How does Argentine income tax (Ganancias) apply to foreign income?

Last verified: 27 Oct 2026 · Status: Changing

Short answer. Argentine tax residents pay Ganancias on worldwide income, including foreign income, at the progressive 5% to 35% scale (15% for foreign capital gains on securities, crypto and real estate). Foreign taxes paid can be credited up to the Argentine tax on that income. Non residents pay only on Argentine source income. Foreigners usually become resident after 12 months.

As of 26 Oct 2026. Rules in force at that date.

Key rules

Worldwide income. Residents pay on income "obtained in the country or abroad"; non residents only on Argentine source income (Income Tax Law, t.o. 2019, art. 1).

Who is resident (ITL arts. 116 to 123).

Argentine nationals are residents until they acquire permanent residence abroad or stay abroad 12 continuous months, with visits home of up to 90 days allowed (art. 117; Decree 862/2019 art. 283). The loss must be proved to ARCA or a consulate (art. 119).
Foreign nationals become resident on obtaining permanent residence, or after 12 months here on temporary permits, with absences of up to 90 days allowed (art. 116 b); Decree 862/2019 art. 281). Residence starts the first day of the following month (art. 116).
A foreigner without permanent residence whose stay does not imply habitual residence can prove this to ARCA once, at least 30 days before the 12 months end (art. 116 b), second paragraph; Decree 862/2019 art. 281).
Foreigners here for accredited work of up to five years, diplomats and some students are not residents, but pay on Argentine source income under resident rules (art. 123).
Dual residents are tested by permanent home, then vital interests, then days (art. 122).
Since 6 March 2026, naturalisation through the citizenship by investment route does not by itself make a person resident (art. 116, paragraphs added by Law 27.802 art. 194).

What counts as foreign income. Income from property or activities abroad (ITL art. 124). Work physically done in Argentina is Argentine source whoever pays (ITL art. 5).

Rates. Foreign income is stacked on Argentine income on the art. 94 scale, 5% to 35%; the extra tax is the tax on foreign income (ITL art. 164 a)). Gains abroad on shares, securities, crypto and real estate are taxed at 15% (ITL art. 94, third paragraph). Only the non taxable minimum and dependant deductions reduce foreign income, and only to the extent they exceed Argentine net income (ITL art. 128). Foreign losses offset only foreign income, for five years (ITL art. 131).

FX conversion. Income is converted at the Banco de la Nación buying rate, deductions at the selling rate, on the day each accrues or is paid (ITL art. 155; Decree 862/2019 art. 286).

Foreign tax credit. Foreign income taxes actually paid, with receipts, are credited up to the Argentine tax on the foreign income, converted at the BNA buying rate on the payment date (ITL arts. 165 to 167). Excess credit carries forward five years (art. 175).

What changes the answer

Where the work is done. Remote work done from Argentina for a foreign client or employer is Argentine source under ITL art. 5, not foreign income.
Residence start date. A foreigner on temporary permits is a non resident, untaxed on foreign income, until the month after 12 months are completed (art. 116).
A tax treaty. Treaties rank above laws (Constitution art. 75 inc. 22). They can settle dual residence and allocate taxing rights. The MECON in force list includes Brazil, Chile, Spain and the UK, but not the United States.
Type of income. Foreign gains on securities, crypto and real estate pay 15%, not the scale (art. 94).

Worked examples

Assumptions: a single resident all of 2026, with no Argentine income, earns US$60,000 of fees for work done physically abroad, no expenses. The client's country withholds a hypothetical US$9,000 final tax. For illustration the BNA rate equals the dólar MEP of ARS 1,563.90 per US$ on 23 Oct 2026, per some secondary summaries. See /data/mep/.

Step or item	Time	Cost ARS	Cost USD
Foreign fees converted	When received, 2026	93,834,000.00	60,000.00
Less non taxable minimum, art. 30 a)	Fiscal year 2026	(6,019,671.36)	(3,849.14)
Taxable foreign income	31 Dec 2026	87,814,328.64	56,150.86
Argentine tax on that income, art. 94 scale	31 Dec 2026	23,034,752.63	14,729.04
Less foreign tax credit, art. 165	When foreign tax paid	(14,075,100.00)	(9,000.00)
Argentine tax payable	Annual return, 2027 (unconfirmed)	8,959,652.63	5,729.04

Step by step:

US$60,000 × 1,563.90 = ARS 93,834,000.
Less the 2026 non taxable minimum, ARS 6,019,671.36 (ARCA table), deductible in full as there is no Argentine income (ITL art. 128). Taxable: ARS 87,814,328.64.
2026 scale, top bracket: ARS 17,144,476.49 plus 35% over ARS 70,984,968.25 (ARCA art. 94 table for 2026). Excess ARS 16,829,360.39 × 35% = ARS 5,890,276.14. Tax: ARS 23,034,752.63, an effective 24.5% of gross.
Tax on Argentine income alone is zero, so all of it is attributable to foreign income (art. 164 a)).
Credit: US$9,000 × 1,563.90 = ARS 14,075,100, below the limit, so fully usable.
Payable: ARS 8,959,652.63, about US$5,729. With no foreign tax, US$14,729 is due.

ARCA labels both tables as amounts for the employee withholding regime; their use in a self filed annual return is assumed (unconfirmed).

Cost to do it: Argentine tax of about US$5,729 on top of the foreign tax. No capital needed. The 2026 return is filed and paid in 2027; for 2025 ARCA set payment by 27 Jul 2026 and filing by 30 Oct 2026 (ARCA due dates).

Practical traps

Using the MEP rate. The law uses the daily BNA rate (art. 155).
Assuming "paid from abroad" means foreign. Source follows where the activity happens (arts. 5 and 124).
Leaving without formalities. Residence continues until art. 117 is met and proved (art. 119).

FAQ

Are digital nomads taxed on their foreign salary? The nomad permit is a transitory residence of 180 days, extendable (DNM; Law 25.871 arts. 20 and 24 h)). Art. 116 b) counts "temporary" permits; whether transitory stays count is unsettled (unconfirmed). Work done here is Argentine source by statute (art. 5), but Title V collects non resident tax through the payer's withholding (art. 102). We found no ARCA rule for a non resident paid from abroad (unconfirmed).

Do I declare foreign income in my first year? Only from the month residence takes effect (art. 116).

Is foreign income taxed if I never bring it to Argentina? Yes. Art. 1 taxes residents' worldwide income without any remittance condition.

Can unused foreign tax be refunded? No. Excess credit only carries forward five years against tax on foreign income (art. 175).

Published 27 Oct 2026 from our research draft. Points marked (unconfirmed) have not yet been checked against the official text; rely on the primary sources linked below.