Starting activities in Chile: what Form 4415 is and when it applies

Any company that intends to operate formally in Chile — issuing invoices or receipts, hiring staff, generating taxable income — has to go through a procedure before the Chilean Internal Revenue Service (SII) known as start of activities. The vehicle for doing so is Form 4415, one of the Chilean tax documents most often confused with others.

What Form 4415 is

Form 4415 is titled RUT Registration and/or Sworn Declaration of Start of Activities. It serves two functions, which can be filed separately or together:

1. RUT registration, for those who don’t yet have one.
2. Start-of-activities declaration, the formal notice that the taxpayer will begin carrying out economic activities subject to tax.

For a newly incorporated company — an SpA, for example — both procedures are usually filed together, since the company has no prior RUT and needs to start activities in order to invoice.

What start of activities triggers

From the moment the start-of-activities declaration is filed, the taxpayer can issue the tax documents needed to operate — invoices, receipts, dispatch notes — and becomes subject to the recurring obligations of its tax regime. This isn’t a symbolic step: from that point, the SII expects regular filings whether or not there was any income in the period.

Choosing a tax regime

One of the decisions made in this same procedure is the tax regime under which the company will operate. Chile offers different regimes depending on the size and nature of the activity — including simplified options for smaller businesses — and this choice directly affects how taxes are calculated and reported afterward. Changing regime later is possible, but not always immediate or administratively free.

Documents typically required

• Identity document or RUT of the legal representative, with SII credentials or ClaveÚnica (Chile’s national digital ID key).
• Full identification of the company: registered name, business purpose, capital and address.
• The company’s incorporation deed, where applicable.
• Proof of tax domicile, which can be an owned office, a leased one, or a virtual office, depending on how the company operates.

Don’t confuse Form 4415 with what comes after

It’s common to mix up Form 4415 with the recurring filings that follow. They are not the same:

• Form 4415 → RUT registration and start of activities (a one-time procedure, at the beginning).
• Form 29 (F29) → monthly VAT and provisional tax payment declaration, once the company is already operating.
• Form 22 (F22) → annual income tax return.
• Form 129 (F129) → the Chilean VAT declaration for digital services, which applies to foreign providers without domicile in Chile selling remotely (covered in a separate article).

Understanding this sequence avoids surprises: Form 4415 opens the door, but the real obligations — and their deadlines — start with the F29 the following month.

A common mistake

Declaring start of activities before legal representation, tax domicile or the right regime are settled usually forces later amendments before the SII, with the delay that implies. It’s worth closing those three items before filing the form, not while the procedure is underway.

This article provides general information about the start-of-activities procedure before the Chilean Internal Revenue Service (SII). It does not constitute tax advice for a specific case; the applicable regime and required documents depend on each company’s activity and structure. Izquierdo Deramond Consultores is a private and independent firm and does not represent the SII or any public authority.

Starting activities in Chile? Book an initial assessment or see Accounting, Tax and Compliance.