Argentina Payroll Information – Deel Global Payroll

Updated on: 2025/08/08 11:15 (UTC)

Overview

Argentina, the eighth-largest country in the world by land area, is a representative democracy that comprises the majority of the southern part of the continent of South America. Argentina is bordered by Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Chile to the west and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Most of Argentina is part of the mainland of South America, although the country’s southernmost province of Tierra del Fuego is geographically separated from the rest of the country by the Strait of Magellan and is located on Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, the largest island in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago.

The first-order administrative divisions of Argentina consist of 23 provinces (provincias) and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), which is Argentina’s capital city and shares its name with the province that surrounds the autonomous city. The 23 provinces of Argentina are Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Córdoba, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquén, Río Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego, and Tucumán. The Province of Tierra del Fuego also is known as the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands (Provincia de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur) because Argentina’s claims to land on Antarctica and in the Southern Ocean are considered by the federal government of Argentina to be part of this province.

Argentina’s currency is the Argentine peso.

Employers in Argentina are responsible for withholding income taxes from employees, withholding and contributing to social taxes for their employees, and providing workers with various labor-related benefits in accordance with the Labor Contract Law.

Argentines working in the United States are covered by U.S. tax law with possible work status exclusions applying. Work within the U.S. states and territories is covered by various labor laws.

Foreign workers generally are subject to the same treatment as Argentines according to the Income Tax Law and the Labor Contract Law, with some exceptions.

CURRENCY DETAILS

The currency of Argentina is the Argentine peso (ARS), also known in Argentina simply as the peso. The internationally recognized three-letter currency code for the Argentine peso is ARS, which also is one of the currency’s commonly used currency symbols. The plural form of Argentine peso is Argentine pesos.

When an amount of Argentine pesos is written using the currency symbol ARS, as is commonly done in English, the symbol precedes the numerical value with a space between the numerical value and symbol.

In Argentina, amounts of Argentine pesos are commonly written using the general dollar currency symbol $, which in addition to being used for all dollar currencies is used for some, but not all peso currencies. When an amount of Argentine pesos is written in Spanish, the most prevalent language in Argentina, using the currency symbol $, the symbol precedes the numerical value with a space between the numerical value and symbol.

When an amount of Argentine pesos is written using the currency symbol Ar$ or one of its variants (Ar.$, Ar $, Ar. $, AR$, AR $, $Ar, $Ar., and $ARG), and when an amount of Argentine pesos is written using the currency symbol Arg$ or one of its variants (Arg.$, Arg $, Arg. $, ARG$, ARG $, $Arg, $Arg., and $ARG) to distinguish Argentine pesos from other peso currencies, the symbol precedes the numerical value with no space between the numerical value and symbol.

One hundredth ( ¹ ⁄ ₁₀₀ ) of an Argentine peso is referred to as a centavo, with the plural form of centavos.

When amounts of Argentine pesos are written in Spanish, the comma that in English separates the thousands place from the hundreds place instead is rendered as a dot (.), and the dot that in English separates the ones place from the tenths place instead is rendered as a comma.

TAXES

The Argentine Constitution establishes that the National Congress shares its legislative powers to tax with the provincial legislatures and with the legislature of the City of Buenos Aires. The federal government has the power to levy income and social taxes.

The Federal Administration of Public Revenue (Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos, abbreviated as AFIP) is responsible for tracking the collection and administration of national income taxes. The Directorate General of Social Security Resources (Dirección General de Recursos de la Seguridad Social, abbreviated as DGRSS), which is part of the AFIP, is in charge of tracking the collection and control of taxes that go towards social security benefits.

The tax year in Argentina is Jan. 1 through Dec. 31.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidance: Employers with up to 60 employees may postpone up to 95% of their social tax deposit due for April 2020. Employers with more than 60 employees may qualify for the postponement.

Employer requirements to access the tax relief include showing that business activities were critically affected by the pandemic, a significant percentage of employees were unable to provide services, and sales were significantly reduced after March 20, 2020.

Employers in Argentina could apply to delay up to 95% of social tax deposits for March to December 2020; payments may be made in up to eight installments with a minimum of ARS 1,000. The program was extended through December under General Resolution 4898/2020, which entered into force Jan. 5, 2021. According to General Resolutions 4854/2020, 4833/2020, 4811/2020, 4788/2020, 4757/2020, 4734/2020, 4711/2020, and 4693/2020, approved postponements of Social Security System (SIPA) payments were due, depending on an employer’s taxpayer identification number (Codigo Unico de Identificacion Tributaria, abbreviated as CUIT), as follows:

Those accrued in March 2020 were due from June 16-18, 2020.
Payments accrued in April 2020 were due from July 16-18, 2020.
Those accrued in May 2020 were due from Aug. 12-14, 2020.
Those accrued in June 2020 were due from Sept. 14-16, 2020.
Those accrued in July 2020 were due from Oct. 14-16, 2020.
Those accrued in August 2020 were due from Nov. 14-16, 2020. The general deadline for filing returns and making payments for August 2020 was also extended to Sept. 14-16, 2020.
Those accrued in September 2020 were due from Dec. 14-16, 2020. The general deadline for filing returns and making payments for September 2020 was also extended to Oct. 14-16, 2020.
Those accrued in October 2020 were due from Jan. 13-15, 2021. The general deadline for filing returns and making payments for October 2020 was also extended to Nov. 12, 13, and 16, 2020.
Those accrued in November 2020 were due from Feb. 10-12, 2021.
Those accrued in December 2020 were due March 11, 12, and 15, 2021.

From May 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, employers participating in the REPRO 2 program are exempted from employer contributions to the Argentine Integrated Pension System for any month for which they participate in the program.

Income Taxes

Argentina has two main taxation systems for individuals that contain various parts, which are the General System for dependent employees and Monotributo (Simplified Regime System), which is mainly for self-employed individuals.

In the Argentine dialect of Spanish, the term “impuesto a las ganancias” refers to income tax in general, even though the Spanish word ganancia when used by itself often refers specifically to profit. As such, in Argentina, the phrase “impuesto a las ganancias sobre asalariados” refers to income tax on employees.

Income tax on employment income often is referred to in Argentina as income tax of the fourth category (impuesto a las ganancias de 4° categoría), which generally includes all compensation provided to an individual in connection to that individual’s employment. Fourth-category income is the fourth of Argentina’s four income categories, with first-category income generally consisting of income derived from ownership, management, or other direct use of land; second-category income generally consisting of capital gains; and third-category income mostly consisting of company profits.

Additionally, personal income taxes as a whole often are referred to in Argentina as Article 90 taxes, or Article 94 taxes, in reference to the article of the country’s income tax law specifying provisions for their calculation. The income tax law was reordered in December 2019, and the former Article 90 became Article 94.

Coverage: An employer in Argentina is defined as anyone that contracts a worker. Employers must withhold income tax and contribute to social taxes for all contracted workers. According to the Income Tax Law, Argentine citizens must pay income tax for their global income. Non-Argentine residents must pay the tax only for the income sourced in Argentina.

