Fiscal Innocence Law: simplified income tax return, statute of limitations and penalties

Key rules

A. Penal Tax Regime (Title I of Law 27.799)

• Monetary thresholds raised for arts. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 of the Penal Tax Regime (Law 27.799, arts. 1 to 10). See Table 1.
• No criminal complaint after full payment (new art. 16 RPT, Law 27.799 art. 11). For the offences in RPT arts. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, ARCA will not file a criminal complaint if the evaded, improperly used or improperly received amounts plus interest are paid unconditionally and in full before the complaint is filed. This protection is available only once per individual or legal entity.
• Extinction of criminal proceedings by payment plus 50% (new art. 16 RPT, second paragraph). Once proceedings have started, the criminal action is extinguished if the taxpayer accepts and pays, unconditionally and in full, the obligations plus interest plus an extra 50% of the total. This must happen within 30 business days after formal notice of the criminal charge.
• Comprehensive reparation excluded (new first unnumbered article after art. 16 RPT, Law 27.799 art. 12). The extinction route in art. 59 inc. 6 of the Criminal Code does not apply to cases in the first paragraph of art. 16.
• Criminal action falls with the tax limitation period (new second unnumbered article after art. 16 RPT, Law 27.799 art. 13). Criminal tax and social security proceedings do not continue once the authority's power to assess the underlying tax or contribution is time barred.

• Cases where no complaint is filed (new art. 19 RPT, Law 27.799 art. 14). ARCA will not file a criminal complaint when:

  • (a) it is manifest that no punishable conduct occurred, including where the loss stems from differences of interpretation or technical accounting criteria. For this purpose only, the evaded amount may be compared with the total tax of the same period.
  • (b) the adjustment results exclusively from statutory presumptions and there is no other evidence.
  • (c) the taxpayer disclosed its interpretive or technical criterion in a reasoned formal filing with ARCA before or together with the return, unless the criterion is a device to distort the tax base.
  • (d) original or amended returns are filed before any notice that an audit has started for that tax and period.

  Cases (a) and (b) require a reasoned decision with a legal opinion, issued by expressly authorised officials. * UVA indexation (Law 27.799 art. 43). The amounts in Title I and in Chapters I and III of Title II are adjusted annually from 1 January 2027 by the January to December UVA variation of the previous year. ARCA publishes the figures each year. Whether conduct is an offence is judged by the amount in force when it was committed, meaning the due date of the return. Penalties are paid at the amount in force on the payment date.

B. Statute of limitations

• Law 11.683 art. 56 (replaced by Law 27.799 art. 30):
  • Five years for registered taxpayers, and for unregistered taxpayers who have no obligation to register or who regularise voluntarily.
  • The five years are reduced to three when a registered taxpayer filed the return on time and, where applicable, settled the balance, unless ARCA challenges the return for a significant discrepancy.
  • Ten years for unregistered taxpayers.
  • Five years for tax credits improperly credited, refunded or transferred.
  • Five years for refund (repetición) and recovery actions.
  • Five years for withholding and collection agents.
• Significant discrepancy for art. 56 (unnumbered article after art. 56, inserted by Law 27.799 art. 31 and replaced by Law 27.826 art. 1). Regulated by the unnumbered article after art. 53 of Decree 1397/1979, as replaced by Decree 1253/2026 art. 2. See Table 3.
• Social security: Law 23.660 art. 24 (health insurance funds, reduced to three years), Law 23.661 art. 47 (Fondo Solidario de Redistribución, reduced to five years) and Law 14.236 art. 16 (social security contributions, ten years reduced to five). Introduced by Law 27.799 arts. 35 to 37.
• Provincial and municipal taxes: Civil and Commercial Code art. 2560, as replaced by Law 27.799 art. 34, provides that limitation for taxes set by the provinces, the City of Buenos Aires and municipalities is governed by Law 11.683. Art. 2532 is also replaced (art. 33).
• Repeal: Law 27.799 art. 32 repeals the unnumbered article after art. 65 of Law 11.683.

