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ENA foreign national becomes a Chilean tax resident after being physically present in Chile for more than 183 days, consecutive or not, within any 12-month period. The rule is set out in Article 8 No. 8 of the Chilean Tax Code. From day 184 you are a resident. If you acquired Chilean domicile earlier, your tax treatment may already have changed from arrival; residency and domicile must be assessed separately.
If you are relocating, on assignment or working remotely from Chile, the questions tend to be the same: which days count, when the clock starts, what happens to income earned before day 184, and whether being paid abroad makes a difference. This article answers each one with reference to the law and to the official guidance of Chile's tax authority, the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII).
What does the law actually say?
Article 8 No. 8 of the Tax Code defines a resident as any person who stays in Chile, continuously or not, for one or more periods totalling more than 183 days within any 12-month period. The definition was introduced by Law No. 21,210 and has applied since 1 March 2020.
The SII issued its instructions on this rule in Circular No. 63 of 2021. The key point: the test is objective. Your intention to stay or leave is irrelevant; only the number of days you are physically in Chile matters.
How are the 183 days counted?
Circular No. 63 of 2021 sets out four counting rules:
- Arrival and departure days both count. Every day of physical presence is added, from the day you enter Chile to the day you leave, inclusive.
- Transit days do not count. Days spent passing through Chile on a journey between two foreign locations are excluded.
- The days do not need to be consecutive. A trip abroad does not reset the count; all stays within the period are added together.
- The 12-month window rolls. It is not the calendar year. Any 12 consecutive months are tested, so a window can start in one year and end in the next.
The calendar-year assumption is the most common mistake. Someone might spend 120 days in Chile between September and December, then another 70 days between January and March. Neither calendar year exceeds 183 days, yet within a single 12-month window the total is 190, and that person is a tax resident.
From which day am I a resident?
You become a resident on the day you reach 184 days of presence. Because both arrival and departure days count, someone who arrives on 3 March and stays continuously reaches 184 days on 2 September, and is a resident from that day.
This matters in practice. According to the same Circular, Chilean-source income earned before day 184 is subject to Additional Tax (Impuesto Adicional), the tax that applies to people with no domicile or residence in Chile. Income earned from the date residency begins is taxed under Chile's ordinary personal regime: the Second Category Single Tax for employees, or the Global Complementary Tax in other cases. If you are domiciled in Chile from arrival, however, you are treated as domiciled from day one, as explained below.
We explain how non-residents working in Chile are taxed in a separate article.
Can I be domiciled in Chile before reaching 183 days?
Yes. Chilean law distinguishes between residence and domicile, and either one is enough to fall under the rules the Income Tax Law applies to domiciled and resident individuals, including the special three-year rule for foreign nationals. Domicile is defined in Article 59 of the Civil Code as residence accompanied, actually or presumptively, by the intention to remain.
For tax purposes, the SII looks mainly at the economic test: where you carry out the activity that generates most of your income, and where your main business interests are located. Family circumstances can support the analysis, but they are not decisive on their own.
The distinction matters because a person who acquires domicile is treated as domiciled from the first day of entry into Chile, not from day 184. Circular No. 63 also allows individuals to declare their intention to remain in Chile by sworn statement.
Does residency mean Chile taxes my worldwide income?
For a foreign national covered by the special arrival rule, not necessarily straight away. Under Article 3 of the Chilean Income Tax Law, domiciled or resident individuals are taxed on income from any source. However, the same article includes a special rule for foreign nationals: for the first three years from their arrival in Chile, they are taxed only on Chilean-source income.
The SII's Regional Director may extend this period in qualifying cases (SII Ruling No. 2405 of 2016). Once it ends, the foreign national is taxed on worldwide income for as long as they remain domiciled or resident in Chile. We cover this in our article on the three-year rule.
Does it matter where I get paid?
Where the money lands does not decide whether income is Chilean. Article 10 of the Income Tax Law treats as Chilean-source any income derived from assets located in Chile or from activities carried out in Chile, regardless of the taxpayer's domicile or residence.
As a general rule, then, if you physically work from Chile, your income is Chilean-source, even when your employer or client is abroad and pays into a foreign account. This is one of the most frequent misunderstandings among remote professionals moving to Chile.
What if my home country also treats me as a resident?
You may be a tax resident of Chile and of your home country at the same time. If the two countries have a double taxation treaty, its tie-breaker rules, usually in Article 4, determine a single country of residence for treaty purposes.
Circular No. 63 adds a point that is easy to miss: during the first three years after arrival, a foreign national with residence or domicile in Chile cannot be treated as a Chilean resident for treaty purposes, because during that period they are not taxed on worldwide income. We develop this in our article on working in Chile under a tax treaty.
How is residency lost?
Residency ends after an absence from Chile of at least 184 days, consecutive or not, within a 12-month period. Losing residency, however, does not automatically mean losing domicile. If your main business interests remain in Chile, you may still be domiciled there under Article 4 of the Income Tax Law.
If you expect to stop being both resident and domiciled, Article 103 of the same law governs the tax return to be filed on departure.
At a glance
| Situation | General tax consequence |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 184 days in 12 months, no domicile | Non-resident: taxed only on Chilean-source income, under Additional Tax |
| From day 184 | Resident: Chilean-source income taxed under the Second Category Single Tax or Global Complementary Tax |
| Domicile established | Domiciled from the first day of entry |
| First 3 years after arrival (foreign nationals) | Chilean-source income only, even if resident or domiciled |
| After 3 years, unless extended | Worldwide income, while domiciled or resident in Chile |
Frequently asked questions
No. They are counted within any rolling period of 12 consecutive months, which may span two calendar years.
No. Residency under Article 8 No. 8 of the Tax Code depends on days of physical presence in Chile, not on your immigration status. Tax domicile is assessed separately, under its own criteria.
Possibly. If the work is physically performed in Chile, the income is generally Chilean-source, even if payment is received in a foreign account.
Need to know how this applies to you?
Every case turns on your arrival and departure dates, your income streams, your home country and any applicable treaty. At Izquierdo Deramond Consultores we prepare tax opinions for foreign nationals working in or relocating to Chile, based on the specific facts of each case.
- Book a meeting: calendly.com/izquierdoconsultores
- WhatsApp: +56 9 8892 5401
- Email: gregorio@consultoresid.cl
This article is for general information only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Each person's situation depends on their particular facts, the applicable treaty and the law in force at the time of the analysis.
OFFICIAL SOURCES CONSULTED
- Chilean Tax Code, Article 8 No. 8, as replaced by Law No. 21,210 (Official Gazette, 24 February 2020).
- Servicio de Impuestos Internos, Circular No. 63 of 25 November 2021.
- Income Tax Law (Decree Law 824), Articles 3, 4, 10 and 103.
- Chilean Civil Code, Articles 59 and 65.
- Servicio de Impuestos Internos, Ruling (Oficio) No. 2405 of 2016.
Explore our international tax advice and written opinions service in Chile. Editorial review: 6 October 2026.