If your company has built up a carried-forward input VAT credit from buying fixed assets, Article 27 bis lets you claim it back in cash instead of waiting to absorb it against future output VAT. Since 2020 two months of accumulation are enough, not six. This is what you need to know before filing the claim.
Publicado el 15-02-2026 · Actualizado el 25-08-2026 · Por Claudio Cortés Ríos, Contador Auditor, Magíster en Tributación
When a company invests heavily in machinery, equipment or construction, the VAT it bears on those purchases far exceeds the VAT it charges on its sales. The excess remains as a carried-forward input VAT credit: cash that has already left the business and that, through the ordinary route, is recovered only little by little, month by month, as the business generates enough output VAT. On an investment project that can take years.
Article 27 bis of Decree Law 825 is the exception to that rule. It allows that recovery to be brought forward.
En breve
Pedir la devolución abre la puerta a una fiscalización especial previa: el SII puede retener el pago mientras revisa, y esa revisión tiene reglas propias. La solicitud va por Declaración Jurada Formulario 3280 con el procedimiento de la Resolución Exenta N° 55 de 2021, que dejó sin efecto la Res. Ex. N° 617 de 1999 —si alguien le pasa un instructivo con la resolución antigua, está desactualizado—.
- What it actually allows
- Two periods, not six
- Which purchases qualify
- How to claim it
- The small print: the repayment obligation
- What they will ask you for
- A risk worth naming
- How we help at C&C
What it actually allows
The taxpayer may choose one of two routes for the accumulated credit, duly adjusted for inflation: offset it against any kind of federal tax —including withholding taxes— and against the duties, fees and other charges collected through Customs; or ask the General Treasury to refund it in cash.
They are alternatives, not cumulative. And there is a warning worth understanding from day one: Article 27 bis is not a benefit, it is an advance. What the Treasury refunds is paid back later. We will come back to this, because it is where the expensive mistakes are made.
Two periods, not six
Until 2020 the credit had to accumulate over at least six consecutive tax periods. Law 21,210 reduced that to two consecutive periods, in force since 1 June 2020.
| Regla | Hasta el 31-05-2020 | Desde el 01-06-2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Períodos de acumulación exigidos | 6 consecutivos | 2 consecutivos |
| Plazo del SII para pronunciarse | 60 días | 20 days |
| Resolución que fija el procedimiento | Res. Ex. N° 617 de 1999 | Res. Ex. N° 55 de 2021 |
It is worth insisting on this because a lot of out-of-date material is circulating —including documents that still talk about six months, a 60-day deadline for the SII and Exempt Resolution 617 of 1999, now repealed—. If you are appraising an investment with those figures, you are working with rules that have not existed for six years.
La misma ley precisó además el tratamiento de los inmuebles.
Which purchases qualify
Input VAT qualifies when it is borne on:
- Movable or immovable tangible goods intended to form part of the fixed assets.
- Services that must be included in the cost value of those fixed assets.
- Goods imported under a lease agreement, with or without a purchase option, in respect of the tax paid on importation, where by their nature they correspond to items normally classified as fixed assets.
If in those periods there is input VAT credit from another source —ordinary purchases, operating expenses—, not all of the accumulated credit is refunded: the percentage that the fixed-asset VAT represents within the input VAT credit of those periods is applied to the accumulated total.
In construction works, real property is deemed intended for fixed assets from the moment the works, or each of their stages, are accepted by the party that commissioned them. If refunds were obtained during construction, on completion you must evidence the effective recognition as a fixed asset and produce, at the SII’s request, the final acceptance certificate.
El SII ha ido precisando el alcance en casos concretos:
| Sector | Criterio del SII | Pronunciamiento |
|---|---|---|
| Agrícola y forestal | Procede por desembolsos en nuevas plantaciones mientras no entren en producción. Una vez productivas pasan a ser gasto de explotación y no dan derecho | Oficio N° 095 de 2010 |
| Energía | No se exige que la planta esté operando: basta contar con la concesión de explotación, incluyendo lo acumulado en la fase exploratoria | Oficio N° 1.486 de 2015 |
| Construcción a suma alzada | El costo directo del activo fijo es el precio total convenido, sin descomponer servicio por servicio. Criterio de peso en proyectos EPC | Oficio N° 2.395 de 2018 |
| Viviendas DFL 2 | El artículo 27 bis no resulta aplicable, por estar exentas de IVA las rentas de arrendamiento | Oficio N° 1.017 de 2024, aclarado por el Oficio N° 1.452 de 2024 |
How to claim it
The procedure in force is set out in SII Exempt Resolution No. 55 of 2021, which repealed Resolution 617 of 1999.