C. Simplified income tax return (Law 27.799 arts. 38 to 42 ter, as amended by Law 27.826)

• Eligibility (art. 38). Individuals and undivided estates resident under Income Tax Law arts. 116 and following. They must be tax residents for the whole fiscal period filed under the regime. This requirement does not apply to those opting in for fiscal period 2025 (Law 27.826 art. 11). Residence is assessed under Chapter I of Title VIII of the Income Tax Law (Decree 1253/2026 Annex art. 1). Periods starting on or after 1 January 2025 are eligible.
• Filing only participants (arts. 38 fourth paragraph and 38 bis). Grandes Contribuyentes Nacionales, and public officials who hold or held certain posts in the five years before opting in, may use the simplified return only to file and pay. They get none of the effects, presumptions or benefits.
• Liberating payment (art. 39). Accepting ARCA's proposed return and paying on time satisfies the income tax obligations of that year, formally and materially. Exceptions: later evidence of omitted income, improper deductions or apocryphal invoices.
• Presumption of accuracy (art. 40). An irrebuttable presumption covers the income tax and VAT returns of open years. It also covers open years for which no filing obligation existed. While it applies, the taxpayer is released from civil actions, tax and customs crimes, and administrative infringements. It falls only if ARCA challenges the latest simplified return for an art. 39 reason and shows a significant discrepancy.
• Burden of proof (art. 40, added by Law 27.826 art. 6). The burden rests exclusively on ARCA. ARCA may use only (i) what the taxpayer declared and (ii) data in its systems or supplied by third parties. Anything else has no evidentiary value.
• VAT periods (art. 40, added by Law 27.826 art. 6). The open VAT periods covered run up to December of the income tax year filed under the regime. For the VAT months of that same year, the presumption applies unless those months show apocryphal invoices or improperly computed direct credits (withholdings, perceptions, payments on account and advances).
• Funds channelling (art. 40 bis). Participants must channel their transactions through means authorised by the BCRA or the CNV, at origin or destination. Cash paid at a deed signing for real property rights is deemed compliant. Until 31 December 2027, funds so used by taxpayers covered by the presumption get the release from civil, criminal tax, customs and administrative actions in the third paragraph of art. 40. For Personal Assets Tax, the funds are treated as incorporated into the taxpayer's assets on the day of the transaction.
• AML (art. 40 bis). Anti money laundering obliged subjects (Law 25.246 art. 20) must treat the adhesion certificate as a favourable antecedent, but KYC and due diligence duties remain. The UIF must issue rules, within 15 business days of 9 October 2026 (Law 27.826 art. 12). ARCA must provide automated queries or an API so obliged subjects can check whether a client is in, excluded from or has left the regime.
• Presumptions excluded (art. 41, replaced by Law 27.826 art. 8). Until 31 December 2027, the presumptions in art. 18 f) of Law 11.683 (unjustified asset increases) and g) (bank deposits exceeding declared sales or income) cannot be used to establish a discrepancy. The other art. 18 presumptions are only indications and must be corroborated by declared and third party data.
• Extension of audits (art. 42). If a discrepancy is found, ARCA may audit all open years. It may not do so for earlier periods protected by a prior simplified filing when the taxpayer later leaves the regime, or for periods covered by the Law 27.743 asset regularisation (art. 34 of that law).
• Refund guarantee (art. 42 bis). If the assessment that broke the regime is annulled by a final decision, the presumption is fully restored. Any amount paid must be refunded with interest at the repetition rate within 45 business days of notice.
• Pending procedures and fines waiver (art. 42 ter). Audit orders, administrative assessments and de oficio determinations notified before opting in continue, and so do pending appeals and lawsuits. However, taxpayers who, before opting in, paid or entered a plan for the tax and interest of ARCA adjustments to income tax or VAT for covered periods are exempt from the art. 45 (omission, 100%) and art. 46 (fraud, 2 to 6 times) fines on those adjustments. The exemption does not apply where the fines were already final. It requires waiving any refund claim. It is lost if the payment plan lapses.

D. Penalties

• Permanent 25% reduction (new art. 49 bis of Law 11.683, Law 27.826 art. 2). Fines under arts. 38, 39 and their unnumbered follow on articles are cut automatically by 25% when the offender is an SME under Law 24.467 art. 2, or an individual, undivided estate or non profit that is not a Gran Contribuyente Nacional. Status is tested at the time of the breach. Neither Law 27.826 nor Decree 1253/2026 says how it interacts with other reductions in Law 11.683, such as the halving for voluntary payment in art. 38.
• One off 50% reduction (Law 27.826 art. 17). Formal fines under arts. 38, 39 and follow on articles qualify when the offence was committed before 9 October 2026, the fine is not final (or is final but unpaid), and it relates to obligations falling due from the entry into force of Law 27.799 (2 January 2026). The same SME and individual qualifying test applies. Conditions: the formal duty must be cured beforehand or at the same time; the taxpayer must unconditionally accept the unreduced portion, waive all actions and pay costs. Amounts already paid are not refunded. ARCA must issue rules within 30 days of publication (art. 18; Decree 1253/2026 art. 4).

