Estonian Company Run from Chile: Tax Rules

Many people living in Chile form or buy an Estonian private limited company (OÜ), often as e-residents, and run it from Chile. The Chilean Income Tax Act taxes every person domiciled or resident in Chile on income from any source, and taxes a foreign entity in Chile through a permanent establishment — a place used permanently or habitually for its business. On the owner side, its controlled entity rule makes Chilean owners who control a foreign entity count its passive income as their own. And there is no tax treaty between Estonia and Chile. This guide sets out these rules with the official texts, and what we do on the Estonian side.

The guide is general information, not tax advice. How your company and you are taxed depends on the facts of your case; ask a Chilean tax adviser before you form or buy the company. We read the Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta (Decreto Ley 824) and the Código Tributario in their current versions in LeyChile, the official legal database of the Library of the National Congress of Chile, on 22 October 2026. The laws are in Spanish; the English wording here is ours.

In Estonia: an Estonian company is Estonian

A company established under Estonian law is resident in Estonia for tax purposes (Income Tax Act § 6). Its profit is taxed when it is distributed, not while it stays in the company — the guide how Estonia taxes company profit explains the rule. The company keeps its Estonian duties wherever its owners live: accounts, an annual report to the commercial register and, if its address is abroad, a contact person in Estonia.

In Chile: the company side

Domiciled or resident: income from anywhere. Every person domiciled or resident in Chile pays tax on income of any origin, whether the source is in Chile or abroad; persons not resident in Chile are taxed on income from Chilean sources (Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta, article 3).
Permanent establishment. A permanent establishment is a place used for carrying on all or part of the business of a person or entity without domicile or residence in Chile permanently or habitually, such as offices, agencies, installations, construction projects and branches; an agent in Chile who habitually concludes the entity's contracts can also create one (article 2, number 12).
The rate. The first category tax is 27 percent for taxpayers under the regime of article 14, letter A, and 25 percent under the Pro Pyme regime (article 20).

If you run the OÜ from an office or a home in Chile, whether the company is domiciled in Chile or has a permanent establishment there is the question these articles raise. Your Chilean tax adviser answers it with the facts of your case.

In Chile: the owner side

Resident. A resident is any person who stays in Chile, continuously or not, for a period or periods totalling more than 183 days within any 12 months (Código Tributario, article 8, number 8).
The first three years. A foreigner who becomes domiciled or resident in Chile is taxed only on Chilean-source income during the first three years after arriving; the term can be extended (Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta, article 3).
Controlled entities. Taxpayers domiciled, resident or established in Chile who directly or indirectly control entities without domicile or residence in Chile must treat the passive income of those entities as earned by themselves (article 41 G). Control means holding, alone or with related persons, 50 percent or more of the capital, the profit rights or the votes, at the end of the year or at any time during the preceding 12 months (article 41 G, letter A).

An Estonian OÜ pays no corporate income tax while its profit stays in the company. Whether it is a controlled entity of yours and how much of its income is passive is a question for your Chilean tax adviser.

No tax treaty between Estonia and Chile

Chile is not on the list of Estonia's tax treaties published by the Estonian Ministry of Finance. So no treaty decides which country a company resident in both is resident of, and no treaty limits the tax either country charges on dividends or board fees. Each country applies its own law; whether and how double taxation is relieved then depends on each country's domestic rules — a question for your Chilean tax adviser. We do not give that ruling.

What to decide before you form or buy the company

Where the business is carried on. An office or other place used habitually in Chile can be a permanent establishment under article 2, number 12.
Where you live. More than 183 days in Chile within 12 months makes you resident; a foreigner's first three years are limited to Chilean-source income.
What the company earns. Passive income and control decide whether article 41 G applies to you.

What we do on the Estonian side

online formation for an e-resident — €950 Registered address and contact person service for one year are included., or formation by power of attorney — €1,250;
a ready-made company bought remotely — €1,200 Registered address and contact person service for one year are included.;
accounting — from €150 / month and the annual report — from €450;
the registered address and contact person after the first 12 months — €350 / year.

Our accounting covers the Estonian company's Estonian obligations. Chilean tax returns and Chilean tax advice are not included. Owners in other countries: Estonian company run from abroad compares the rules side by side.

The two company forms side by side — founding document, capital, share transfer and the company tax: Estonian OÜ or Chilean SpA.

Prices exclude VAT. All communication takes place by email.

Ready to start? A new Estonian company — online for e-residents or by power of attorney; Chilean tax advice is not included. Order.

Official sources

The laws this article names, by the name of their official text, as read on 9 October 2026. For the Estonian acts we read the English translation in Riigi Teataja; the legally binding text is the Estonian one.

Income Tax Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation

Sources are named in the text, without links. To see which of our services your company needs, open the Business Navigator.

Frequently asked questions

Is my Estonian company taxed in Chile if I run it from Chile?

It can be. Chile taxes every person domiciled or resident in Chile on income from any source (Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta, article 3), and a foreign entity through a permanent establishment — a place such as an office used permanently or habitually for its business (article 2, number 12); the first category tax is 27 percent (article 20). In Estonia the company stays resident because it was established under Estonian law (Income Tax Act § 6). There is no tax treaty between Estonia and Chile, so no treaty decides a company resident in both. A Chilean resident who controls the company must also count its passive income as their own (article 41 G). Ask a Chilean tax adviser before you form or buy the company; we handle the Estonian side.

Estonian company run from Chile: what is taxed where