Employees: A worker is defined in Argentina as anyone who is completing lawful tasks for remuneration. Residents required to pay taxes include Argentines and naturalized foreigners, foreigners with permanent residence in Argentina or those who have legally resided in the country for 12 months.

Rates and Thresholds: Income tax rates are levied on a progressive scale, with rates ranging from 5% to 35%. In Argentina’s progressive income tax system, portions of an individual’s income are allocated to the country’s personal income tax brackets, and each portion of income allocated to a tax bracket is taxed at the tax rate applicable to that tax bracket.

Effective for 2022, Argentina’s personal income tax rates and minimum and maximum amounts of annual income for each tax bracket are as follows:

Range of Annual Income (Argentine Pesos)	Income Tax Rate
Up to ARS 97,202	5%
More than ARS 97,202 and up to ARS 194,404.01	ARS 4,860.10 plus 9% on the excess above ARS 97,202
More than ARS 194,404.01 and up to ARS 291,606.01	ARS 13,608.28 plus 12% on the excess above ARS 291,606.01
More than ARS 291,606.01 and up to ARS 388,808.02	ARS 25,272.52 plus 15% on the excess above ARS 291,606.01
More than ARS 388,808.02 and up to ARS 583,212.02	ARS 39,852.82 plus 19% on the excess above ARS 388,808.02
More than ARS 583,212.02 and up to ARS 777,616.02	ARS 76,789.58 plus 23% on the excess above ARS 583,212.02
More than ARS 777,616.02 and up to ARS 1,166,424.03	ARS 121,502.50 plus 27% on the excess above ARS 777,616.02
More than ARS 1,166,424.03 and up to ARS 1,555,232.07	ARS 266,480.66 plus 31% on the excess above ARS 1,166,424.03
More than ARS 1,555,232.07	ARS 347,011.16 plus 35% on the excess above ARS 1,555,232.07

Effective for 2021, Argentina’s personal income tax rates and minimum and maximum amounts of annual income for each tax bracket were as follows:

Range of Annual Income (Argentine Pesos)	Income Tax Rate
Up to ARS 64,532.64	5%
More than ARS 64,532.64 and up to ARS 129,065.29	ARS 3,226.63 plus 9% on the excess above ARS 64,532.64
More than ARS 129,065.29 and up to ARS 193,597.93	ARS 9,034.57 plus 12% on the excess above ARS 129,065.29
More than ARS 193,597.93 and up to ARS 258,130.58	ARS 16,778.49 plus 15% on the excess above ARS 193,597.93
More than ARS 258,130.58 and up to ARS 387,195.86	ARS 26,458.39 plus 19% on the excess above ARS 258,130.58
More than ARS 387,195.86 and up to ARS 516,261.14	ARS 50,980.79 plus 23% on the excess above ARS 387,195.86
More than ARS 516,261.14 and up to ARS 774,391.71	ARS 80,665.80 plus 27% on the excess above ARS 516,261.14
More than ARS 774,391.71 and up to ARS 1,032,522.30	ARS 150,361.06 plus 31% on the excess above ARS 774,391.71
More than ARS 1,032,522.30	ARS 230,381.54 plus 35% on the excess above ARS 1,032,522.30

Monthly personal income tax withholding tables for 2022 and 2021 are available from the AFIP.

Article 94 of Argentina’s Income Tax Law specifies the base ranges of income for each personal income tax bracket upon which annual adjustments are based. Starting with personal income tax rates in effect for 2018, the income ranges for each income tax bracket in effect for a year are determined by multiplying the income ranges in effect for the year before that year by the coefficient derived from annual variation of the Average Taxable Compensation of Permanent Workers (Remuneración Imponible Promedio de los Trabajadores Estables, abbreviated as RIPTE) based on change from October of two years before the applicable year for the income range changes to October of the year before the applicable year for the income range changes.

Under Article 30 of Argentina’s Income Tax Law, all individuals in Argentina are eligible to claim a basic personal deduction (deducción personal) from income subject to personal income taxation. The basic personal deduction is commonly referred to by the AFIP simply as nontaxable earnings (ganancias no imponibles). Employees are eligible to claim a special deduction (deducción especial) from employment income instead of the basic personal deduction that is equal to the basic personal deduction plus 3.8 times the basic personal deduction, for a total special deduction from employment income equal to 4.8 times the basic personal deduction. The special deduction from employment income is referred to by the AFIP as the Special Deduction of Article 30, Clause c), Section 2 (Deducción Especial del Artículo 30, Inciso c), Apartado 2). The special deduction from employment income is the same as the special deduction for pensions and some other types of fourth-category income covered in clauses a) to c) of Article 82 of Argentina’s Income Tax Law.

There are standard national amounts of the basic personal deduction and the special deduction from employment income and higher amounts of the basic personal deduction and the special deduction from employment income in effect for employees who work in the Patagonia region of Argentina, also known as the Patagonian Zone (Zona Patagónica). Deductions for employees working in the Patagonian Zone generally are 22% higher than those in effect for employees working in the rest of Argentina, rounded to the nearest centavo. The Patagonian Zone of Argentina, in the context of higher deduction amounts, includes the provinces of Chubut, La Pampa, Neuquén, Río Negro, Santa Cruz, and Tierra del Fuego. In the context of the deductions, the Patagonian Zone also contains one second-order administrative division of Buenos Aires Province known as a partido, and the included partido is the province’s southernmost partido known as Patagones Partido and alternatively known as Carmen de Patagones Partido.

Law No. 27,617, published April 21, 2021, and effective retroactive to Jan. 1, 2021, requires additional amounts to be added to the special deduction from employment income such that employees who make up to ARS 150,000 in monthly salary are exempt from income tax. Employees who make more than ARS 150,000 and up to ARS 173,000 in monthly salary must have amounts specified in an AFIP table added to the special deduction from employment income to lower their tax liability. The changes are further implemented by AFIP General Resolution 5008/2021, which requires employers to file additional returns to report changes for employees affected by Law No. 27,617, and the government is to return excess tax withheld from January to May 2021 in five monthly installments from July to November 2021.

Decree 620/2021, published Sept. 27, 2021, modifies these exemptions from income tax such that employees who make up to ARS 175,000 in monthly salary are exempt from income tax, effective starting Sept. 1, 2021. Employees who make more than ARS 175,000 and up to ARS 203,000 in monthly salary must have amounts specified in an AFIP table added to the special deduction from employment income to lower their tax liability. These changes are further implemented by AFIP General Resolution 5076/2021, which requires employers to file an additional return for September 2021 to report changes based on wages earned in that month and paid before the resolution was published.

Effective for 2022, employees who make up to ARS 225,937 in monthly salary are exempt from income tax. Employees who make more than ARS 225,937 and up to ARS 260,580 must have amounts specified in an AFIP table added to the special deduction from employment income to lower their tax liability.

Effective for 2022, the standard annual basic personal deduction is ARS 252,564.84, and the standard annual special deduction from employment income subject to personal income taxation that employees were able to claim is ARS 1,212,311.24. Effective for 2021, the standard annual basic personal deduction was ARS 167,678.40, and the special deduction from employment income subject to personal income taxation that employees may claim was ARS 804,856.34.