Simplified regime: Decree 1253/2026 in detail

• Digital adhesion certificate (Annex art. 2). The option is exercised through the mechanism that ARCA provides. ARCA must then issue a digital adhesion certificate, accessible in its systems. The certificate is evidence of entry into the regime and shows the taxpayer's identity, the date of the option and the fiscal period. Obliged AML subjects must treat this certificate as a favourable antecedent (Law 27.799 art. 40 bis).
• Annual ratification (Annex art. 2). ARCA must provide a mechanism for participants to ratify their continued participation every year or ask to leave. While in the regime, participants must determine their income tax under the simplified procedure.
• Filing only participants (Annex art. 2, last paragraph). For periods in which a taxpayer is a Gran Contribuyente Nacional or an art. 38 bis official, no presumptions or benefits apply. This holds even if the taxpayer later ceases to be in that category.
• Exclusion for residence (Annex art. 3). If ARCA detects that the full year residence requirement is not met at adhesion or ratification, art. 38 third paragraph applies: exclusion, audit, assessment and penalties. ARCA sets the form of exclusion.
• Prefilled return and sources (Annex art. 4). ARCA prefills the return from its own data and data provided by responsible parties and third parties. The taxpayer may modify, confirm and file it. ARCA considers exclusively (a) gross income of the period, Argentine and foreign source as applicable under the Income Tax Law, and (b) deductions allowed by that law and its regulation. Participants who are not in the filing only category are exempt from the duty in the second and third paragraphs of art. 3 of the Income Tax Regulation, Decree 862/2019.
• Base fiscal period (Annex art. 5). This is the period for which the taxpayer, having opted in or ratified, filed the simplified return and paid on time.
• Timely payment (Annex art. 6). Met when the tax resulting from the simplified determination is paid in full, or when the taxpayer joins an ARCA payment plan for those balances, by the due date.
• Loss of the liberating effect (Annex arts. 7 and 8). Only when ARCA finds (i) omitted income, meaning gross income accrued or received that should have been declared, in whole or in part; (ii) an improper deduction, meaning one not allowed by the rules in force for that period; or (iii) apocryphal invoices or documents, and a significant discrepancy under Annex art. 9.
• Scope of the presumption (Annex art. 10). The presumption covers returns actually filed for open years of income tax and VAT, plus years with no filing duty. If a VAT month within the last base period shows fake invoices or improper direct credits, the presumption is lost only for that month and later months affected, and only to the extent of the effect.
• Failure to file or pay (Annex art. 11). Not filing the simplified return for a period opted into or ratified, or not paying on time, removes the effects of arts. 39 and 40. ARCA must then audit.
• New base period (Annex art. 12). Each new year properly filed and paid becomes the new base period. The prior base period joins the protected open years. Exception: where ARCA had already notified an audit order or administrative assessment, or started a de oficio determination, on that prior period. A prior base period can only be challenged for art. 39 reasons plus a significant discrepancy.
• Switch for 2025 general regime filers (Decree 1253/2026 art. 5, main body). Taxpayers who filed their 2025 income tax return under the general regime before 23 October 2026 and meet the requirements as amended by Law 27.826 may opt in. To do so they must rectify the general regime return by the due date of the simplified return. ARCA had not published that due date in the texts we checked on 24 Oct 2026.
• ARCA rules (Decree 1253/2026 art. 6). ARCA must issue the complementary and operating rules for Chapter II of Title I of Law 27.826, for the decree and for its Annex. This page does not name any ARCA general resolution, form or application, because none had been issued in the texts we checked on 24 Oct 2026.

Table 1. Penal Tax Regime thresholds: old vs new

Offence names follow the article headings of the Penal Tax Regime (Title IX of Law 27.430, updated text). Amounts in force until 31 December 2026, with a UVA update from 1 January 2027 (Law 27.799 art. 43).

