On October 1st, the Chilean Internal Revenue Service (Servicio de Impuestos Internos, or “SII”) issued Resolution No. 128, providing specific instructions on the issuance of tax receipts (“boletas”) that content creators—also known as “influencers”—must issue when receiving income in exchange for their activities on social media platforms.
The resolution defines a content creator as an individual who personally and independently generates, produces, distributes, disseminates, or monetizes content using social media or other digital platforms, whether Chilean or foreign. The content may include images, videos, animations, presentations, texts, documents, live streams, or audio recordings.
In addition, this activity is now treated as equivalent to the provision of professional services. Therefore, content creators must: (i) register their business activity as individuals under the Second Category (subject to income tax); (ii) issue tax receipts (“boletas”) for their income and directly pay a monthly tax withholding at a 14.5% rate; and (iii) pay the corresponding social security contributions.
The withholding payment must be made monthly through Form 29, no later than the 20th day of the month following the issuance of the tax receipt. These monthly payments will be credited toward the Global Complementary Income Tax that must be declared and paid in the annual income tax filed in April of the following year.
The influencer may also make monthly payments of their social security contributions for pension (AFP), occupational accident insurance (through the Instituto de Seguridad Laboral or a private mutual fund), and health insurance (through Isapre or Fonasa), in order to access the corresponding benefits. If these contributions are not paid monthly, they must be settled annually through the income tax return for the following tax year.
Regarding deductible expenses, creators may choose to apply a presumed expense deduction of up to 30% of their updated annual gross income, capped at 15 Annual Tax Units (UTA); or deduct actual expenses that are demonstrably necessary to generate the income, in which case they must maintain simplified accounting records.
Regarding tax receipts
- They must be issued with the same date as the payment received.
- They must be made out to “Usuarios de Plataformas Digitales” (Users of Digital Platforms), using the generic tax ID No. 44.444.447-9.
- The declared amount should correspond to the net payment received, after deducting the platform’s payment processing fee.
- If the payment was made in foreign currency, the applicable exchange rate on the payment date must be used.
- The remarks section must specify the platform through which the payment was made.
However, when the content creator operates as a company, they must register as a First Category taxpayer and be taxed accordingly. In that case, they must issue invoices or sales receipts, declare and pay VAT monthly through Form 29, and keep their purchase and sales ledger up to date. They must also file their annual income tax return and any sworn statements required under their chosen tax regime.