Effective for 2022, the annual basic personal deduction in the Patagonian Zone is ARS 308,129.12, and the standard annual special deduction from employment income subject to personal income taxation that employees may claim is ARS 1,479,012.12. Effective for 2021, the annual basic personal deduction in the Patagonian Zone was ARS 204,567.66, and the standard annual special deduction from employment income subject to personal income taxation that employees may claim was ARS 981,924.74.

For withholding from employment income, the special deduction from employment income is required to be spread over 12 months with monthly accumulation caps of the deduction. The AFIP determines the accumulated amount (importe acumulado) cap of the deduction for one month of employment during a year by dividing that year’s annual special deduction from employment income by 12, resulting in a base accumulated amount that when rounded up to the nearest centavo is the applicable accumulated amount cap for one month. The total accumulated amount cap applicable to employment income paid to an employee during a year is equivalent to the base accumulated amount multiplied by the number of months during that year inclusive of and subsequent to the first month of that year when the employee was paid employment income, rounded up to the nearest centavo. The AFIP releases the accumulated amounts for the special deduction from employment income and other types of deductions for each year, with identifications of the total accumulated amount cap for each month for employees who have been working since January of that year, in a chart often labeled as the Amount of Accumulated Deductions Corresponding to Each Month (Importe de las Deducciónes Acumuladas Correspondientes a Cada Mes). If the document released by the AFIP contains the accumulated amounts connected with the standard annual basic personal deduction and the standard annual special deduction from employment income but not the deductions for the Patagonian Zone, the deductions for the Patagonian Zone can be determined by multiplying the standard amounts by 22% and rounding the results to the nearest centavo.

The charts of 2022 and 2021 accumulated deductions were released by the AFIP.

Registration: Any business initiating economic activity must receive a tax identification number to become registered with the AFIP. There are two key types of tax identification numbers for employers and working individuals, with the applicable number for an individual based on whether the worker performs work for an employer, i.e. a dependent worker, or is self-employed. The Unique Code of Tax Identification (Código Único de Identificación Tributaria, abbreviated as CUIT) generally is for employers, including self-employed individuals, and the Unique Code of Labor Identification (Código Único de Identificación Laboral, abbreviated as CUIL) generally is for dependent workers. Employers may acquire a CUIT online through the AFIP’s Application or Recovery (Solicitud o Recupero) service.

Most individuals will enroll in a type of system within the General System; Monotributo is for the self-employed or small businesses not exceeding an annual gross income of ARS 300,000.

Obtaining a tax identification number and enrolling in the tax system varies within categories depending on whether the worker is native Argentine, naturalized, or a foreign citizen.

Employers and employees must be registered with the AFIP by the time an employment contract begins.

Taxable Amounts: All income, including capital gains, is subject to taxation. This encompasses all remuneration given by an employer, including bonuses.

Effective Jan. 1, 2021, productivity bonuses for employees who earn up to ARS 300,000 per month are exempt from tax up to an annual value of 40% of the annual personal allowance. Employees who earn up to ARS 150,000 per month were exempt from tax on the first installment of the 13th-month bonus paid in 2021, and employees who earn up to ARS 175,000 per month are exempt from tax on the second installment of the 13th-month bonus paid in 2021.

Effective 90 days after Argentina emerges from quarantine, amounts paid to remote workers to cover additional expenses related to working from home are exempt from income tax.

Withholding Methods: Tax is withheld by the employer at the time of remuneration (from each employee’s paycheck). Employers are responsible for receiving a withholding certification and supplying the AFIP with necessary documentation. Withholding amounts can be determined per employee based on salary and family allowances.

Amounts of applicable pretax deductions and tax deduction tables for performing withholding at source on employment income paid to employees are available from a webpage of the AFIP Employees can track how an employer is withholding their income by logging into their AFIP account.

Employees must use Form 572 to inform employers of pretax deductions from wages that they want to claim and that would affect withholding of tax from their employment income, and must file the form online. The online system through which employees must provide information to employers regarding income tax deductions to be applied to tax withholding from their wages is SiRADIG, which is an acronym for the Spanish phrase Sistema de Registro y Actualización de Deducciones del Impuesto a las Ganancias, which translates to System of Registration and Update of Income Tax Deductions. The Form 572 filed through this system also is known as an F. 572 Web. Employees must file a Form 572 upon the commencement of their employment and for each year must file a Form 572 by March 31 of the following year. The pretax data that employees file on the form, even if filed by March 31 following the reported year, still can timely affect the employer’s annual income tax settlement of withheld income tax in conjunction with the employer’s filing of Form 1357, which must be filed by the last business day of April and is further detailed in the Returns and Remittance subsection below. Workers may file the form by logging into the AFIP account, clicking their My Services (Mis Servicios) tab, selecting the Siradig Worker (Siradig Trabajador) option, and completing steps available from that option.

Effective since May 22, 2019, in conjunction with filing Form 572, employees that during a year had income of least ARS 1.5 million must also report to the AFIP for that year details regarding the values of their assets as of Dec. 31 of that year. Effective until May 21, 2019, in conjunction with filing Form 572, employees that during a year had income of least ARS 1 million needed to also report to the AFIP for that year details regarding the values of their assets as of Dec. 31 of that year.

Returns and Remittance: The AFIP establishes the due dates for filing tax returns and paying unpaid balances arising from the income tax. The payments can be made through a bank deposit or an electronic transfer.

An employer must submit to AFIP an annual income tax return including withholding amounts, tax-free income, and any other taxes. Employers must file Form 1357, Income Tax Settlement - 4th Category Relationship of Dependence (Liquidación Impuesto a las Ganancias 4ta. Categoría Relación de Dependencia) by the last business day of April following the reported year. The name of the form references dependence because dependent work as used in this context is synonymous with employment.

Employers must electronically submit Form 1357 to the government. The form may be electronically submitted using the AFIP’s tool known as Presentation of Sworn Statements and Payments (Presentación de Declaraciones Juradas y Pagos, abbreviated as Presentación de DDJJ y Pagos). Employers may file the form by logging into their AFIP account, clicking their Mis Servicios tab, selecting the Presentación de DDJJ y Pagos option, and completing steps available from that option. Form 1357 due the last day of April of the year following the reported year. After the employer or another withholding agent (agente de retención) submits Form 1357, employees can access through their AFIP account the details filed on Form 1357 that pertain to them. Employers must ensure that each employee receives a copy of the Form 1357 data that the employer filed regarding the employee, and the employer must retain a copy of the data.

Income tax payments to the government are made in five advanced installments, or every two months. Employees can submit returns and view due dates through a table on the AFIP website. After selecting the appropriate month and selecting “impuesto de las ganancias” (income tax), due dates according to an employee’s personal tax identification number appear.

Payments for June and December are higher as the Christmas Bonus (Aguinaldo) is taken into account these months.

Employee Share Plans: Employee stock options are taxable based on their discount price upon exercise. Employers must withhold income taxes on the difference between the difference in the price employees paid for the shares and the price they received upon selling them. Employers must apply the same tax rates, and returns and remittance methods as those applied to normal salary payments in withholding income taxes from the share option plans.

Recordkeeping: Tax records must generally be kept for a minimum of five years.