Other Title I articles changed (no amounts): art. 16 replaced (Law 27.799 art. 11); first unnumbered article after art. 16 added (art. 12); second unnumbered article after art. 16 added (art. 13); art. 19 replaced (art. 14).

Table 1b. Fixed formal penalties in Law 11.683 updated by Law 27.799 (Title II, Chapter I)

Table 2. Limitation periods after Law 27.799

Counting. For taxes, the period runs from 1 January of the year after the general filing and payment due date (Law 11.683 art. 57). For fines and closures, it runs from 1 January of the year after the breach (art. 58). Suspension and interruption rules (art. 65 and following) still apply. We have not found a transitional rule on applying the three year period to periods already running.

Table 3. "Significant discrepancy" tests compared

The same phrase has three different tests depending on the context. This is the single most important technical point of the reform.

How the 15% and floor interact in the simplified regime. The two parts of art. 40 i) apply together. An adjustment is a discrepancy under i) only if it is both at least 15% of the tax declared and above ARS 5,000,000. Independently, any adjustment above ARS 100,000,000 is a discrepancy under ii) whatever the percentage. Independently again, any adjustment caused by fake invoices or improperly claimed credits is a discrepancy under iii) whatever the amount.

Changes from the original Law 27.799 text (as published on 2 January 2026):

• Test i) measured the increase in "balances in favour" of ARCA. It now measures the increase in tax determined.
• Test iii) allowed the taxpayer to avoid a discrepancy by rectifying and paying. That carve out was replaced by the general 15 business day safe harbour.
• Art. 41 originally excluded only art. 18 f), with no end date. It now excludes f) and g) until 31 December 2027.

Step by step

1. Check eligibility.
   • Confirm you are an individual or undivided estate and an Argentine tax resident under the Income Tax Law Title VIII Chapter I for the whole fiscal year (not required for 2025, Law 27.826 art. 11).
   • Check whether you are a Gran Contribuyente Nacional or an art. 38 bis official, currently or in the last five years. If so, you may use the format but get no protection.
   • There is no income or asset cap since Law 27.826.
2. Opt in. Use the mechanism ARCA provides (Decree 1253/2026 Annex art. 2). The specific ARCA procedure, service or form is to be set by ARCA complementary rules (Decree 1253/2026 art. 6). Download and keep the digital adhesion certificate: you will show it to banks, brokers and notaries.
3. If you already filed 2025 under the general regime, rectify that return by the due date of the simplified return (Decree 1253/2026 art. 5). ARCA has not yet published that date.
4. Review the prefilled return (Annex art. 4). Check every gross income line, Argentine and foreign source, against your own records: salaries, fees, rents, interest, dividends, capital gains, foreign accounts. Check every deduction and every withholding, perception, payment on account and advance. Errors in credits trigger test iii) regardless of amount. You may modify the return before confirming it.
5. File the return through ARCA's system by the due date. ARCA has not yet named the system or the date.
6. Pay or join a payment plan by the due date (Annex art. 6). Late payment or non filing removes all effects (Annex art. 11). Keep up plan instalments. The consequences of a plan lapse are stated expressly for the art. 42 ter fines waiver, but not for timely payment.
7. Channel your money through the formal system (art. 40 bis). Use BCRA or CNV regulated means at origin or destination. Until 31 December 2027, funds used in this way get the art. 40 third paragraph release. Remember they count for Personal Assets Tax from the transaction date.
8. Ratify each year through ARCA's mechanism (Annex art. 2), then repeat steps 4 to 6. Each properly filed and paid year becomes the new base period (Annex art. 12).
9. If ARCA challenges:
   • (a) Identify the cause invoked: omitted income, improper deduction or fake documents (Annex art. 8).
   • (b) Run the three tests yourself (Table 3), using the RPT art. 1 amount in force when the return fell due.
   • (c) Check that ARCA relies only on your declared data and system or third party data. Art. 18 f) and g) presumptions cannot be used until 31 December 2027, and other presumptions only as corroborated indications (arts. 40 and 41).
   • (d) If the challenge is well founded, file an amended simplified return and pay or regularise tax plus interest within 15 business days of notice of the art. 14 assessment or the art. 17 determination.
   • (e) If it is not well founded, contest it. If you win by a final decision, the presumption is restored and any amount paid must be refunded with interest within 45 business days (art. 42 bis).
10. Pending audits. Audits and assessments notified before adhesion continue (art. 42 ter). If you settle the tax and interest on such adjustments before opting in, the art. 45 and 46 fines are waived unless already final, provided you waive any refund claim.

