Tax in Argentina

Who is the tax authority in Argentina?

The Agencia de Recaudacion y Control Aduanero (ARCA) is Argentina's federal tax authority, established in October 2024 by Decreto 953/2024 to replace the Administracion Federal de Ingresos Publicos (AFIP) under the Milei government's institutional reform program. ARCA administers Impuesto a las Ganancias (income tax), Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA), Impuesto sobre los Bienes Personales, Monotributo, customs duties, and federal social-security collection. The AFIP brand remains familiar and both names circulate during the transition period; arca.gob.ar and the legacy afip.gob.ar co-exist.

Argentina also has a dense provincial tax layer. Each of the 24 provinces (and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires) maintains its own Direccion de Rentas or equivalent body administering Ingresos Brutos (gross-receipts tax), Impuesto de Sellos (stamp duty), and Impuesto Inmobiliario (real-estate tax). Tax disputes progress through the Tribunal Fiscal de la Nacion and the federal administrative courts before reaching the Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nacion.

The Federacion Argentina de Consejos Profesionales de Ciencias Economicas (FACPCE) coordinates the Contador Publico profession at federal level. Provincial Consejos Profesionales de Ciencias Economicas (such as CPCECABA in Buenos Aires) handle local registration and licensing.

What is the Argentine tax year and when are returns due?

Argentina's tax year for individuals is the calendar year (1 January to 31 December). The annual Impuesto a las Ganancias return for individuals (Form F.711 or its successor under ARCA's online systems) is due in May or June following the tax year, with exact deadlines staggered by the last digit of the taxpayer's CUIT number under ARCA's annual filing calendar.

Companies file the Impuesto a las Ganancias return for legal persons within five months of their fiscal year-end, with the precise deadline staggered by CUIT digit. IVA returns are filed monthly under the standard regime or quarterly under simplified regimes for smaller operators. Advance income tax payments (Anticipos) are paid monthly throughout the year, with a balancing payment or refund following the annual return.

How is Argentine tax residency determined?

Under Article 119 of the Ley de Impuesto a las Ganancias (text ordered 2019), Argentine nationals are presumed to be Argentine tax residents continuously unless they establish residency elsewhere — typically through 12 months or more of continuous absence and a formal change-of-residency process. Foreign nationals become Argentine tax residents after 12 months of continuous physical presence in Argentina, with short interruptions not breaking the count, or immediately upon obtaining permanent-residence visa status.

Residents pay tax on worldwide income with a foreign-tax-credit mechanism for taxes paid abroad. Non-residents pay tax only on Argentine-source income, generally collected through final-withholding at source at rates that vary by income type. Treaty residency tie-breakers under Argentina's bilateral DTAs apply where two jurisdictions both treat the same person as a resident.

The Regimen Simplificado para Pequenos Contribuyentes — commonly called Monotributo — under Law 24.977 bundles Impuesto a las Ganancias, IVA, and social-security contributions into a single monthly flat payment for small operators. Revenue thresholds are inflation-adjusted twice per year (March and September).

What are the Argentine personal income tax rates?

Impuesto a las Ganancias operates on a nine-bracket progressive structure. Following the 2024 reform (Ley 27.743), the brackets are inflation-indexed and adjusted twice annually (March and September), so the ARS thresholds shift materially throughout the year.

The Ganancia No Imponible (personal allowance) and Cargas de Familia (dependent deductions) reduce the taxable base; both are also inflation-adjusted twice annually. Investment income uses the cedular system: dividends from Argentine companies at 7% at source, capital gains on listed securities at 15%.

How does corporate tax work in Argentina?

Impuesto a las Ganancias para Personas Juridicas — corporate income tax — uses a progressive scale tied to accumulated profits. The 2021 reform restored the three-tier progressive bracket after a brief period of flat-rate treatment.

Branches of foreign companies are taxed on Argentine-source income at the same progressive scale plus a 7% withholding on profit remittances — a combined effective branch rate that can approach 40%. Argentina has not yet implemented the OECD Pillar Two Global Minimum Tax framework into domestic law as of 2024. The Regimen Promocional Industria del Conocimiento (knowledge-economy regime, Law 27.506) grants qualifying software, biotech, and digital-services companies reduced CIT rates and accelerated depreciation.

Argentina maintains an aggressive transfer-pricing framework under Article 14 LIG with sector-specific safe harbours. The CFC regime under Article 130 LIG captures controlled foreign-entity income.