Penalties: Any taxpayer who fails to submit a return or submits inaccurate returns is subject to a fine between 50% and 100% on the amount of the tax omitted, not withheld, or not timely collected.

In the case of fraudulent tax returns, an individual can be fined by two to 10 times the amount of the evaded tax.

Persons or establishments not registered with the AFIP to file taxes when it is necessary or who do not keep the correct bills and vouchers on file are subject to fines up to a maximum of ARS 45,000.

Civil and criminal penalties, including prison time, are imposed by courts whereas administrative penalties are imposed without the need for court action.

Social Taxes

The Directorate General of Social Security Resources (Dirección General de Recursos de la Seguridad Social, abbreviated as DGRSS), which is part of the AFIP, is in charge of tracking the collection and control of funds that finance social security benefits. The DGRSS also tracks the distribution of payments and contributions through organizations such as the National Administration of Social Security (Administracion Nacional de la Seguridad Social, abbreviated as ANSES), in addition to submitting fines, penalties, assessments of trade, and debt settlement in administrative or judicial sanctions. ANSES is in control of administering funds for national regime pensions, subsidies, and family allowances. Individuals must be registered within ANSES and have a tax identification number to enroll for benefits and receive them.

Argentina’s Social Security system often is referred to as the Unified Social Security System (Sistema Único de la Seguridad Social, abbreviated as SUSS). The primary five SUSS programs financed through payroll-related assessments are the:

Argentine Integrated Pension System (Sistema Integrado Previsional Argentino, abbreviated as SIPA);
National Institute of Social Services for Retirees and Pensioners (Instituto Nacional de Servicios Sociales para Jubilados y Pensionados, abbreviated as INSSJP and as INSSJyP), which also is known as the Comprehensive Medical Assistance Program (Programa de Asistencia Médica Integral, abbreviated as PAMI);
National Employment Fund (Fondo Nacional de Empleo, abbreviated as FNE) that helps unemployed individuals and functions as an unemployment insurance progam;
Family Allowances Regime (Régimen de Asignaciones Familiares, abbreviated as AAFF); and
National Social Work Regime (Régimen Nacional de Obras Sociales, abbreviated as OS), which is a health insurance system.

Worker’s compensation exists for individuals who become injured or ill in the course of performing their employment activities. Argentina’s workers’ compensation system also includes benefits for disability and death. Employers are obligated to acquire Labor Risk Insurance (Aseguradoras de Riesgos de Trabajo, abbreviated as ART) to cover accidents and sicknesses that occur in the course of employment. Employers are responsible for the cost of medical treatment and prescriptions for individuals who became injured or ill in the course of employment. The Job Hazard System, a part of the Social Security System, offers two types of benefits for affected employees: cash benefits and benefits of service. ART plans vary with regard to monthly premiums charged to employers to cover workers’ compensation benefits.

Employers of employees covered by Collective Labor Agreement 130/75 (Convención colectiva de trabajo 130/75), which covers employees in many industry sectors in Argentina, are required to pay a monthly contribution to fund the Argentine Institute of Professional and Technological Training (Instituto Argentino de Capacitación Profesional y Tecnológica, abbreviated as INACAP). Industry sectors covered by the agreement are identified in Chapter 2 (Capítulo II) and Chapter 3 (Capítulo III) of the agreement.

Coverage: Employers are obligated to enroll employees for social benefits.

Rates and Thresholds: The total social tax rate assessed on employees is 17% up to a maximum monthly amount of wages, and employees’ social tax payments must be withheld from their wages. The total rate of 17% includes, from an employee’s salary, a rate of 11% for the Argentine Integrated Pension System, a rate of 3% for the National Institute of Social Services for Retirees and Pensioners, and a rate of 3% for health insurance as part of the National Social Work Regime. Each employee is assessed an additional health insurance contribution of 1.5% for each of the employee’s dependants, other than a spouse or children, who are eligible for health insurance through the employee.

New hire reduction: Effective for employment relationships that start from Sept. 1, 2021, to Aug. 31, 2022, employers may benefit from reductions of employer social taxes, except to the National Social Work Regime, for newly-hired employees who are participating in specified training programs or did so in the 12 months before hiring. The hiring must also result in an increase of the number of the employer’s employees compared to August 2021. The reduction lasts for the first 12 months of the employment relationship. The amount of the reduction is 95% of applicable social taxes for female, transgender, or disabled workers and 90% for male workers.

Reduction for northern provinces: Effective for employment relationships that start from April 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, employers in specified industries (Spanish) may benefit from reductions of employer social taxes, except to the National Social Work Regime, for newly-hired employees in the provinces of Catamarca, Chaco, Corrientes, Formosa, Jujuy, La Rioja, Misiones, Salta, Santiago del Estero, and Tucumán. The hiring must result in an increase of the number of the employer’s employees compared to March 2021. The reduction lasts for the first three years of the employment relationship. The amount of the reduction for female or transgender workers is 80% of applicable social taxes for the first 12 months of the employment relationship, 55% for the second 12 months, and 30% for the third 12 months. For male workers, the reduction is 70% for the first 12 months, 45% for the second 12 months, and 20% for the third 12 months.

There is a maximum monthly amount of wages paid to each employee upon which the employee may be assessed social taxes. Employees also are subject to two separate minimum monthly tax bases for social tax assessments, with the minimum monthly tax bases differentiated based on the types of social taxes to which they apply. If an employee’s compensation for a month was less than the applicable minimum monthly tax base, the employee’s compensation for the month would be treated as having been the minimum monthly tax base for calculations of social taxes. The minimum monthly tax base for National Social Work Regime taxes is twice the minimum monthly tax base in effect for other types of social taxes. Effective starting with 2018, the maximum monthly amount of taxable wages and minimum monthly tax bases for assessments of social taxes on employees typically are subject to adjustment each March 1, June 1, Sept. 1, and Dec. 1.

The applicable maximum and minimum taxable amounts for the most recent seven periods of three months for which data are available are as follows:

Effective from Dec. 1, 2021, to Feb. 28, 2022, the maximum monthly amount of employment income paid to an employee upon which social taxes may be assessed on the employee is ARS 318,103.83, the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees of social taxes other than those for the National Social Work Regime is ARS 9,787.95, and the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees for the National Social Work Regime is ARS 19,575.90;
Effective from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30, 2021, the maximum monthly amount of employment income paid to an employee upon which social taxes may be assessed on the employee was ARS 283,742.60, the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees of social taxes other than those for the National Social Work Regime is ARS 8,730.67, and the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 17,461.34;
Effective from June 1 to Aug. 31, 2021, the maximum monthly amount of employment income paid to an employee upon which social taxes may be assessed on the employee was ARS 252,462.50, the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees of social taxes other than those for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 7,768.19, and the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 15,536.38;
Effective from March 1, 2021, to May 31, 2021, the maximum monthly amount of employment income paid to an employee upon which social taxes may be assessed on the employee was ARS 225,171.69, the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees of social taxes other than those for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 6,928.46, and the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 13,856.92;
Effective from Dec. 1, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021, the maximum monthly amount of employment income paid to an employee upon which social taxes may be assessed on the employee was ARS 208,357.30, the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees of social taxes other than those for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 6,411.08, and the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 12,822.16;
Effective from Sept. 1, 2020, to Nov. 30, 2020, the maximum monthly amount of employment income paid to an employee upon which social taxes may be assessed on the employee was ARS 198,435.52, the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees of social taxes other than those for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 6,105.79, and the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 12,211.58;
Effective from June 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2020, the maximum monthly amount of employment income paid to an employee upon which social taxes may be assessed on the employee was ARS 184,591.18, the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees of social taxes other than those for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 5,679.80, and the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 11,359.60;
Effective from March 1, 2020, to May 31, 2020, the maximum monthly amount of employment income paid to an employee upon which social taxes may be assessed on the employee was ARS 173,945.70, the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees of social taxes other than those for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 5,352.24, and the minimum monthly tax base for assessments on employees for the National Social Work Regime was ARS 10,704.48;

