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- UF and UTM
Last updated on 19/06/2026
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In Chile, you will hear about two indicators, UF and UTM. Each of them corresponds to an amount in Chilean pesos. They are everywhere, in contracts, bank fees, fines, real estate listings, so you need to understand what they are.
UF: Unidad de Fomento
UF stands for "Unidad de Fomento." It is an official indicator managed by the tax authority (SII), initially developed for the real estate sector. The UF is updated daily and automatically adjusts for inflation, which makes it a stable reference for pricing. As of 2025, 1 UF is approximately CLP 39,000.
You can find its current value on the SII website.
You will meet the UF mostly around real estate: property prices for buying, selling, or renting are almost always expressed in UF, and so are mortgage calculations and bank loan terms. Banks also quote their fees as fractions of UF (for example, 0.0025 UF to download a bank statement). Insurance policies, premium subscription services, and international school tuition fees are priced in UF too.
Example: if a property costs 5,000 UF, that is 5,000 × CLP 39,000 = CLP 195,000,000 (roughly USD 200,000 at current rates).
UTM: Unidad Tributaria Mensual
UTM stands for "Unidad Tributaria Mensual." It is the administrative equivalent of UF: an official indicator, also managed by the SII, but updated monthly rather than daily. As of 2025, 1 UTM is approximately CLP 67,000-68,000 depending on the month.
You can find its current value on the SII website.
Where the UF belongs to the private sector, the UTM is the unit of the administration. Income tax brackets are defined in UTM, fines from administrations and courts are set in UTM, and so are brand and trademark registrations with INAPI, municipal permits, and government fees. More generally, expect UTM in most financial transactions with a government body. One notable exception: immigration service charges are calculated in USD, not UTM.
You may also encounter the UTA (Unidad Tributaria Anual), which is simply UTM × 12. It is used for annual tax calculations.
In practice
The values of UF and UTM are defined by law and publicly available, so there are no surprises. Two things to keep in mind:
When signing a contract, always verify that the UF or UTM value used in the peso conversion matches the official rate on the contract date. Some people make mistakes, and you do not want to overpay because someone used an outdated rate.
When making UTM payments to an administration, try to complete the process within 2-3 weeks. Otherwise, by the time you finish, the monthly UTM value may have changed. The administration will ask you to go back to the bank and pay the difference, a small but annoying extra step.
Frequently Asked Questions about UF and UTM
Understanding the UF
UF stands for Unidad de Fomento, an inflation-indexed unit of account. Its value in Chilean pesos is updated daily and published officially, so anything priced in UF automatically keeps pace with inflation.
No. The UF is not a currency and you cannot pay with UF. It is a unit of account: prices are expressed in UF, then converted and paid in Chilean pesos (CLP) at the official UF value of the day. UF and CLP are not the same thing. The UF is simply an amount of pesos that changes daily with inflation.
Because of Chile's history of high inflation, long-term commitments in pesos used to lose value quickly. The UF solves that: by pricing rents, mortgages, insurance, and contracts in an inflation-indexed unit, both parties keep the real value of the deal constant over time. Inflation is now under control, but the habit stuck, and the UF remains the standard for anything long term.
