What tax is withheld when paying a foreign company from Argentina?

Last verified: 27 Oct 2026 · Status: Changing

Short answer. The Argentine payer withholds income tax at 35% of a net income that the law presumes, so the effective rate is 12.25% to 35% of the gross fee; most service fees bear 31.5%, or 21% under a registered technology contract. A treaty can lower it. A VAT registered payer also pays 21% VAT itself.

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

Key rules

Income tax. Whoever pays Argentine source income to a company or other beneficiary abroad must withhold 35% and pay it to ARCA as a sole and final payment (Income Tax Law, t.o. 2019, art. 102). The 35% applies to the net income presumed by law (art. 103). Art. 104 sets the presumptions, which admit no proof to the contrary:

Art. 104	Payment	Presumed net income	Effective rate
(a)(1)	Technical assistance, engineering or consulting not obtainable locally, under a contract registered under Law 22.426	60%	21%
(a)(2)	Patent and other licences under a Law 22.426 contract	80%	28%
(b)	Registered copyright exploited in Argentina, art. 26(j) conditions met	35%	12.25%
(c)	Interest on foreign loans	43% or 100%	15.05% or 35%
(f)	Rent of movable property	40%	14%
(i)	Any income not listed above	90%	31.5%

Fees for technical, financial "or other" advice provided from abroad are Argentine source (art. 13).

Procedure. Withhold on payment or before ordering the remittance, at the actual FX rate of the transfer, or else the previous day's Banco Nación selling rate (RG 739/1999, arts. 3 and 5). If the Argentine payer bears the tax, gross up the base (art. 2). Since 1 March 2015 these withholdings are reported and paid through SIRE, not SICORE: certificate F. 2003, monthly return F. 997, tax code 218 (RG 3726/2015, arts. 1 to 3, 5 and 10). Withholdings made on days 1 to 15 are paid that month, the rest with the return (art. 2).

VAT. Services performed abroad and used in Argentina are taxed when the Argentine customer is VAT registered (VAT Law, t.o. 1997, art. 1(d)). The customer is the taxpayer (art. 4(g)), at 21% (art. 28). It arises when the service ends or on payment, if earlier (art. 5(h)). It is paid within 10 business days (RG 549/1999, art. 1), or collected by the bank when the price is paid through it, unless the customer shows proof of payment (arts. 4 and 5, as replaced by RG 585/1999). It is a credit in the following month (VAT Law, art. 12, last paragraph; RG 549, art. 7).

Treaties. To use a treaty rate, the foreign company gives the payer a tax residence certificate (apostilled, unless verifiable online) and the affidavit in the Annex to RG 5855/2026 before the payment (arts. 2 to 4). Otherwise the payer withholds at the full domestic rate (art. 7).

What changes the answer

Classification. Pure software development performed abroad may not be "advice" under art. 13. If it is not Argentine source, no withholding applies. This is contested; get the contract wording reviewed (unconfirmed).
Registration. The 60% and 80% presumptions, and the Spain treaty cap, depend on Law 22.426 registration.
Treaty country. 24 treaties are in force; caps and definitions differ (list).
Payer not VAT registered. Art. 1(d) VAT does not apply; VAT on digital services may apply instead (VAT Law, art. 1(e)).

Worked examples

An Argentine SA, VAT registered, pays a US company a US$ 10,000 software services fee on 26 Oct 2026. Pesos at dolar MEP ARS 1,563.90 per US$ on 23 Oct 2026, a figure (dólar MEP selling rate (dolarapi.com)) (unconfirmed) (live: /data/mep/). The legal rate is the actual FX rate (RG 739, art. 3), so real figures will differ.

Step or item	Time	Cost ARS	Cost USD
Gross fee	26 Oct 2026	15,639,000	10,000
Income tax withheld, US company, no treaty, art. 104(i)	At payment; paid with the October F. 997, due 11 to 13 Nov 2026 by CUIT ending	4,926,285	3,150
Net remitted to the US company	26 Oct 2026	10,712,715	6,850
Reverse charge VAT 21% (creditable in November)	Within 10 business days, about 9 Nov 2026 (unconfirmed)	3,284,190	2,100
Comparison: Spanish provider, treaty cap 10%	Certificate and affidavit before payment	1,563,900	1,000

Without a treaty. The US has no income tax treaty with Argentina, only a transport agreement. Unregistered contract, so art. 104(i): 10,000 × 90% × 35% = US$ 3,150.
If the contract were registered under Law 22.426 and the service unobtainable locally: 10,000 × 60% × 35% = US$ 2,100 (art. 104(a)(1)).
With a treaty. For a Spanish provider, the Spain treaty caps tax on technical assistance and software at 10% of the gross (art. 12(2)(c), approved by Law 26.918): US$ 1,000. The Protocol limits this to cases meeting Argentine registration rules (para. 4(a)) and computes technical assistance after deducting certain staff and material costs (para. 4(c)).
VAT. 10,000 × 21% = US$ 2,100, creditable against output VAT.
Gross up. If the contract says the US company must receive US$ 10,000 net, the base is 10,000 ÷ (1 minus 0.315) = US$ 14,598.54 and the tax US$ 4,598.54 (RG 739, art. 2) (unconfirmed).

Cost to do it: no ARCA fee for SIRE. Cash cost US$ 3,150 final income tax plus US$ 2,100 VAT prefunded for about one month. Foreign residence certificate and apostille fees are set abroad (unconfirmed).

Practical traps

Using SICORE. Foreign beneficiary withholdings moved to SIRE in 2015 (RG 3726, art. 10). RG 739 still describes stamped SICORE certificates; RG 3726 makes the F. 2003 the only valid certificate (art. 3).
Late treaty paperwork. A certificate received after payment means full withholding and a refund process (RG 5855, arts. 7 and 8).
Not withholding. The payer still owes the tax (ITL art. 102, last paragraph) plus a fine of 200% of the amount not withheld, because the counterparty is abroad (Law 11.683, art. 45).

FAQ

Can the foreign company credit the Argentine tax at home? That depends on its own country's rules. The SIRE F. 2003 certificate is the evidence it will need.

Is the withholding final? Yes. It is a sole and final payment; the foreign company files nothing in Argentina for that income (ITL art. 102).

Does the bank withhold? Banks that remit on behalf of a payer must withhold unless the payer gives them the certificate or a note on a non taxable payment (RG 739, arts. 6, 13 and 14).

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.