An employer’s total social security contribution rate is dependent on the type of employer, and an employer’s total monthly social security contribution equals its social security contribution rate multiplied by the total amount of wages paid to employees in a month. Rates among employers in the private sector vary based on the nature of their business.

Effective since Jan. 1, 2018, private employers are assessed a unified contribution rate for funding the Argentine Integrated Pension System, the National Institute of Social Services for Retirees and Pensioners, the National Employment Fund, and the Family Allowances Regime. Effective until Dec. 31, 2017, private employers were assessed separate contribution rates for each of four SUSS programs: the Argentine Integrated Pension System, the National Institute of Social Services for Retirees and Pensioners, the National Employment Fund, and the Family Allowances Regime.

Employers also are assessed a contribution rate for funding the National Social Work Regime.

Private-sector employers in general: Effective for 2022, unchanged from 2021, private-sector employers generally are assessed a total social security contribution rate of 24%, consisting of a rate of 18% to fund the Argentine Integrated Pension System, the National Institute of Social Services for Retirees and Pensioners, the National Employment Fund, and the Family Allowances Regime; and a rate of 6% to fund the National Social Work Regime.

Applicable private-sector employers engaged in commercial services: Effective starting with 2020, employers are subject to an increased social security contribution rate if their total annual sales exceed the maximum threshold to be categorized as a medium-sized company, category 2 (empresa mediana tramo 2), in the commercial or service industries, as defined and periodically adjusted by the Ministry of Production (Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo). The thresholds in effect since April 1, 2021, are ARS 3,698,270,000 for the commercial industry and ARS 940,220,000 for the service industry. The thresholds in effect from June 24, 2020, to March 31, 2021, were ARS 2,602,540,000 for the commercial industry and ARS 705,790,000 for the service industry.

Effective for 2022, unchanged from 2021, the total social security contribution rate for these employers is 26.4%, consisting of a rate of 20.4% to fund the Argentine Integrated Pension System, the National Institute of Social Services for Retirees and Pensioners, the National Employment Fund, and the Family Allowances Regime; and a rate of 6% to fund the National Social Work Regime.

Public-sector employers: Effective for 2022, unchanged from 2021, public-sector employers are assessed a total contribution rate of 24%, which consists of a rate of 18% for the Argentine Integrated Pension System, the National Institute of Social Services for Retirees and Pensioners, the National Employment Fund, and the Family Allowances Regime; and a rate of 6% to fund the National Social Work Regime.

Deductions: Effective starting with payments for December 2019 made in January 2020, ARS 7,003.68 of monthly income paid to each employee is exempt from employer social tax contributions, except that ARS 17,509.20 is exempt for employees in certain industries, including textiles, clothing, footwear, leather goods, healthcare, and other agricultural and industrial employees. Employers with up to 25 employees are entitled to an additional deduction of ARS 10,000, which is subtracted from the total amount of employer contributions calculated for a period.

Effective for 2019, the amount of monthly income paid to each employee that was exempt from social tax contributions was ARS 4,800.

Taxable income for SUSS programs: For employer social tax contributions, there is no maximum taxable amount of employment income per employee, and the minimum monthly tax base in effect for employees for the Argentine Integrated Pension System generally also is in effect for the social taxes assessed on employers, except the minimum monthly tax base for National Social Work Regime contributions assessed on employers is twice the minimum monthly tax base in effect for other types of social taxes.

Assessments for INACAP: Employers are required to pay a monthly assessment to fund the Argentine Institute of Professional and Technological Training (Instituto Argentino de Capacitación Profesional y Tecnológica, abbreviated as INACAP), and the assessment is based on their number of employees in industries covered by Collective Labor Agreement 130/75. In general, the monthly assessment payable by an employer per covered employee is 0.5% of a basic monthly amount, with the amount due per employee for a month referred to as the INACAP fee (cuota INACAP). The applicable basic monthly amounts per employee for each month upon which the rate of 0.5% is multiplied, and the actual INACAP fee due per employee for each month, are available from INACAP’s salary agreements webpage. The applicable documents detailing the aforementioned data all are labeled as fee (cuota) documents.

Registration: Employers are responsible for enrolling their employees in SIPA through AFIP and registering their social taxes to be dispersed by organizations such as ANSES (for retirement) and ART (for workers’ compensation). Employees are able to access statements and make sure their taxes are being properly withheld through logging into the AFIP website.

Taxable Amounts: All types of income, including capital gains, are subject tot taxation. Argentine sources of taxable income includes all remuneration paid by an employer, including bonuses.

Returns and Remittance: The AFIP establishes the due dates for filing tax returns and paying unpaid balances arising from tax. The payments can be made through a bank deposit or an electronic transfer.

Employers must file Form 931 to report data regarding their social tax liability and payments, and must electronically submit the form to AFIP. The form must be submitted using the AFIP system known as SiCOSS, whose name is an abbreviation of Sistema de Cálculo de Obligaciones de la Seguridad Social, which translates to Social Security Obligations Calculation System. This system also is known as the Online Declaration system (el sistema Declaración en Línea).

An employer’s due date for submitting Form 931 is the same as the employer’s due date for submitting social taxes other than INACAP assessments to the AFIP. The social tax filing and payment due date applicable to an employer is based on the last digit of the employer’s tax identification number known as a Unique Code of Tax Identification (Código Único de Identificación Tributaria, abbreviated as CUIT). In general, with regard to paying social taxes due for a month and filing the Form 931 for that month detailing payment of those social taxes, the filing and payment due date for an employer whose CUIT ends in the number:

0, 1, 2, or 3 is the seventh day of the following month when excluding Saturdays and Sundays;
4, 5, or 6 is the eighth day of the following month when excluding Saturdays and Sundays; and
7, 8, or 9 is the ninth day of the following month when excluding Saturdays and Sundays.

In general, the aforementioned timing conditions cause the seventh applicable day of the following month to be the ninth, 10th, or 11th day of the following month as a whole, with the eighth and ninth applicable days of the month determined based on whether either of the two days that follow the seventh applicable day is a Saturday or Sunday. For example, in May 2019, the 0-1-2-3 due date was Thursday, May 9 because this was the seventh day of the month when excluding Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5; the 4-5-6 due date was Friday, May 10 because this was the eighth day of the month when excluding Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5; and the 7-8-9 due date was Monday, May 13 because this was the ninth day of the month when excluding Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5 during the first weekend of the month and Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 12 during the second weekend of the month.

