The 8,000 UF that are tax-free are not per transaction: they are a lifetime cap. And the old rule that selling within a year meant paying VAT ceased to exist in March 2020. Two wrong ideas that are still circulating and that completely change the final figure.
In brief
What is taxed is not the price: it is the capital gain, the difference between the sale price and the property’s inflation-adjusted tax cost. If there is no gain, there is no tax, and it is in how that cost is built up that the final figure is decided. To qualify for non-taxable income treatment, more than one year must pass between purchase and sale, four years in two cases.
In this article
- What is taxed: the capital gain, not the price
- The holding period: more than one year, or four in two cases
- The 8,000 UF: a lifetime cap, not a per-transaction one
- How the excess is taxed: three routes
- The tax cost basis: this is where the figure is decided
- If you bought before 2014 or before 2004
- Vender a un familiar o a una sociedad relacionada
- Inherited properties
- The VAT myth: the one-year presumption no longer exists
- DFL 2 does not exempt you from the capital gain
- If the seller is a company
- Sources
For most people, selling a property is the largest financial transaction of their life. It is also one of the worst understood for tax purposes: out-of-date material circulates, leaflets reproduce repealed rules and calculations are made with rules that changed years ago.
Esto es lo que rige a septiembre de 2026.
What is taxed: the capital gain, not the price
The sale is not taxed, the gain is. The base is the capital gain: the difference between the sale price and the property’s indexed tax cost basis. If there is no gain, there is no tax.
The applicable regime is set out in article 17 No. 8 subparagraph b) of the Income Tax Law, and the SII instructions in force are those of Circular No. 43 of 2021, issued following Law 21,210.
That regime covers the individual, provided the property has not been allocated to their sole proprietorship, and also taxpayers with no domicile or residence in Chile who are not required to file on the basis of accounting records. If the seller determines First Category Tax on actual income, the door closes: we will come back to that at the end.
The holding period: more than one year, or four in two cases
For the capital gain to be treated as non-taxable income, the time between the acquisition date and the disposal date must exceed a period of one year.
| Origen del inmueble | Plazo que debe transcurrir | Si se vende antes |
|---|---|---|
| General rule | Más de 1 año | El mayor valor se grava íntegro con Global Complementario o Adicional: no hay tope exento que rescatar |
| Proviene de la subdivisión de terrenos, urbanos o rurales | Más de 4 años | Igual |
| Proviene de la construcción de edificios por pisos o departamentos | Más de 4 años | Igual |
| Adquirido por herencia | El plazo se cuenta desde la apertura de la sucesión —la muerte del causante— y no desde la inscripción ni la posesión efectiva | Igual |
The period rises to four years in two situations: where the property comes from a subdivision of land, urban or rural, and where it derives from the construction of buildings by floors or apartments.
If the property is sold before the period is up, the whole capital gain is taxed with Global Complementary or Additional Tax. There is no exempt cap left to salvage.
The 8,000 UF: a lifetime cap, not a per-transaction one
This is the point that is most often explained badly.
Once the period is met, the capital gain is non-taxable income up to 8,000 UF, and that limit is cumulative per taxpayer, not per transaction or per property. Circular 43 is explicit: the capital gain obtained in each year is added up and qualifies as non-taxable income until the limit is used up, regardless of the number of disposals, and there is no time limit for exhausting it.
Two operational points that are usually left out:
- The UF is taken at the last day of the commercial year in which the disposals took place, not at the date of the deed.
- Within each year, losses are offset first and the cap is applied to the net result.
Para dimensionarlo: con el valor de la UF al 31-08-2026 —$40.873,77 según la tabla oficial del SII— 8.000 UF equivalen a unos MM$327,0. La cifra definitiva depende de la UF al 31 de diciembre del año de la venta, de modo que ese número es referencial, no el aplicable.
Someone who sold an apartment five years ago and used up part of the cap has the remaining balance today, not a fresh 8,000 UF.
How the excess is taxed: three routes
Above the cap, the excess is taxable. There are three options in force:
| Alternativa | Base | Quién puede usarla | Cuándo mirarla con atención |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Complementario o Adicional | Percibida | General rule | Es el punto de partida de la comparación |
| Reliquidación del Global Complementario | Devengada, distribuyendo el mayor valor en los años de tenencia del bien | Solo contribuyentes con domicilio o residencia en Chile | Cuando el mayor valor concentrado en un solo ejercicio dispara la tasa marginal |
| Impuesto único y sustitutivo de 10% | Percibida | Quien opte por él en el Formulario 22 | Cuando la tasa marginal efectiva del contribuyente supera el 10% |
Global Complementary or Additional Tax on a cash basis. This is the general rule.
Reassessment of Global Complementary Tax on an accrual basis. Taxpayers domiciled or resident in Chile may opt to reassess, spreading the capital gain over the years the asset was held. It helps when a gain concentrated in a single year pushes up the marginal rate.