The claim is filed with Sworn Statement Form 3280, online at sii.cl (Servicios Online → Impuestos Mensuales → Solicitud de Devoluciones). The supporting documents are attached through the electronic file.
| Hito | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Presentación de la solicitud | Dentro del mismo mes en que corresponde presentar el Formulario 29 del último período con acumulación, y con ese F29 declarado y pagado |
| Verificación y certificación del SII | 20 días. Si no se pronuncia, la solicitud se entiende aprobada |
| Pago de Tesorería | 5 días hábiles desde que se le presenta la copia timbrada |
Here is the practical detail that most distorts the client’s expectation: that period does not start running on filing, but when the SII certifies that the whole file has been submitted. An incomplete file speeds up nothing; it simply leaves the clock stopped. Preparation beforehand is worth more than chasing afterwards.
Como el plazo se cuenta desde el Formulario 29 del último período con acumulación, conviene tener ese formulario ordenado antes de iniciar el trámite. Puedes revisarlo con nuestro simulador del Formulario 29.
It works in the taxpayer’s favour that these refunds are expressly excluded from the prior special audit procedure under article 80 et seq. of Decree Law 825, which does apply to exporter VAT refunds.
The small print: the repayment obligation
Once the refund is obtained, the obligation to pay it back arises. As a general rule, through the actual VAT payments the company makes to the Treasury on its ordinary transactions, from the following month onwards.
The problem arises with exempt or non-taxable transactionsexempt or non-taxable transactions. If the company has any in any of the following periods, an additional repaymentis triggered: the article 14 rate —currently 19%— is applied to the difference between the month’s total transactions weighted by the proportion of taxable transactions used when the fixed-asset input VAT credit was determined, and the month’s taxable transactions.
This obligation has no time limit in years: it lasts until an amount equivalent to the refund obtained has actually been paid into the public purse.
| Destino del inmueble | ¿Hecho gravado? | Efecto sobre la restitución |
|---|---|---|
| Arriendo furnished o con instalaciones | Yes | Genera débito y permite consumir la devolución |
| Arriendo unfurnished | No | Gatilla la restitución adicional |
| Vivienda económica acogida al DFL 2 | Exenta | El artículo 27 bis no resulta aplicable |
Projecting the repayment flow before claiming the refund is not a refinement: it is the difference between financial relief and a liability that follows the company for decades.
What they will ask you for
The typical file includes fixed-asset invoices and credit and debit notes; the import declaration and proof of payment of import VAT; a spreadsheet breakdown; the General Journal; the Fixed Asset Subsidiary Ledger; an eight-column trial balance or a general balance sheet; the signed contracts; and sector authorisation certificates where applicable. For real property, the property tax roll number and the final acceptance certificate.
The claim cannot be filed if, for the same period, an exporter VAT refund claim or a change of taxable party is in place.
A risk worth naming
Article 27 bis itself refers to article 97 No. 4, second and third paragraphs, of the Tax Code to punish wilful schemes aimed at obtaining improper offsets or refunds. Law 21,713 broadened that criminal offence from 1 November 2024: today it is enough to use any fraudulent manoeuvre to obtain refunds that are not due, with custodial sentences and a fine of between 100% and 400% of the amount defrauded.
And failure to return amounts offset or received in excess that does not amount to fraud is punished as late payment of taxes subject to withholding or surcharge, with inflation adjustments, interest and fines.
How we help at C&C
We assess whether your company qualifies, we calculate the recoverable amount and the apportionment, we project the repayment flow so you know what you are committing to, and we prepare and manage the claim before the SII. It is part of our tax-compliance.
Would you like a quick estimate before we talk? In our home page we have a calculator that estimates the recoverable VAT on your fixed-asset investment in a few seconds.
Keep reading: selling a property and income tax.
Sources
Normativa
- D.L. N° 825 de 1974, artículo 27 bis — devolución de remanente de crédito fiscal por activo fijo
- D.L. N° 825 de 1974, artículo 14 (tasa) y artículos 80 y siguientes (fiscalización especial previa)
- Ley N° 21.210 — reducción a dos períodos y a 20 días, vigente desde el 01-06-2020
- Ley N° 21.713 — ampliación del tipo penal, vigente desde el 01-11-2024
- Código Tributario, artículo 97 N° 4, incisos segundo y tercero
- D.F.L. N° 2 — viviendas económicas
Resoluciones y jurisprudencia administrativa del SII
- Resolución Exenta SII N° 55 de 2021 — procedimiento vigente; deja sin efecto la Res. Ex. N° 617 de 1999
- Sworn Statement Form 3280
- Oficio SII N° 095 de 2010 — nuevas plantaciones agrícolas y forestales
- Oficio SII N° 1.486 de 2015 — concesión de explotación en energía
- Oficio SII N° 2.395 de 2018 — contratos de construcción a suma alzada
- Oficio SII N° 1.017 de 2024, aclarado por el Oficio SII N° 1.452 de 2024 — viviendas DFL 2
Invested in fixed assets? Talk to us. We'll take care of it. You can also message us on WhatsApp.
This article is for information purposes and reflects the rules in force as of August 2026. It is not a substitute for specific advice: each case depends on the taxpayer’s particular circumstances.
Claudio Cortés is a founding partner of C&C Contadores Auditores, a Chilean accounting, audit and tax advisory firm. Chartered Accountant-Auditor and holder of a Master's in Taxation from the University of Chile. About us · LinkedIn