Costs and timelines

Table 4. Penalty reductions

Worked examples

All examples use the amounts in force for returns falling due in 2026: RPT art. 1 amount of ARS 100,000,000, so the 5% floor is ARS 5,000,000. For returns falling due in 2027 and later, use the UVA updated amount that ARCA publishes (Law 27.799 art. 43; Decree 1253/2026 Annex art. 9 refers to the amount "in force in the fiscal period in which the return falls due").

Example 1. Adjustment of 20% but below the floor: no discrepancy

An individual, an Argentine tax resident for all of 2025, opts into the simplified regime for 2025. They file and pay income tax determined of ARS 4,000,000 (about US$2,558). ARCA later finds an improper deduction (an art. 39 cause) and adjusts the tax determined upward by ARS 800,000 (about US$512).

1. Percentage test (art. 40 i), first paragraph): 800,000 / 4,000,000 = 20%. That is at least 15%, so the first limb is met.
2. Floor (art. 40 i), second paragraph): the difference of ARS 800,000 does not exceed ARS 5,000,000 (5% × 100,000,000). No discrepancy under i).
3. Absolute test (art. 40 ii)): 800,000 is not above 100,000,000. No discrepancy under ii).
4. Fake documents test (art. 40 iii)): the cause is a deduction, not apocryphal invoices or improperly computed withholdings, perceptions, payments on account or advances. No discrepancy under iii).
5. Result: there is no significant discrepancy. The presumption of accuracy over open income tax and VAT years stands, and ARCA cannot extend the audit to other years (art. 42). The norms do not settle whether ARCA can still collect the ARS 800,000 for the base year itself, given that art. 39 makes the liberating effect subject to the omitted income or deduction exception. Note that Decree 1253/2026 Annex art. 7 says the liberating effect "will be maintained" unless an art. 39 cause and a significant discrepancy are found. The prudent course is to rectify and pay within the 15 business day window anyway (see Example 2).

Contrast with the three year limitation test. If the same facts arose for a taxpayer outside the simplified regime, the art. 56 test applies. That test has no 5% floor (Law 27.826 art. 1; Decree 1397/1979 as replaced by Decree 1253/2026 art. 2). A 20% adjustment is a significant discrepancy, so the period stays at five years instead of three.

Example 2. Adjustment of 20% and above the floor: discrepancy

A simplified regime participant declared tax determined of ARS 30,000,000 (about US$19,183) for 2025. ARCA establishes omitted foreign source income, using third party information (art. 40 penultimate paragraphs: only declared, system and third party data are admissible). The resulting additional tax is ARS 6,000,000 (about US$3,837).

1. Percentage: 6,000,000 / 30,000,000 = 20% (at least 15%).
2. Floor: 6,000,000 exceeds 5,000,000. Discrepancy under i).
3. Consequences: the liberating effect for 2025 is lost (Annex art. 7). The presumption over open years falls. ARCA may audit open income tax and VAT years, assess and apply penalties (art. 42; Annex art. 10), subject to the art. 42 second paragraph exceptions.
4. Defence route: within 15 business days of notice of the administrative assessment (Law 11.683 art. 14) or the de oficio determination (art. 17), file an amended simplified return and pay or regularise the ARS 6,000,000 plus interest. The difference is then not counted for the discrepancy test (art. 40, added by Law 27.826 art. 6), so the regime survives.

Example 3. Large declared tax: percentage below 15% but above the absolute amount

A participant declared tax determined of ARS 800,000,000 (about US$511,541). ARCA adjusts by ARS 110,000,000 (about US$70,337).

1. Percentage: 110,000,000 / 800,000,000 = 13.75%. That is below 15%, so no discrepancy under i).
2. Absolute test: 110,000,000 exceeds 100,000,000. Discrepancy under ii).
3. Variant: if the adjustment were ARS 90,000,000 (11.25%), neither i) nor ii) would apply and there would be no discrepancy.