Single substitute tax of 10% on a cash basis. A flat rate, with no progressive table. Form 22 for tax year 2026 itself contains the corresponding line, headed «Single 10% tax on the disposal of real property, under art. 17 No. 8 subparagraph b) of the Income Tax Law and/or art. 4 of Law No. 21,078».
Which one suits you depends on the size of the gain, on your other income for the year and on the years of ownership. There is no general answer: there is a comparative calculation worth doing before signing, not in April of the following year.
The tax cost basis: this is where the figure is decided
The cost is made up of the acquisition value plus the outlays on improvements that increased the value of the asset, both adjusted for CPI variation between the month before the acquisition or improvement and the month before the disposal.
| Item | ¿Suma al costo tributario? | Condición |
|---|---|---|
| Valor de adquisición | Yes | Reajustado por IPC entre el mes anterior a la adquisición y el mes anterior a la enajenación |
| Mejoras útiles, que aumentan el valor venal o de venta | Yes | Deben haber sido declaradas oportunamente al SII para incorporarse al avalúo fiscal. Tener las boletas no basta |
| Reparaciones locativas, que subsanan deterioros | No | Excluidas expresamente por la Circular 43 |
| Mejoras necesarias, que reparan el mal estado del bien | No | Excluidas expresamente por la Circular 43 |
| Impuesto a las asignaciones por causa de muerte efectivamente pagado | No al costo, pero sí como crédito contra el impuesto que grava el mayor valor | En la proporción que corresponda al inmueble enajenado, debidamente reajustado |
But not every job is a countable improvement. Circular 43 only admits useful improvements —those that increase the market or sale value— and expressly excludes tenant repairs, which put right wear and tear, and necessary repairs, which fix poor condition.
And there is a formal requirement that gets discovered far too late: the improvements must have been declared to the SII in good time in order to be included when the official assessed value was set. An undeclared extension does not become cost on the day of the sale just because you kept the receipts.
If you are thinking of selling in the next few years and you have invested in the property, this is the first thing to check.
If you bought before 2014 or before 2004
There are two grandfathering rules that are still fully operative and that change the outcome.
Properties acquired before 1 January 2004. The Income Tax Law applies to them as worded at 31 December 2014, not the current regime. The SII keeps this in its instructions and repeats it in its reference material updated in April 2026.
Properties acquired before 29 September 2014 and disposed of from 1 January 2017. Paragraph XVI of the third transitional article of Law 20,780 allows a choice between three cost values: the indexed acquisition value plus improvements; the official assessed value at 1 January 2017, indexed from December 2016; or the market value at 29 September 2014, duly evidenced and reported to the SII.
A warning about that last one: it can no longer be exercised. The deadline to report the commercial valuation to the Service expired on 30 June 2016. Anyone who did not report it then has the first two options today, and in many cases the official assessed value at 1 January 2017 gives a considerably better cost than the price paid decades earlier.
Selling to a relative or a related company has a cost
If the buyer is a related party, the treatment changes and gets worse: the capital gain is taxed with final taxes on an accrual basis, and neither the reassessment nor the non-taxable income treatment is available.
The universe of related parties considered by Circular 43 includes the spouse, the civil partner, ascendant and descendant relatives up to the second degree, parties related under article 8 of the Tax Code, and directors, managers and entities they control.
Translated: selling to a child or to the family company loses the benefit of the 8,000 UF. It is a transaction people carry out often without sizing up the effect.
| Situation | Qué ocurre con el beneficio | Legislation |
|---|---|---|
| El comprador es parte relacionada: cónyuge, conviviente civil, ascendientes y descendientes hasta el segundo grado, relacionados del art. 8° del Código Tributario, y directores, gerentes y entidades que estos controlen | Se pierde el ingreso no renta y la reliquidación. El mayor valor se grava sobre base devengada | LIR art. 17 N° 8 letra b); Circular SII N° 43 de 2021 |
| El vendedor determina Primera Categoría sobre rentas efectivas | No aplica el artículo 17 N° 8: sin 8.000 UF ni impuesto único de 10%. Va al régimen general | LIR art. 20 N° 5 |
| El inmueble estaba en el activo inmovilizado y la empresa tuvo derecho a crédito fiscal por su adquisición o construcción | La venta queda además gravada con IVA | DL 825, art. 8° letra m) |
| Vivienda acogida al DFL 2 de 1959 | Conserva beneficios en el arriendo, pero el mayor valor de la sale no tiene exención propia | LIR art. 17 N° 8 letra b) |
Inherited properties
Two rules of their own worth being clear about.
The acquisition date is that of the opening of the succession, that is, the death of the deceased under article 955 of the Civil Code, not the date of registration or of the probate order. That is what is used to count the one-year and four-year periods.
The cost is determined under the valuation rules of Law 16,271: the assessed value the real property had at the date the inheritance vested, except for properties acquired by the deceased within the preceding three years, which are valued at their acquisition value where that is higher.
And something that often goes unnoticed: the inheritance tax actually paid can be credited against the tax on the capital gain, in the proportion corresponding to the property disposed of and duly indexed. If you inherited and paid inheritance tax, that money is not lost.
