AOW, pension and tax in Chile: the Netherlands taxes, Chile gives credit
The tax treaty between the Netherlands and Chile has applied since 1 January 2023. The Netherlands may keep taxing your AOW, and your pension if it was built up here with tax relief. Chile deducts that Dutch tax from its own tax, and does not tax a newcomer's foreign income at all for the first three years. Chile is a treaty country for the AOW: you get the full amount.
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If you live in Chile, the Netherlands keeps taxing your AOW, and usually your pension too. That is in the tax treaty signed in Santiago on 25 January 2021. It has been in force since 30 November 2022 and the Belastingdienst applies it from 1 January 2023. Chile deducts the Dutch tax from what you pay there on the same income. And for the AOW Chile is a treaty country: you get the full amount.
| Income | Who taxes | Article |
|---|---|---|
| AOW, Anw, WAO, WIA, WW | the Netherlands may tax | 18, para. 2 |
| Pension, including ABP | the Netherlands may tax if it was built up here with tax relief | 18, paras. 1 and 3 |
| Annuity (lijfrente) | the Netherlands may tax if it had tax relief here | 18, para. 1 |
| Commutation of a pension | same | 18, para. 4 |
| Dividend from the Netherlands | the Netherlands may withhold at most 15% | 10, para. 2 |
| Everything the Netherlands taxes | Chile credits the Dutch tax | 23, para. 1 |
The "who taxes" column comes from the Belastingdienst overview Verdragsstaten IB niet-ingezetenen, January 2026 version. The protocol to the treaty deals with profits, dividends, interest, royalties and exchange of information, not with pensions. An amendment of 9 March 2022 only concerns the mutual agreement procedure.
What does "may tax" mean?
That the Netherlands may tax, and Chile as the country of residence too, but that Chile prevents double taxation. Article 23 says that a resident of Chile may credit the tax paid in the Netherlands under the treaty against the Chilean tax on the same income. That way you do not pay full tax twice; how much Chile credits depends on Chilean law.
Article 18, paragraph 8, protects you here: if the Netherlands taxes your pension or AOW, the rate may not be higher than what a resident of the Netherlands pays on such a benefit. The Netherlands may refuse personal deductions in doing so. For people living in a country like Chile, the Belastingdienst lists as deductions only the entrepreneur's deduction and the tax-free allowance in box 3. So have your net amount calculated. See also where your pension is taxed and receiving your pension abroad.
What does Chile do in the first years?
You become tax resident if you are in Chile for more than 183 days within any period of twelve months (article 8 of the Código Tributario). A resident in principle pays tax on income from Chile and from abroad. But article 3 of the income tax law makes an exception for newcomers: a foreigner who comes to live in Chile pays tax only on income from Chilean sources for the first three years after entering. The SII's regional director can extend that period in special cases.
Chile's income tax for residents is called the impuesto global complementario, with brackets in UTA, the annual unit of account. Up to 13.5 UTA a year is exempt; above that the rate rises from 4% to 40%. One UTA was 865,812 pesos in October 2026. Your tax affairs in Chile run through your RUT; see registration and numbers.
Do not plan on "the first three years everything is exempt". That exemption applies in Chile. The Netherlands keeps taxing your AOW and your pension built up with tax relief, in those years too.
Do you get the full AOW?
Yes. Chile is among the SVB's treaty countries, and in the answers to parliamentary questions of 2024 the minister lists Chile among the 36 countries and territories outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland with which the Netherlands has a social security treaty; to all of them except China and Pakistan the full AOW goes. Article 5 of the social security treaty prohibits reducing or stopping an old-age pension because you live in the other country. A single person in Chile therefore gets the amount for single people, not the married rate. See also AOW when you emigrate.
A 2022 protocol to that treaty is not yet in force. It introduces the country-of-residence principle, but only for the survivor's benefit and part of the WGA, not for the AOW. For child benefit, Chile is not on the SVB's list of treaty countries.
Are you leaving before your AOW age?
Anyone who goes to live outside the Netherlands is usually no longer insured for the AOW, according to the SVB. Every year without insurance later means 2% less AOW. From the moment you are no longer insured, you have one year to sign up for voluntary insurance.
What else does the Netherlands keep hold of?
An annuity or pension entitlement travels with a protective assessment. Within the EU and the EEA you get the deferral automatically; from Chile you request it in writing. The deferral runs for ten years at most. Security, such as a bank guarantee, is only asked by the Belastingdienst for pensions and annuities if your entitlement is not placed with a recognised insurer in the EU, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland or Switzerland.
Which permit you need as a retiree is in the residence routes. How the treaty arranges your access to healthcare is in healthcare in Chile.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Chile or go straight to step 1.2 in the open plan.
What this means for your numbers →
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Belastingdienst — Verdragsstaten IB niet-ingezetenen, January 2026 (Chile, sheet 30) — download.belastingdienst.nl
- Wetten.overheid.nl — the tax treaty with Chile, articles 18 and 23, and the protocol — wetten.overheid.nl
- Verdragenbank — the tax treaty, signed in Santiago on 25 January 2021, in force on 30 November 2022 — verdragenbank.overheid.nl
- Tractatenblad 2022, 28 — the amendment of 9 March 2022, only on mutual agreement — zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl
- Belastingdienst — deductions and credits when you live in another country — belastingdienst.nl
- SVB — Chile on the list of treaty countries for the AOW — svb.nl
- Answers to parliamentary questions 2024Z02891 — the full AOW to Chile — open.overheid.nl
- Netherlands–Chile social security treaty, article 5 on export (wetten.overheid.nl) — wetten.overheid.nl
- Tractatenblad 2022, 77 — protocol to the social security treaty, not yet in force — zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl
- SVB — 2% less AOW for every uninsured year, and one year to insure yourself voluntarily — svb.nl
- Belastingdienst — the protective assessment, deferral and security (tax return notes 2026) — belastingdienst.nl
- Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta, articles 3 and 52: worldwide income, the first three years and the rates (BCN) — bcn.cl
- Código Tributario, article 8: resident after more than 183 days in twelve months (BCN) — bcn.cl
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