15% for 2028. Owners under this regime are taxed on actual distributions. More on our Chile taxes page.

How the account opening works

1. Company and tax number. We register the company and obtain tax numbers for it and the foreign members.
2. Choosing the bank. We match the bank to the currency, turnover and payment countries.
3. Documents. We prepare constitutional documents, owner details, a business plan and proof of funds.
4. Bank meeting. The bank meets the representative and reviews the business.
5. Opening. After its checks the bank opens the account.

Documents

• the Chilean company's constitutional documents and tax number;
• passports and tax numbers of members and the representative;
• proof of the company's address in Chile;
• a business plan, contracts and proof of source of funds.

Personal account

Banks open accounts for individuals with a tax number, verified address and income in Chile, so people relocating usually open one after obtaining residence and a tax number.

Why applications are refused

• no tax number for the company or owners;
• the company has no activity in Chile;
• an opaque ownership structure or unclear source of funds;
• links to sanctioned countries.

How a company is set up for the account

A company in Chile can be set up online through the state Register of Companies and Partnerships run by the Ministry of Economy: registration, amendments to the articles and dissolution there are free, and registration itself takes about one day. Members need Chilean tax numbers and an electronic signature for this, so foreigners usually act through a representative in Chile. After registration, the company declares the start of activities to the Internal Revenue Service, obtains the right to issue invoices and only then applies to a bank.

The bank checks whether the articles, tax registration and business description match, so we prepare all three documents at the same time to avoid redoing them after a refusal.

VAT, e-invoices and dividends

The VAT rate in Chile is 19%. Since 2018 all VAT payers have issued only electronic invoices through the Internal Revenue Service system, and the bank compares account turnover with them. Dividends to non-resident owners are subject to a 35% additional tax, against which the company's corporate income tax is credited. The credit is full if the company is in the regime for small and medium businesses or the owner lives in a country with which Chile has a double tax treaty in force. Otherwise the credit is partial and the total burden reaches 44.45%, so we take the owner's country into account before registration.

For foreign trade, companies usually open a separate US dollar account alongside the peso account, and we include it in the application too.

What we do

We register the company, obtain tax numbers, choose the bank, prepare documents and handle the account opening. If you are moving to Chile with your own project, see the Chile startup programme. A manager will calculate the cost in the chat.

What we do

• Corporate account - opening assistance

See also

Company formation · Personal account · Investment property · Country taxes · All country programs

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