What are the penalties for filing or paying late with ARCA?

Last verified: 27 Oct 2026 · Status: Changing

Short answer. Paying late costs resarcitory interest of 2.75% a month, counted daily from the due date. Filing a return late adds an automatic fine of ARS 220,000 for individuals or ARS 440,000 for companies. The fine is halved if you file and pay it within 15 days of ARCA's notice, and SMEs get a further 25% cut.

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

Key rules

Filing late and paying late are separate breaches with separate costs.

Paying late: interest. Unpaid tax, withholdings and advances bear resarcitory interest from the due date, with no demand needed (Law 11.683 art. 37). The rate is 2.75% a month from 1 July 2025 (Res. MECON 3/2024 art. 1, replaced by Res. MECON 823/2025 art. 1), divided by 30 for each day (Res. 3/2024 art. 7). Older debts use each period's rate (Res. 823/2025 art. 4). Once ARCA sues, punitive interest of 3.50% a month runs from the filing of the suit (art. 52; Res. 3/2024 art. 2).

Two checks. Law 27.799 did not amend art. 37. The Ministry of Economy sets the rate under Law 27.591 art. 64 (Res. 3/2024, recitals). Infoleg lists only Res. 199/2025 and 823/2025 as amendments to Res. 3/2024, so 2.75% is the latest rate we found.

Filing late: the art. 38 fine. Not filing a return by ARCA's general deadline triggers a fine with no prior demand. It is ARS 220,000 for individuals and ARS 440,000 for companies, associations and entities formed in Argentina, and for permanent establishments of foreign persons (art. 38, amounts replaced by Law 27.799 art. 15, in force 2 Jan 2026). The fine is halved by operation of law, and is not recorded as a prior offence, if you file the return and pay the fine any time from the due date up to 15 days after ARCA's computer notice (art. 38, second paragraph).

SME reduction. Since 9 Oct 2026, art. 38 and art. 39 fines are cut 25% for SMEs under Law 24.467 art. 2, individuals, undivided estates and non-profits, unless they are Grandes Contribuyentes Nacionales (art. 49 bis, added by Law 27.826 art. 2).

Omission fine. An unfiled or wrong return that leaves tax unpaid can draw a fine of 100% of that tax (art. 45 a). Filing the missing return before ARCA notifies an audit order exempts first offenders (art. 49). A return filed on time but paid late is not an omission. It costs interest, and ARCA can sue to collect.

What changes the answer

Individual, not company. The art. 38 fine starts at ARS 220,000 (US$141). That is ARS 110,000 halved, and ARS 82,500 (US$53) with the 25% cut on top (unconfirmed).
Information returns. A late information return is fined under the unnumbered article after art. 38: up to ARS 5,000,000 (US$3,197) for individuals and up to ARS 10,000,000 (US$6,394) for companies (Law 27.799 art. 16).
Fines before 9 Oct 2026. Law 27.826 art. 17 cuts unpaid formal fines by 50%, one time only. It covers SMEs and individuals, for breaches before 9 Oct 2026 on obligations due from 2 Jan 2026. You must comply first and accept the rest of the claim. ARCA had 30 days to issue rules (art. 18). We found none (unconfirmed).
ARCA found it first. After an audit order, the omission fine is only reduced (to 1/4, 1/2 or 3/4 of the minimum, by stage), not waived (art. 49).

Worked examples

A company owes ARS 2,000,000 of VAT for one month. It files the return and pays 60 days after the due date, before any ARCA audit order. Pesos converted at dólar MEP ARS 1,563.90 per US$ on 23 Oct 2026, a rate (dólar MEP selling rate (dolarapi.com)).

Step or item	Time	Cost ARS	Cost USD
VAT owed	Due date	2,000,000	1,279
Resarcitory interest, 2.75% a month	60 days	110,000	70
Art. 38 fine, full amount (company)	From due date	440,000	281
Fine halved: return filed and fine paid by 15 days after notice	Within that window	220,000	141
Fine with art. 49 bis 25% SME cut, after halving	Same	165,000	106
Art. 45 omission fine	Filed before audit order	0	0
Total, SME company, voluntary payment	60 days	2,275,000	1,455
Total, large company, voluntary payment	60 days	2,330,000	1,490

Step by step:

Daily rate: 2.75% ÷ 30 = 0.0917% (Res. 3/2024 art. 7).
Interest: ARS 2,000,000 × 2.75% × 60 ÷ 30 = ARS 110,000 (5.5%). How ARCA counts the first and last day is not set out in the sources (unconfirmed).
Art. 38 fine: ARS 440,000 for a company. File the return and pay the fine in the window, and it drops to ARS 220,000.
SME: ARS 220,000 × 0.75 = ARS 165,000. Whether ARCA stacks the cuts this way is not confirmed (unconfirmed). Without voluntary payment, ARCA opens a penalty case (arts. 70 and following) at ARS 440,000, or ARS 330,000 (US$211) for an SME.
Omission: zero, because the return was filed before an audit order (art. 49).

If the return had been filed on time and only the payment was late, the cost is just the ARS 110,000 interest. No art. 38 fine applies.

Cost to do it: ARS 2,275,000 to 2,330,000 (US$1,455 to US$1,490). No filing fee. Two months late.

Practical traps

Paying tax but not interest. Unpaid interest becomes principal and bears interest itself, even if ARCA took the payment without objection (art. 37, fourth and fifth paragraphs).
Filing without paying the fine. The halving needs the return filed and the fine paid. Miss either and the full fine goes to a penalty case (art. 38).
Amounts will move. From 1 Jan 2027 they are indexed yearly to the UVA (Law 27.799 art. 43).

FAQ

Is there a daily fine for late filing? No. The art. 38 fine is fixed per return. Interest accrues daily on unpaid tax.

Does a payment plan stop interest? No. ARCA may grant plans for tax, interest and fines, and the plan rate cannot exceed the art. 37 rate (art. 32). Interest already accrued stays.

Is the interest rate negotiable? No. A Ministry of Economy resolution sets it, capped at twice Banco Nación's highest rate (art. 37).

Can I appeal the fine? Yes. Ask ARCA to reconsider it, or appeal to the Tax Court, within 15 business days of notice (arts. 4 and 76).

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.