Engaging a contractor in Chile runs on the boleta de honorarios. An individual registers with the tax service (SII), issues an electronic boleta for each payment, and pays a monthly provisional payment of 15.25% in 2026 when the client does not withhold, as a foreign client does not. Mandatory pension and health contributions are settled in the annual return. The legal risk is classification, because the Código del Trabajo presumes employment wherever services are provided under dependence and subordination. This guide covers the contractor’s tax, reclassification, the contract and the payer’s paperwork. The payment side is on our Chile payouts page. It is general information, not legal advice.
Boleta de honorarios or factura
Individual. The contractor issues electronic boletas de honorarios through the SII’s website. For a client with no Chilean domicile or residence the boleta is made out to RUT 44.444.446-0 plus the client’s name, and the SII penalises use of that RUT for people domiciled in Chile (SII, checked 2026-10-10).
Company. A contractor working through a company issues facturas. For a service export the invoice is a factura de exportación, and it requires the National Customs Service to qualify the service as an export; a plain exempt invoice is not enough (SII, checked 2026-10-10).
The contractor’s tax and contributions
PPM. A boleta issued to a foreigner is subject to the issuer’s monthly provisional payment and not to withholding by the recipient (SII, checked 2026-10-10). The rate is 15.25% in 2026, 16% in 2027 and 17% in 2028 (SII, checked 2026-10-10), declared monthly on Form 29 (SII, checked 2026-10-10). On a CLP 1,000,000 boleta, CLP 152,500.
Annual tax. The annual return settles income tax on the Global Complementario scale: exempt up to CLP 11,265,804, then 4%, 8%, 13.5%, 23%, 30.4%, 35% and 40% above CLP 258,696,240, for 2025 income (SII, checked 2026-10-10).
Contributions. A contractor who issued boletas of at least five minimum monthly incomes in the year, CLP 2,767,765 for 2025, must contribute through the annual return, on 80% of the total boletas, with total or partial coverage from 1 July to 30 June. Men aged 55 or over and women aged 50 or over on 1 January 2018, pensioners and members of non-AFP schemes are exempt (ChileAtiende, checked 2026-10-10). The rising rate follows Law 21.133, which brings independent workers into the social protection system (SII, checked 2026-10-10). The client pays none of it, but a contractor quoting a net rate must cover all three.
Reclassification risk
Article 7 of the Código del Trabajo defines an employment contract as one in which the worker provides personal services under the dependence and subordination of the employer for pay, and article 8 presumes such a contract wherever services are provided on those terms (dt.gob.cl, checked 2026-10-10). The label does not decide it. The Dirección del Trabajo cites continuity of service, attendance, working hours, supervision of duties and instructions on method and timing; in one ruling, a person paid “a honorarios” who kept fixed hours, followed management’s instructions, did staff work and needed permission to be absent was treated as an employee (dt.gob.cl, Ord. 3521/118, checked 2026-10-10).
A single client, fixed hours, a set monthly fee and your instructions are the facts a claimant would use (contractor misclassification). On dismissal for business reasons after a year of service, employment brings 30 days of the last monthly pay per year, capped at 330 days (dt.gob.cl, checked 2026-10-10), and the ordinary week is 42 hours from 26 April 2026, falling to 40 from April 2028 (dt.gob.cl, checked 2026-10-10). If the role is a job, hire through an EOR; see Employer of Record in Chile.
What to put in the contract
- A written services agreement scoped to deliverables, with the fee, currency, receiving account and who bears transfer charges.
- A boleta for every payment, matched to the payment reference.
- IP assignment in writing. Under Law 17.336, software created by employees in their job belongs to the employer unless a written agreement says otherwise (WIPO Lex, checked 2026-10-10); the rule covers employees, not contractors. Assign the rights explicitly and ask local counsel about formalities.
- Independence markers: the contractor’s own equipment and schedule, the right to work for other clients, and a fee tied to deliverables.
Taxes and paperwork
The contractor’s side. Get a RUT and SII online access, issue a boleta per payment, pay the monthly PPM on Form 29, and settle tax and contributions in the annual return.
The client’s side. Pay gross against the boleta. US payers collect a W-8BEN from an individual and file no 1099: pay for work done in Chile is foreign-source income (irs.gov, checked 2026-10-10). The US–Chile income tax treaty has been in force since 19 December 2023 (PwC, checked 2026-10-10).
How to pay contractors in Chile
Wise delivers pesos to any Chilean bank account against the contractor’s RUT, usually one working day after conversion (wise.com, checked 2026-10-10). A SWIFT wire is the alternative, and some platforms pay CLP directly. The Banco Central’s new exchange compendium has applied since 1 January 2026 (bcentral.cl, checked 2026-10-10). Rails, costs and platforms are compared on our Chile payouts page.
Contractor of Record in Chile
A Contractor of Record is the contracting party for the contractor and reduces reclassification risk; it does not remove it. In Chile the work still has to look independent, and the COR also collects the boleta, keeps contracts consistent across a team and flags engagements that look like dependency. Read the liability clause in the contract rather than the product name. Where the role is a job, with your hours, your tools and core work, hire through an EOR instead; the Chile specifics are on our EOR page. Compare providers in our COR rating.