The specific due dates in the current month are available from the AFIP’s Selected Due Dates (Vencimientos Seleccionados) webpage. This webpage lists the due dates for numerous types of taxation, and the applicable set of due dates is the set listed for the National Regimes of Social Security and Social Works: Integrated System of Retirement and Pensions - Inputs and Contributions (Regimenes Nacionales de la Seguridad Social y Obras Sociales: Sistema Integrado de Jubilaciones y Pensiones - Aportes y Contribuciones).

INACAP assessments for a month must be paid by the 15th day of the following month. Fee (cuota) notices on INACAP’s website indicate the institutions to which the INACAP assessments may be paid, among which is the National Bank of Argentina (Banco de la Nación Argentina).

Recordkeeping: Records must be kept for a minimum of five years.

Penalties: The complete or partial lack of payment of taxes, withholding taxes, advances and other payments may be punishable by a fine of ARS 2,500.

Simple evasion from paying social security taxes is punishable by a minimum of two years and a maximum of six years of imprisonment if the evaded amount exceeds ARS 20,000 for each period. Aggravated evasion from paying social taxes holds a punishment of three years and six months and up to nine years of imprisonment if the evaded amount exceeds ARS 100,000 for each period. Misappropriation of social security taxes is punishable by up to six years of imprisonment if the unpaid amount exceeds ARS 5,000 for each period.

Other Taxes

Argentina’s national government does not assess any taxes on employment income other than those covered in the Income Taxes and Social Taxes sections of this primer.

State/Jurisdiction Taxes

Employees who work in Argentina’s Patagonian Zone are eligible for a higher special deduction from employment income than employees who work in other parts of Argentina. More information about the Patagonian Zone’s higher special deduction from employment income is available in the Rates and Thresholds subsection of the Income Taxes section of this primer.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Argentina’s labor law and related regulations have established requirements for minimum wage, overtime work, normal hours of work, holidays, leave, wage payment, bonuses, termination pay, and workers’ compensation.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidance: Employers were banned from firing or suspending workers without just cause, or because of a decrease in business activity or force majeure, until Dec. 31, 2021. The dismissal ban was first introduced in March 2020 with the start of a nationwide lockdown for the coronavirus pandemic.

Additionally, employers were required to pay terminated staff double the normal levels of compensation until Dec. 31, 2021; however, the maximum amount of doubled compensation that may be required to be paid is ARS 500,000.

Effective from March 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2021, qualified frontline workers, including workers in private health systems, were exempt from income taxes on pay for mandatory shifts, overtime, or any other work time related to Covid-19. Proof of those duties must be provided through payslips or equivalent documents labeling payments “Exemption for Covid-19 Health Emergency” (Exención por Emergencia Sanitaria COVID-19).

The REPRO 2 program allows employers in listed sectors to apply for payments to be made to employees; however, employers must apply separately for each month they wish to participate. The amount of the payment ranges from ARS 9,000 to 22,000 per employee per month, depending on if the employer is in a non-critical or critical affected sector or the healthcare sector. Exact criteria for applying are specified by the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security each month. However, after applying, employers are then selected to participate based on additional criteria related to the business’s condition, with the relevant comparison period depending on the criteria used.

Hotels in the cities of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, El Calafete, Mendoza, Rosario, San Miguel de Tucumán, and Ushuaia can apply for a wage-subsidy program similar to REPRO 2, and accessed through a REPRO 2 application, until March 31, 2022. Employers participating in this program receive the social tax reductions associated with REPRO 2.

Minimum Wage

Effective starting Feb. 1, 2022, the monthly minimum wage is ARS 33,000. Effective from Oct. 1, 2021, to Jan. 31, 2022, the monthly minimum wage was ARS 32,000.

Effective for September 2021, the monthly minimum wage was ARS 31,104. Effective for August 2021, the monthly minimum wage was ARS 28,080. Effective for July 2021, the monthly minimum wage was ARS 27,216. Effective for June 2021, the monthly minimum wage was ARS 25,572. Effective for May 2021, the monthly minimum wage was ARS 24,408. Effective for April 2021, the monthly minimum wage was ARS 23,544. Effective for March 2021, the monthly minimum wage was ARS 21,600. Effective from Dec. 1, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021, the monthly minimum wage was ARS 20,587.50. Effective from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, 2020, the monthly minimum wage was ARS 18,900. Effective from Oct. 1, 2019, to Sept. 30, 2020, the monthly minimum wage was ARS 16,875.

Overtime

Overtime is paid for an employee working more than 48 hours a week. Overtime work is remunerated at 1.5 times the normal rate of pay, and at two times the normal rate of pay on holidays, Sundays, and after 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Overtime work cannot exceed 3 hours per day, 30 hours per month, or 200 hours per year.

Hours of Work

Nationally, law prohibits workers from exceeding eight hours in a day or 48 hours in a week for all employees in public and private establishments, including employees who do not receive remuneration. An average work week is 45 hours including five hours on Saturday. Night work is defined as work between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Employees working at night cannot work more than seven hours in a 24 hour period. Employees working in unhealthy jobs, defined as subject to toxic fumes or dust, cannot work more than six hours in a 24 hour period or 36 hours in a week.

A law taking effect 90 days after Argentina emerges from quarantine ensures that remote workers will receive the same rights as in-office employees. Hours for remote workers may vary but must be in accordance with in-office hours and agreed to in written employment contracts. Remote workers have the right to disconnect outside of working hours and during leave and cannot be penalized for disconnecting during that time.

Holidays

Argentina’s required paid holidays are:

Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
Carnaval (Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday; marks the beginning of Lent)
March 24: National Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice
Good Friday
April 2: Día del Veterano y de los Caídos en la Guerra de Malvinas (Day of the Veterans and Fallen of the Falkland Islands War)
May 1: Labor Day
May 25: Day of the May Revolution
June 17: General Martín Miguel de Güemes Day
June 20: General Manuel Belgrano Day
July 9: Independence Day
August 17: Anniversary of the Death of General José de San Martín
Oct. 12: Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity (Columbus Day)
Nov. 20: Day of National Sovereignty
Dec. 8: Immaculate Conception
Dec. 25: Christmas Day

The holidays commemorating General Martín Miguel de Güemes and General José de San Martín, the Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity, and National Sovereignty Day are known as transferable holidays (feriados nacionales trasladables) and move to the previous Monday if they fall on Tuesday or Wednesday or the next Monday if they fall on Thursday or Friday. However, starting with 2022, a transferable holiday will not be moved to a Monday if it were to overlap with another holiday.

Jewish employees receive paid leave for the first two days and last two days of Passover, two days of Rosh Hashanah, and one day of Yom Kippur.

Muslim employees receive paid leave for Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and Islamic New Year.

The government may also declare up to three additional holidays per year, often called tourist bridge holidays or holidays for tourism purposes (días feriados con fines turísticos), in order to promote tourism throughout the country and create long weekends when public holidays fall on Tuesday or Thursday.