Example 4. Fake invoice: discrepancy regardless of amount

A participant deducted an expense supported by an invoice that ARCA later finds to be apocryphal. Removing the deduction raises the tax determined by ARS 300,000 (about US$192), against ARS 10,000,000 declared, so 3%.

1. Tests i) and ii) are not met: 3% is below 15% and the amount is far below ARS 100,000,000.
2. But there is an art. 39 cause (an apocryphal invoice, Decree 1253/2026 Annex art. 8) and the adjustment results from a fake document. Discrepancy regardless of amount (art. 40 iii); Decree 1253/2026 Annex art. 9 last paragraph).
3. Fix: rectify and pay the ARS 300,000 plus interest within 15 business days of the assessment notice. The safe harbour in art. 40 applies to "the difference" between the original and amended simplified returns and does not expressly exclude fake document cases. Whether ARCA will accept it for them should be confirmed when the ARCA rules are issued.
4. Note on withholdings: Annex art. 9 also treats improperly computed direct credits (withholdings, perceptions, payments on account and advances) as a discrepancy regardless of amount, but only once one of the art. 39 causes (omitted income, improper deduction or apocryphal documents) has occurred. Check every credit before filing.

Example 5. Formal penalty under art. 49 bis

An individual registered for VAT fails to file a monthly VAT return due in November 2026, that is after 9 October 2026, the entry into force of art. 49 bis.

1. Base fine, Law 11.683 art. 38 (individuals): ARS 220,000 (about US$141).
2. Art. 49 bis automatic 25% reduction: 220,000 × 25% = 55,000. Reduced fine: ARS 165,000 (about US$106).
3. If the taxpayer also files the missing return and pays within 15 days of ARCA's system notice, art. 38 second paragraph halves the fine. Neither Law 27.826 nor Decree 1253/2026 says whether the two reductions stack. If they were applied one after the other, the fine would be 165,000 × 50% = ARS 82,500 (about US$53). Treat that as an illustration until ARCA's rules settle the point.
4. An SA in the same position starts at ARS 440,000. It gets the 25% only if it qualifies as an SME under Law 24.467 art. 2 and is not a Gran Contribuyente Nacional: 440,000 × 75% = ARS 330,000 (about US$211).

Example 6. One off 50% reduction under Law 27.826 art. 17

An SME (SRL) received two formal fines that it is disputing administratively:

• (a) art. 38 fine of ARS 440,000 for a VAT return due in March 2026, not yet filed;
• (b) a fine of ARS 3,000,000 under the unnumbered article after art. 38, for an information return due in May 2026.

A third fine, (c), of ARS 440,000 relates to a return due in December 2025.

1. Eligibility: offences committed before 9 October 2026, fines not final, SME status at the time of the breach (Decree 1253/2026 art. 4). Fines (a) and (b) relate to obligations due after 2 January 2026, so they qualify. Fine (c) relates to an obligation due before Law 27.799 took effect, so it does not qualify.
2. Conditions: file the missing VAT return and information return before or at the same time as opting in, within ARCA's terms.
3. Reduction: (440,000 + 3,000,000) × 50% = ARS 1,720,000 payable (about US$1,100), against ARS 3,440,000 (about US$2,200) before the reduction.
4. Cost: the SRL unconditionally accepts the remaining ARS 1,720,000, withdraws its challenge, waives all actions and bears costs. Whether the 25% of art. 49 bis can also be applied to these pre 9 October 2026 fines is not stated in the norms.

Example 7. Limitation period

A registered individual's 2025 income tax return falls due in 2026. Under art. 57 the period starts on 1 January 2027.

• Five year period: ARCA's powers expire at the end of 31 December 2031, absent suspension or interruption.
• Three year period (filed and paid on time, no significant discrepancy): expiry at the end of 31 December 2029.

If ARCA challenges the return and shows a 15% or ARS 100,000,000 discrepancy (or fake documents), the five year period applies.

International comparison

Brazil and Estonia are left blank until we verify them in an official text. None of these countries has an exact equivalent of Argentina's simplified return with a presumption of accuracy; the comparison is limited to the ordinary assessment period.