The VAT myth: the one-year presumption no longer exists
Here we have to be categorical, because the mistake is widespread.
Until 2020, Decree Law 825 presumed habitual-seller status —and therefore VAT— where the time between the acquisition or construction of the property and its disposal was one year or less. The Law 21,210 removed that presumption, in force since 1 March 2020, as the SII instructed in its Circular No. 37 of 2020. Before that, Law 20,899 had already removed the four-year presumption for buildings by floors or apartments.
Today no presumption of habitual-seller status by time period remains. The assessment is case by case, under article 4 of the Regulations to Decree Law 825: the SII weighs the nature, quantity and frequency of the sales and the intention with which the asset was acquired. The burden of proving there is no habitual-seller status falls on the taxpayer.
Practical conclusion: the sale of a property by a private individual who is not a habitual seller is not subject to VAT, even if they sell within the first year. To evidence this before the notary, the sworn statement under article 75 of the Tax Code established by Exempt Resolution No. 16 of 2017 is signed; its form expressly contemplates the ground of a sale made by a non-habitual seller.
Watch out for the material still in circulation: the SII’s own leaflet on VAT in property sales still reproduces the one-year presumption. It is out of date.
DFL 2 does not exempt you from the capital gain
Another frequent confusion. Low-cost housing under DFL 2 of 1959 keeps its benefits for rental income, but the capital gain obtained on its sale has no exemption of its own: it is subject to the general regime of article 17 No. 8 subparagraph b), like any other property.
Besides, DFL 2 is not what it used to be. Law 20,455 restricted its benefits to individuals and to a maximum of two homes; Law 21,210 removed, from March 2020, the rule that left inherited homes out of the count; and Law 21,420 ended, from 1 January 2023, the acquired rights of those who were owners before November 2010.
If the seller is a company
Where the seller determines First Category Tax on actual income, the capital gain not is governed by article 17 No. 8: it is classified under article 20 No. 5 and is taxed as general-regime income, with First Category Tax and then Global Complementary or Additional Tax depending on the company’s regime. There is no 8,000 UF non-taxable income and no 10% single tax.
And if the property formed part of the fixed assets and the company was entitled to input VAT credit on its acquisition or construction, the sale is also subject to VAT under article 8 subparagraph m) of Decree Law 825. It is worth underlining: the 36-month exception many people invoke is drafted only for movable goods and only between Pro Pyme taxpayers. For real property there is no time period that saves the transaction.
How we help at C&C
We review the background of your property, we rebuild the tax cost basis with the improvements that actually count, we check how much of the 8,000 UF cap you have left, we compare the three ways of taxing the excess so that you choose with the figures in front of you, and we file the transaction correctly with the SII. Ideally, before you sign. It is part of our tax-compliance.
Keep reading: how to recover the VAT on your investments with Article 27 bis. Si el inmueble está en una sociedad de inversiones, revisa también cómo tributa un holding inmobiliario.
Sources
Régimen del mayor valor. Contenido revisado el 02-09-2026.
- LIR, art. 17 N° 8 letra b) — régimen del mayor valor en la enajenación de bienes raíces y tope de 8.000 UF.
- Circular SII N° 43 de 2021 — instrucciones vigentes tras la Ley N° 21.210: carácter acumulativo del tope, mejoras computables y universo de partes relacionadas.
- LIR, art. 20 N° 5 — mayor valor cuando el vendedor determina Primera Categoría sobre rentas efectivas.
- Ley N° 20.780, artículo tercero transitorio, numeral XVI — opciones de costo para inmuebles adquiridos antes del 29-09-2014; el plazo para informar la tasación comercial venció el 30-06-2016.
- Ley N° 21.078, art. 4 — impuesto único de 10%, tal como aparece en el Formulario 22 del Año Tributario 2026.
IVA, herencia y DFL 2.
- Ley N° 21.210 y Circular SII N° 37 de 2020 — eliminación de la presunción de habitualidad por plazo, con vigencia desde el 01-03-2020.
- Reglamento del DL N° 825, art. 4° — calificación de habitualidad caso a caso: naturaleza, cantidad y frecuencia de las ventas y ánimo de adquisición.
- Resolución Ex. SII N° 16 de 2017 — declaración jurada del art. 75 del Código Tributario que se suscribe ante notario, con la causal de vendedor no habitual.
- Ley N° 16.271 — normas de valoración para determinar el costo de un inmueble heredado; Código Civil, art. 955, para la fecha de apertura de la sucesión.
- DFL N° 2 de 1959, con las modificaciones de las leyes N° 20.455, N° 21.210 y N° 21.420 — beneficios restringidos a personas naturales y a un máximo de dos viviendas, y fin de los derechos adquiridos desde el 01-01-2023.
- SII, valor de la UF: $40.873,77 al 31-08-2026.
Selling a property? Talk to us and we'll review it with you. You can also message us on WhatsApp.
Este artículo tiene fines informativos y refleja la normativa vigente al 02-09-2026. No sustituye una asesoría particular: cada caso depende de los antecedentes específicos del contribuyente.
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