Effective for 2022, tourist bridge holidays are scheduled for Oct. 7, Nov. 21, and Dec. 9. Effective for 2021, tourist bridge holidays were scheduled for May 24, Oct. 8, and Nov. 22.

Leave

The amount of paid annual leave an employee is entitled to depends on how long they have worked with their current employer. For employees who have worked with an employer for less than five years, 14 days of vacation is paid. For an employee who has been with an employer for between five and 10 years, 21 days of vacation is paid. For an employee who has been with an employer between 10 and 20 years, 28 days of vacation is paid. For an employee who has worked with an employer for more than 20 years, 35 days of vacation is paid for. If a worker has not been with an employer long enough to accrue vacation days, one day off for every 20 days of work is offered. Employers are required to grant vacation days between the Oct. 1 and April 30 of the following year.

Sick leave: Employees are able to take up to three months off a year as paid sick leave if they have been at the same place of employment for less than five years. If an employee has been with an employer for over five years, six months of paid sick leave can be taken. If an employee is in charge of a family, the period for sick leave can be extended to six months per year if the employee has worked for less than five years and twelve months for an employee with over five years of experience at the same place of work.

Paternity Leave: Employees are granted two days of paid time of for the birth of a child.

Marriage leave: Employees are granted 10 days of paid time of when they are first married.

Bereavement Leave: Employees are granted three days of paid leave for the death of a spouse, concubine, child or parent in addition to one day of paid leave for the death of a sibling.

University Exams: Employees can take two days at a time and up to 10 days in a year of paid leave for the purpose of taking University exams.

Maternity leave: Women are allowed to take a paid leave from work 45 days before and 45 days immediately after the birth of a child. This leave is paid through the social security funds, or SIPA. Women can request to minimize this time off to a minimum of 30 days before and after a birth. In the case of pre-term births, women can take off more than 45 days after the birth in order to fulfill the full 90 days off. Women are guaranteed employment stability during a pregnancy are entitled to continue working after giving birth with the same conditions as prior to the pregnancy. In addition, women are able to request more time off after birth for a period between three and six months, which is seen as a leave of absence (not paid by the employer). For up to a year after giving birth, women are allowed to take two daily breaks for 30 minutes each for the purpose of breastfeeding.

Wage Payment

Employees can be paid by time worked (hours, days, months, etc.) or by the amount of work completed. Remuneration can be either a sum of money or up to 20% of all remuneration can be paid through covering the cost of housing or utilities.

For payments being made in cash, employers are required to make the deposit in the employee’s name to a bank that has an ATM no more than two kilometers away from the place of work in an urban area or no more than 10 kilometers away from the place of work in a rural area. Services for depositing and receiving funds from a place of work must be of no cost to the employee.

Employees are remunerated at different times depending on the nature of their work. For an employee that is paid monthly, paychecks are to be delivered at the end of the month. For an employee that is paid daily or hourly, paychecks are to be delivered at the end of each week or biweekly. For an employee that is paid based on work completed, a paycheck is to be delivered at the end of the week or biweekly for all work completed in that time frame. Employers are required to deliver a paycheck within four days of the pay period ending for employees paid monthly or biweekly and within three days for workers paid weekly.

Bonuses and Special Benefits

Employers are required to pay their employees a bonus each year called an Aguinaldo, which is a Christmas bonus. The bonus must be paid in two installments, one on June 30 and one on Dec. 31. The part of the Aguinaldo due to an employee on June 30 of a year, as is applicable to the part due Dec. 31 of that year, is calculated as 50% of the employee’s highest monthly remuneration during that year.

Termination Pay

Notice periods are as follows:

If an employee is terminated during the three month probationary period, two weeks notice is required
If an employee has worked with an employer for less than five years, one month notice is required
If an employee has worked with an employer for more than five years, two months notice is required

An employee is only required to give 15 days notice at any time to terminate work. If an employer or employee fail to abide by these time frames, they are subject to paying the amount of salary that would be accumulated during that time period. However, employers are not required to provide any remuneration for employees terminated within the three month probationary period.

If an employee is fired without just cause after three months of service, the employee has the right to be paid one month of salary for every year that he worked, with working during a year for a period of more than three months treated as a year for this calculation. Employers must calculate this indemnification payment based on the worker’s average monthly salary when the worker was employed, although if the worker’s average monthly salary was greater than the adjusted agreement average (three times the average monthly salary of all the salaries listed on the collective bargaining agreement to which the worker is a party), the adjusted agreement average would be used for calculating the indemnification payment. The collective bargaining agreement salary averages are published by the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security on its compensation caps webpage.

If an employee has a contracted position that ends, a termination pay of one month’s salary for each year worked and part of a year greater than three months (only if the employee worked for more than one year) is awarded.

For those workers retiring, employers are required to continue paying the employee until they begin receiving their retirement fund. At that point, they are no longer required to offer remuneration.

Workers’ Compensation

See more information about Workers’ Compensation through “ART” (Aseguradoras de Riesgos de Trabajo) under social taxes.

Recordkeeping

All records regarding compensation and benefits must be kept for a minimum of five years.

FOREIGN WORKERS

There are three different types of residencies that foreigners can apply for when moving to Argentina for work: permanent, temporary, and transitory. Only workers with permanent or temporary resident are qualified to work for a company in Argentina. Employees with permanent residency or temporary residency for a period of time greater than or equal to 12 months are subject to the same tax laws as resident Argentines.

Visas: Employees with citizenship from a MERCOSUR member country (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Guyana and Surinam) have different obligations to meet to become either a permanent or temporary resident than citizens coming from other countries including the United States.

For an employee from the United States, a work visa can be obtained from an Argentine consulate or consular section with the appropriate materials, which include an Entry Permit issued by the Argentine immigration authority (a fairly complicated process usually handled by the Argentine employer, a company’s branch office in Argentina, or an Argentine immigration lawyer), and a contract of employment corresponding to Argentine labor laws. This contract will state the terms and conditions of employment that will apply in Argentina. Both the employer and the employee must agree that the contract will not enter into force until the employee is fully authorized to work by the Argentine immigration authority. The employer’s signature must be certified by a notary public in Argentina and authenticated by the “colegio de escribanos.” Additionally, the employee must sign the contract in the presence of the Consulate.

For intra-company transfers, and employee must present a letter from his employer in the U.S. confirming that he is currently employed at the company and is going to work in Argentina for a parent, affiliate, subsidiary or branch office of the U.S. employer. The letter must be duly signed by the person in charge and notarized.

For a long-term working visa, an employee will need the employer to also provide a comprehensive set of information; including legal status, insurance, social security, and tax information of the company.

Taxes: Argentina has an agreement with Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Greece, Spain, Paraguay, and Portugal that allow citizens of these countries working in Argentina to be removed from the mandatory tax withholding for retirement and pension services. All foreign workers must apply for a tax identification number to be enrolled in an Argentine payroll system.

Permanent and temporary residents in Argentina for 12 months or longer are subject to the same income taxation and withholding rates and reporting requirements as native Argentines.

