Treasury sets fiscal goals and debt anchor of 45% of GDP

The Ministry of Finance established the foundations of the current administration’s fiscal policy through supreme decree No. 486, signed on June 8, 2026, and published in the Official Gazette No. 44,555 on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, in Section I of General Regulations (CVE 2870356). The regulation sets an operational Structural Balance rule and a gross debt anchor for the Central Government of 45% of GDP, with a decreasing structural deficit trajectory between 2026 and 2030.

The decree is issued under article 32 No. 6 of the Political Constitution of the Republic and article 1 of law No. 20,128, on Fiscal Responsibility, which entrusts the President of the Republic to establish the foundations of the fiscal policy of their administration, with an explicit pronouncement on the Structural Balance and a medium-term debt anchor. The publication bears the signatures of President José Antonio Kast Rist and Minister of Finance Jorge Antonio Quiroz Castro, and was transcribed by the Undersecretary of Finance Sebastián Vallebona Espinosa.

In its recitals, the Executive justifies the measure based on persistent structural deficits, the failure to meet fiscal targets in recent years, the deterioration of the State’s net financial position, and the sustained increase in public debt. The text also cites Technical Report No. 7, of April 29, 2026, from the Autonomous Fiscal Council, whose recommendations will be considered to refine the calculation methodologies of the Structural Balance.

Operational rule and debt anchor

Fiscal policy will be guided by the Structural Balance, which reflects the trend financial situation of the Central Government, excluding cyclical fluctuations in non-mining economic activity, the price of copper, and lithium revenues, as well as other factors of a similar nature. To this is added a medium-term debt anchor that seeks to provide predictability to debt dynamics and safeguard prudent levels of indebtedness.

According to the decree, both parameters act jointly to decouple the evolution of public spending from transitory fluctuations in tax revenues, avoid abrupt adjustments in the face of adverse economic events, and create savings opportunities during periods of favorable conditions.

Fiscal targets for the 2026-2030 period

Article 2 sets the following structural deficit trajectory:

• 2.6% of GDP in 2026.
• 1.8% of GDP in 2027.
• 1.7% of GDP in 2028.
• 1.6% of GDP in 2029.
• 1.5% of GDP in 2030.

The medium-term debt anchor corresponds to a Central Government gross debt level of 45% of GDP.

Public equity and repeal of the previous regulation

Article 3 addresses the equity position of the public sector: adequate levels of financial assets will be maintained to meet future fiscal commitments and adverse cycles, the State’s asset and liability management will be strengthened, and the State’s equity participation in public enterprises will be modernized. The committed trajectory will seek to stabilize and subsequently reduce public debt as a proportion of GDP.

Article 4 repeals Supreme Decree No. 542, of 2025, from the Ministry of Finance, which governed until now. The new decree was issued with an exemption from the toma de razón (legal review) process in accordance with Resolution No. 36, of 2024, of the Comptroller General of the Republic.

The regulation conditions public spending and State finances for the coming years: the committed fiscal convergence trajectory defines the margin for spending expansion, the pace of structural deficit reduction, and the level of indebtedness that the Central Government may sustain until 2030.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,555, Tuesday, September 22, 2026, Section I, General Norms, pp. 1-3 (official reference: CVE 2870356).