Knowledge

Glossary: Uruguayan Farmland and Investment

The terms that recur across the Uruguayan farmland market and in purchase documentation, explained briefly and without jargon.

16 terms
CONEAT
Uruguay's soil classification system, rating every rural parcel by productivity since the 1960s. The national average is normalised to 100; values range from roughly 5 to 263. Publicly accessible.
Campo
Agricultural land with no or minimal buildings. The most commonly traded property type in Uruguay and usually the right one for yield-focused investors.
Estancia
A complete rural estate with a main residence, staff housing and enough land for viable operations. Combines production with a country seat.
Chacra
A smaller rural property, typically between roughly 5 and 100 hectares, used mainly for leisure, boutique agriculture or tourism rather than commercial farming.
DIEA
Dirección de Estadísticas Agropecuarias, the statistics directorate of Uruguay's agriculture ministry. Publishes official farmland sale and lease prices twice a year.
MGAP
Ministerio de Ganadería, Agricultura y Pesca: Uruguay's Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries.
SAS
Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada, a simplified Uruguayan corporate form frequently used as an acquisition vehicle for real property.
Escribano
Uruguayan notary. Appointed by the buyer, they verify the transaction, oversee payment and effect registration in the public registry.
Registro de la Propiedad
Uruguay's public property registry. Registration must be updated after every sale, a precondition for a smooth future disposal.
Unidad Indexada (UI)
Uruguay's inflation-indexed unit of account. Numerous statutory thresholds, including those relating to tax residency, are defined in UI and therefore change annually.
IRAE
Impuesto a las Rentas de las Actividades Económicas, Uruguayan corporate income tax on income from economic activity.
COMAP
Comisión de Aplicación: Uruguay's investment promotion commission, which assesses projects that may qualify under the investment promotion regime.
Territorial taxation
A principle under which only domestically sourced income is taxed. Uruguay follows this principle as a general rule.
Guaraní Aquifer
One of the world's largest freshwater aquifer systems, extending beneath parts of Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
Direct seeding
Sowing without prior tillage. The standard method in Uruguayan cropping, used to avoid soil erosion and degradation.
Exit taxation
Taxation of unrealised gains upon moving tax residence abroad. A matter for the home jurisdiction rather than Uruguay, and one that belongs at the start of any residency planning.

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