How does IVA (VAT) work in Argentina?

Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA) is Argentina's principal federal indirect tax. The standard rate is 21%; the reduced rate of 10.5% covers most foodstuffs, public-passenger transport, residential construction, and several social-policy supplies; the increased rate of 27% applies to telecommunications and specific utility supplies for non-final consumers.

IVA registration is generally required from the start of taxable activity — there is no revenue threshold under the standard regime (unlike in many EU countries). Monthly IVA returns are required under the standard regime. Cross-border digital services supplied to Argentine consumers by non-resident vendors have been subject to IVA since 2018 under specific reverse-charge rules. The Monotributo small-operator regime bundles IVA and income-tax obligations for qualifying filers under inflation-adjusted revenue thresholds.

Provincial Ingresos Brutos (gross-receipts tax) at varying activity-based rates — typically 1-7% depending on province and sector — operates separately alongside federal IVA.

How are cryptoassets taxed in Argentina?

ARCA treats cryptoassets as financial assets for individual filers. Gains on disposal of cryptoassets fall under the cedular capital-gains regime at 15%, the same rate that applies to other financial-asset disposals, with deductions for cost-basis and inflation-adjusted acquisition cost.

Mining rewards, staking income, and airdrop receipts are taxable as ordinary income at fair market value on the date of receipt. Impuesto sobre los Bienes Personales applies to crypto holdings as part of the resident-individual net-wealth base. The 2024 blanqueo (tax-amnesty, Ley 27.743) included provisions for regularising undeclared cryptoasset holdings at preferential rates; the formal terms of that programme have closed.

What is Argentina's treaty network?

Argentina maintains a smaller DTA network than most major economies — approximately 30 comprehensive bilateral tax treaties, focused on key trading partners across Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Most Argentine treaties follow the UN Model with Argentina-specific reservations on source-taxation rights, reflecting Argentina's traditional position as a source country. Argentina signed and ratified the OECD Multilateral Instrument (MLI); the MLI's modifications, including the Principal Purpose Test, apply to many covered DTAs from 2023 onward.

There is no current US-Argentina DTA. A treaty was signed in 1981 but Argentina denounced it in 1991. Cross-border flows between Argentina and the US rely on domestic foreign-tax-credit rules under Articles 1 and 168 LIG, not a bilateral treaty. This is a material gap for US-Argentine dual-status individuals and US-headquartered multinationals.

Argentina's most important bilateral DTA is with Spain (1992). The 1980 Brazil DTA anchors MERCOSUR cross-border treatment. Argentina has not adopted Pillar Two into domestic law.

Where does Argentina sit in the Latin American cohort?

Argentina anchors the Latin American high-tax cohort alongside Brazil and Mexico. The region splits across 5 distinct tax archetypes:

Common pitfalls and penalties in Argentina

Foreign individuals and companies operating in Argentina encounter a distinctive set of recurring traps:

Late filing of a Ganancias return triggers fines under Article 38 of Law 11.683 (the Procedural Tax Law), with amounts set by obligation type. Tax-evasion offences under the Regimen Penal Tributario (Law 27.430) carry monetary fines and up to nine years' imprisonment in serious cases, with reductions for cooperative-disclosure procedures.

When should you talk to a Contador Publico or Tax-Adviser?

Some Argentine tax situations are straightforward enough for standard ARCA online portals. Others become complex quickly:

• Worldwide income as a new resident (worldwide scope applies from day one of residency)
• Cross-border transactions where no US-AR treaty exists — FTC mechanics need careful documentation
• Bienes Personales exposure on foreign assets, especially as thresholds shift with inflation
• Business structure decisions across the CIT progressive brackets (25/30/35%)
• Monotributo eligibility assessment — whether the bundled regime is more advantageous than the standard regime
• Multi-province Ingresos Brutos registration and the Convenio Multilateral apportionment rules
• Crypto disposals, cost-basis tracking, and RG 4614 reporting obligations
• Any open or prior Sinceramiento Fiscal or blanqueo programme eligibility
• Receipt of an ARCA notice of assessment, audit (fiscalizacion), or back-tax query

You can find vetted Argentine Contadores Publicos through the directory below.

This page is general information. It is not personal guidance for your specific situation. Tax rules in Argentina change frequently — bracket thresholds and rates are updated at least twice per year. Always verify current figures on the ARCA website (arca.gob.ar) or with a licensed Argentine practitioner before filing.