Wages/Payments: If money is dispersed to a subsidiary location in Argentina, each employee paid by that amount must receive remuneration in Argentine pesos. A conversion will be done based on current exchange rates done by the National Bank of Argentina at the end of the day that the transaction is made.

WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES

Foreign workers from Argentina must meet general visa requirements and be certified to be employed in the United States. General visa requirements for the U.S. are included in the separate

U.S. employers also must check the names of all new-hires and employees against the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Because OFAC prohibits financial transactions with individuals on the list, employers cannot employ them and may face fines for failing to comply.

Argentine workers are eligible to work in the U.S. under H-2B visas, which cover labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature in occupations other than agriculture or registered nursing. The number of H-2B visas issued each year is limited by U.S. law.

For tax purposes, Argentines are subject to U.S. employment-based taxation on income earned in the U.S. unless they work under specific visa types that exempt earnings from taxes.

State and local taxation of Argentine workers also can apply, although some states within the U.S. recognize international tax treaties that can eliminate that income tax liability for foreign workers.

The U.S. labor laws apply to all workers employed and providing services in the country.

Work eligibility as an employee is contingent upon Department of Homeland Security and Labor Department approval and the employee receiving a U.S. Social Security number from the Social Security Administration.

Tax Residency: In general, employees working in the U.S. on a temporary basis are considered nonresidents for tax purposes unless they qualify for resident status. Employees can be granted permanent resident status through the so-called green card test or if they meet the substantial presence test under the U.S. tax code. More information on these requirements is in the

Permanent residents are subject to U.S. tax requirements the same as U.S. citizens and are taxed under the U.S. system on their worldwide earnings.

Income Taxes: Generally, nonresidents in the U.S. who are from Argentina and are working in the U.S. are subject to U.S. taxes based on their U.S.-sourced income. Income is taxed differently based on whether it is categorized as wage income or nonwage income, which includes interest and dividends.

A Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, must be filed by each employee with their employer. All nonresidents in the U.S. who are from Argentina and are working in the U.S. must claim “single” in Step 1c, regardless of marital status; write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” in the space under Step 4c of the form; and may not claim “exempt” in the space under Step 4c.

Nonresident alien employees may adjust withholding using Step 2b or 2c of the Form W-4; certain employees also may be able to use Steps 3, 4a, or 4b. More information about Form W-4 requirements for nonresident alien employees is available in the

Although the versions of Form W-4 issued in 2020 or later significantly differ from the versions issued in 2019 or earlier, nonresident employees that filed a valid version of Form W-4 from 2019 or earlier with their employer do not need to file another Form W-4 with the employer unless they need to implement a change for their withholding. On Forms W-4 issued in 2019 or earlier, nonresident alien employees were required to check the “single” box on line 3, regardless of marital status; write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” above the dotted line on line 6; and were not permitted to claim “exempt” on line 7 of the form.

An additional amount is added to a nonresident alien employee’s wages for calculating federal income tax withholding, with the amount based on pay period frequency and the date of the employee’s most recently filed Form W-4. The table of additional amounts applicable to Forms W-4 from 2020 or later and the table applicable to Forms W-4 issued before 2020 are available in the

Nonwage income and self-employed foreign workers can be subject to income tax withholding at a flat rate of 30%. Additionally, foreign workers may be taxed differently based on the specific type of visa they hold.

Tax treaties: Argentina and the U.S. do not have a tax treaty.

Social Taxes: Most foreign workers are subject to paying into the U.S. Social Security system. Foreign nationals who are exempt from paying income tax and who do not have the eligibility to receive a social security number may not be required to pay social taxes. Foreign workers contributing to Social Security for a certain time period may be eligible to receive benefits.

Generally, foreign workers in the U.S. that have specific visas as exchange visitors or students or who are temporarily in the U.S. for agricultural work are not subject to social taxes on income that is obtained from the purpose in which they originally entered the United States.

Totalization Agreements: Argentina and the U.S. have not entered into a social tax totalization agreement.

Wage Payment: Under certain visas for certain types of employment, employers are required to pay foreign workers the higher of either the prevailing wage or the actual wage that is paid to U.S. workers that have similar skills and qualifications.

There are no particular requirements that employees be paid in U.S. dollars.

TREATY ARRANGEMENTS

Argentina has entered into more than 15 income tax treaties, but has not entered into an income tax treaty with the United States. Argentina has more than 25 totalization agreements for social tax coverage purposes, but does not have an agreement with the United States.

Argentina’s tax treaties are available in

RESOURCES

All resources in English unless otherwise noted.

General

U.S. State Department: U.S. Relations With Argentina

CIA World Factbook: Argentina

Government of Argentina: Country Guide (Spanish)

Currency Details

International Organization for Standardization: Currency Codes - ISO 4217

Unicode Consortium: Currency Symbols

United Nations: United Nations Terminology Database: Argentina

Taxes

Federal Administration of Public Revenue (AFIP): (Spanish)

AFIP General Resolution 3960/2016 (Spanish)
AFIP General Resolution 4003/2017 (Spanish)
AFIP General Resolution 4396/2019 (Spanish)
AFIP General Resolution 4493/2019 (Spanish)
AFIP General Resolution 4854/2020 (Spanish)
AFIP General Resolution 5008/2021 (Spanish)

Decree 332/2020 (Spanish)

Argentina Income Tax Law (Spanish)

Law No. 23,272 (Spanish)

Law No. 27,541 (Spanish)

Law No. 27,617 (Spanish)

Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Social Security: Decree 323/2021 (Spanish)

Decree 493/2021 (Spanish)

Decree 620/2021 (Spanish) and AFIP General Resolution 5076/2021 (Spanish)

Argentina Integrated Social Security System (SIPA) Law (Spanish)

Argentina Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship

Argentina Tax Crimes and Penalties Law (Spanish)

Compensation and Benefits

Argentina Labor Contract Law (Spanish)

Argentina Retirement and Pension Law (Spanish)

Argentina National Social Security Administration (Spanish)

Argentina Health Care for the Elderly (Spanish)

Argentina Ministry of the Treasury (Spanish)

Law No. 27,555, Aug. 14, 2020, Regarding Remote Workers (Spanish)

Argentina Ministry of the Interior, Public Works and Housing (Spanish)

Argentina Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Social Security:

Guide to Official Holidays (Spanish)
Resolution 4/2020, Oct. 16, 2020 (Spanish)
Resolution 5/2021, May 5, 2021 (Spanish)
Resolution 6/2021, July 6, 2021 (Spanish)
Resolution 11/2021, Sept. 27, 2021 (Spanish)

Decree 413/2021 (Spanish)

Argentina Superintendent of Occupational Risks (Spanish)

Foreign Workers

Argentina Ministry of the Exterior and Culture (Spanish)

Embassy of Argentina in Washington, D.C.

Working in the United States

U.S. Department of Labor:

Foreign Labor Certification
Hiring Foreign Workers

U.S. Internal Revenue Service:

IRS Notice 1392, Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens
IRS Publication 15, Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide
IRS Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities
IRS Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
IRS Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties

Treaty Arrangements

List of Agreements to Avoid Double Taxation, Argentina Federal Administration of Public Revenue (Spanish)