Practical traps

1. The 5% floor does not apply everywhere. It exists only in art. 40 of Law 27.799 (simplified regime). The three year limitation test in Law 11.683 and the social security tests have no floor. A small but proportionally large adjustment keeps you on the five year (or longer) clock.
2. Fake invoices and credits have no de minimis. One apocryphal supplier invoice or one double counted withholding certificate is enough under test iii), in all three tests.
3. The test is on tax determined, not the payable balance (tests i) and ii)). Large withholdings do not dilute the percentage.
4. Full year residence. Foreign nationals arriving in or leaving Argentina mid year do not qualify for that year, except for 2025 (Law 27.826 art. 11). Exclusion opens a full audit (art. 38 third paragraph).
5. Officials look back five years and lose benefits for those periods permanently (art. 38 bis; Annex art. 2).
6. Grandes Contribuyentes Nacionales get the format but no protection (art. 38 fourth paragraph).
7. Missing one year's ratification, filing or payment removes the effects for that year (Annex art. 11). Do not assume protection carries over automatically.
8. Only returns actually filed are protected (Annex art. 10), plus years with no filing duty. If you should have filed VAT or income tax returns in a past year and did not, the presumption does not cover the missing return.
9. Pending audits survive adhesion (art. 42 ter). Adhesion is not an amnesty for open cases. Prior base periods already under audit notice are not protected (Annex art. 12).
10. The funds channel window ends on 31 December 2027 (art. 40 bis), as does the art. 18 f) and g) exclusion (art. 41). Plan large movements accordingly.
11. AML checks remain. Banks and notaries must treat the adhesion certificate as a favourable antecedent but must still carry out KYC (art. 40 bis). Expect source of funds questions until the UIF rules are in place.
12. Payment plans. Joining a plan by the due date counts as timely payment (Annex art. 6). For the art. 42 ter waiver, a plan lapse restores the fine in full.
13. The 50% reduction excludes pre 2026 obligations and requires waiving your defence on the remaining 50% (Law 27.826 art. 17). If you think the fine is wrong on the merits, do the maths before accepting.
14. Criminal "no complaint" protection is once per person (RPT art. 16). It is not a repeatable tool.
15. UVA updating from 2027. Use the threshold in force at the due date of the return, not the amount on the day ARCA audits (art. 43; Annex art. 9).

Recent changes

Pending changes

• ARCA:

  • the adhesion and ratification mechanism and the digital certificate (Decree 1253/2026 Annex art. 2);
  • the simplified return procedure and due dates;
  • the payment plan for simplified balances (Annex art. 6);
  • the API or automated query for obliged subjects (art. 40 bis);
  • rules for art. 42 ter;
  • operating rules for the art. 17 reduction (Law 27.826 art. 18);
  • the general instruction to issue complementary rules (Decree 1253/2026 art. 6);
  • the annual publication of UVA updated amounts (Law 27.799 art. 43).

  None had been issued in the texts we checked on 24 Oct 2026. * UIF: complementary rules so obliged subjects treat the adhesion certificate as a favourable antecedent (art. 40 bis; Law 27.826 art. 12). Not found on 24 Oct 2026. * Provinces and the City of Buenos Aires: invited to adopt similar simplified audit regimes (Law 27.799 art. 44). Adoptions not yet tracked here. * Open interpretive points: * whether ARCA can collect a below threshold adjustment for the base year (Example 1); * stacking of art. 49 bis with art. 17 and with art. 38 voluntary payment reductions; * the effect of a payment plan lapse on the liberating effect; * transitional application of the three year limitation period.

FAQ

1. I am a foreign national living in Buenos Aires. Can I use the simplified return? Yes, if you are an Argentine tax resident under the Income Tax Law (arts. 116 and following; Decree 1253/2026 Annex art. 1) for the whole fiscal year. For 2025 the full year requirement does not apply (Law 27.826 art. 11). Nationality is not a criterion in the text.

2. Are there still income or asset caps? No. The original art. 38 limited the regime to taxpayers with income up to ARS 1,000,000,000 and assets up to ARS 10,000,000,000 over the prior years, and excluded Grandes Contribuyentes Nacionales. Law 27.826 art. 3 replaced art. 38 entirely and removed those caps.

3. What exactly does "liberating payment" protect? Income tax for the base year, formally and materially (art. 39; Annex art. 6). It is lost only if ARCA finds omitted income, an improper deduction or fake invoices and a significant discrepancy (Annex art. 7).

