Chile sets a special VAT refund route for qualifying new-home sales

Law 21,850’s fourth transitional article permits an optional housing VAT exemption subject to cumulative conditions. These include a first transfer of a new dwelling and municipal final completion approval predating the law’s publication. Transfers between related enterprises do not count as a first sale. A separate refund mechanism covers qualifying earlier public-deed sales between introduction of the presidential bill and the first business day of the second month after publication. The deed must expressly invoke the exemption.^[3]

The seller must first restore the VAT to the purchaser and submit a separate F3298 application for each sale within three years from 1 December 2026. Before the seller applies, the buyer must file declaration F3299 confirming restitution. The relevant monthly F29 return must have been filed and the tax paid through legally permitted means.^[2]

Resolution 146 requires transaction records and supporting evidence, including the deed, completion certificate and proof of restitution. Where the special construction-company credit applied, the requested amount must exclude that credit. The procedure does not require the seller to cancel or amend the original tax documents or affected F29 returns. SII’s estimated five-business-day response remains subject to missing information and the required review of refunds above 5,000 UTM.^[2]

Real-estate groups should identify eligible sales and coordinate buyer restitution, documentation and the claim sequence. Neither the new procedure nor the December start date makes every home sale exempt or automatically refundable.^[3]