Registration of company in Chile

Registration of a company in Chile

Chile (the Republic of Chile) is one of the most stable and prosperous countries in South America. The state is recognized as the leader on the continent in such aspects as the level of development, competitiveness, per capita income, globalization, economic freedoms, low level of corruption, etc.

Chile was the first state in South America which has become the member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2010.

The Chilean economy is stable. It is based on such sectors as forestry, copper mining, fish farming (salmon fishes), winemaking, and tourism.

The capital of the republic is Santiago city.

The official language is Spanish.

The official currency is the Chilean peso.

The population is more than 17 million people.

Today, more and more entrepreneurs are tending to register or buy company in Chile. Current information concerning registration of business in this South American jurisdiction is specified below.

Forms of doing business

Commercial companies usually prefer to register company in Chile in one of the following organizational and legal forms:

• Limited Liability Company (LLC, Ltda).
  Features of the LLC in Chile:

- number of participants ranges from 2 to 50 persons;
- liability of partners is limited to the amount of their contributions; - minimum capital is not determined;
- Chilean/foreign natural persons and legal entities can become partners. They also manage the company.

• Limited liability company with one participant.
  Peculiarities of individual LLC in Chile:

- the owner is legal entity of commercial nature;
- the owner is liable for personal obligations only equivalently to the amount of the authorized capital of the company.

• Joint Stock Company in Chile.
  Peculiarities:

- the number of participants is unlimited;
- in corporation, the shareholders are liable according to the amount of their own contributions;
- the number of directors is at least 3 persons;
- the Board of Directors holds meetings twice per year.

• Branches and representative offices of foreign companies in Chile.

​General requirements:

- if the company conducts activities in Chile, the executive director should be the resident of Chile;
- there are no minimum capital requirements. However, it is not recommended to register company in Chile with considerably small amount of the authorized capital, because further this fact can create difficulties when opening corporate account;
- it is necessary to have registered legal address of the company in Chile.

In order to conduct commercial activities, the company in Chile should obtain municipal patent. Otherwise, serious penalties are charged. The cost of the patent ranges from 0.25% to 0.50% of the authorized capital.

Any activity provided by law is allowed.

Bookkeeping and reporting of business in Chile

Doing business in Chile provides for maintenance and submission of:
- monthly accounting and salary report (mainly in electronic form);
- monthly VAT declarations (even with zero income);
- balance sheet and annual report for the period from 1 to 30 April (for the previous fiscal period).

Taxes on business in Chile

• Branches of foreign companies pay only income tax on the profits received from local sources.
• Income tax ranges from 10% to 20% of the profits. At the same time, the amount of tax paid for the previous fiscal year is refunded by the tax service of Chile during the first half of the year.
• Income tax for natural persons is paid at floating rate (the actual corporate tax rate is 0).
• Tax levy at fixed minimum rate is provided for agricultural, transport, and mining companies.
• The VAT rate is 19%.
• The real estate tax equals to 1.5% and is levied at the municipal level.
• Capital gains tax is not charged.

The formation of company in Chile is the guarantee of successful and legitimate international business. We will register company for you in any part of the world. Registration of companies (including offshore companies) in Chile, the USA, the United Kingdom and other countries is one of the leading directions of our activity.