4. And the presumption of accuracy? It is irrebuttable. It covers income tax and VAT returns actually filed for open years, and years with no filing duty (art. 40; Annex art. 10). While it applies, it releases you from civil, criminal tax, customs and administrative infringement actions (art. 40 third paragraph).

5. ARCA says I owe 20% more tax. Am I out of the regime? Not necessarily. In the simplified regime the 20% difference must also exceed ARS 5,000,000 (5% of the RPT art. 1 amount) to count under test i). Separately, a difference above ARS 100,000,000 always counts, and fake invoices or improper credits always count (art. 40). See Examples 1 to 4.

6. Can I fix a mistake after ARCA notices it? Yes. File an amended simplified return within 15 business days of notice of the art. 14 administrative assessment or the art. 17 determination, and pay or regularise the tax plus interest. The difference is then ignored for the discrepancy test (art. 40).

7. Who has to prove the discrepancy? ARCA, exclusively, using only your declared data and its system or third party data. Other evidence has no probative value for impugning the regime (art. 40, added by Law 27.826 art. 6). Bank deposit and unjustified asset increase presumptions cannot be used until 31 December 2027 (art. 41).

8. I paid ARCA's claim under protest and later won. When do I get my money back? Within 45 business days of notice of the final favourable decision, with interest at the repetition rate (art. 42 bis).

9. I already filed my 2025 return the normal way. Is it too late? No. You may opt in by rectifying the general regime return by the due date of the simplified return (Decree 1253/2026 art. 5). ARCA has not yet published that date.

10. Does joining a payment plan count as paying on time? Yes, if you join an ARCA payment plan for the simplified balance within the due date (Annex art. 6).

11. What happens to an audit that started before I joined? It continues (art. 42 ter). If you settle the tax and interest before adhesion, the art. 45 and 46 fines on those adjustments are waived unless already final, and you must waive any refund claim. A plan lapse restores the fines.

12. Does adhesion stop my bank from asking about the source of my funds? No. Banks and other obliged subjects must treat the adhesion certificate as a favourable antecedent, but their AML and KYC duties remain (art. 40 bis). The UIF must issue implementing rules.

13. My company is an SME. What changes for its formal penalties? From 9 October 2026, fines under arts. 38, 39 and their follow on articles are cut by 25% automatically (art. 49 bis). For offences committed before 9 October 2026 that relate to obligations falling due from 2 January 2026, a one off 50% reduction is available if you cure the breach and accept the rest (Law 27.826 art. 17).

14. Is my company now safe from criminal tax charges below ARS 100,000,000? The basic evasion threshold per tax and period is ARS 100,000,000 (RPT art. 1, amended by Law 27.799 art. 1), but other offences have lower thresholds (Table 1). Administrative assessment and fines (for example 100% omission or 2 to 6 times fraud fines, Law 11.683 arts. 45 and 46) still apply below criminal thresholds.

15. Does the three year limitation period apply automatically? Only for registered taxpayers who filed on time and paid the balance, and only if ARCA does not show a significant discrepancy under art. 56 (15%, the ARS 100,000,000 amount, or fake documents, with no 5% floor). Otherwise five years apply (art. 56 a)).

16. Do provincial tax authorities have to respect the shorter periods? The Civil and Commercial Code art. 2560, as amended, states that limitation for provincial, City of Buenos Aires and municipal taxes is governed by Law 11.683 (Law 27.799 art. 34). Provinces are separately invited to adopt simplified regimes (art. 44).

Primary sources

• Law 27.799, Fiscal Innocence Law (argentina.gob.ar)
• Law 27.799, updated text (argentina.gob.ar)
• Law 27.799 and Decree 933/2025, Boletín Oficial (2 Jan 2026)
• Law 27.826, Boletín Oficial 36,010 (9 Oct 2026) (argentina.gob.ar)
• Decree 1160/2026 promulgating Law 27.826, Boletín Oficial (9 Oct 2026) (argentina.gob.ar)
• Decree 1253/2026, Boletín Oficial 36,019 (23 Oct 2026) (argentina.gob.ar)
• Law 11.683, Tax Procedure Law, consolidated text Decree 821/1998 (InfoLEG)
• Decree 1397/1979, Tax Procedure Law regulations, updated text (argentina.gob.ar)
• Law 27.430, Title IX Penal Tax Regime, updated text (argentina.gob.ar)

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