When you sell real estate in Argentina, the capital gains tax on real estate is a flat 15% on the inflation-adjusted profit, but only if you bought the property on or after January 1, 2018. Older holdings sit under a different regime that changed significantly in mid-2024, non-residents face withholding at the closing table, and every province adds its own stamp tax on top.
Why Your Acquisition Date Decides Everything
Law 27.430, enacted in December 2017, drew a hard line at January 1, 2018. Properties acquired on or after that date fall under the capital gains regime that taxes actual profit at 15%. Properties acquired before that date were originally subject to a separate tax, the Impuesto a la Transferencia de Inmuebles (ITI). Before you do anything else, pull your original deed and confirm the acquisition date. That single fact determines which rules apply to your sale.
How the 15% Is Calculated on Post-2018 Sales
If you bought on or after January 1, 2018, you owe 15% on the difference between your inflation-adjusted purchase price and the sale price. This applies to apartments, houses, and vacant land alike. 1PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. Argentina – Individual – Income Determination
The tax targets real economic gain, not nominal peso increases. Argentina’s Consumer Price Index, the Indice de Precios al Consumidor (IPC), is applied to adjust your original purchase cost upward for inflation between the date you bought and the date you sell. Given how quickly Argentine prices move, this adjustment can shrink the taxable gain considerably, and in some cases eliminate it. You apply the IPC coefficient published by INDEC to your original peso purchase price, subtract that adjusted figure from the sale price, and calculate 15% on what remains.
Costs That Reduce the Gain
Beyond the inflation adjustment, acquisition costs and related expenses reduce the taxable base. Improvements to the property, such as renovations or additions, can be added to your cost basis. Professional fees tied to the original purchase are also deductible. Keep documentation of every improvement and expense from the day you bought forward, because undocumented costs cannot reduce your tax.
Pre-2018 Properties After the ITI Repeal
For decades, sellers of properties acquired before 2018 paid a flat 1.5% transfer tax on the sale price, owed whether or not there was a profit. 2Argentina.gob.ar. Derogación del ITI
In July 2024, Law 27.743 (Medidas Fiscales Paliativas y Relevantes) formally repealed the ITI. 2Argentina.gob.ar. Derogación del ITI If you hold a property acquired before January 1, 2018, the old 1.5% transfer tax no longer applies in its original form. The transitional rules for pre-2018 holdings are still evolving, so confirm your current obligations with a tax professional or directly with Argentina’s tax agency before signing anything.
If You’re a Non-Resident Seller
Foreign sellers classified as beneficiarios del exterior do not file a return themselves. The notary public handling the transaction, known as the escribano, acts as withholding agent. The escribano calculates the tax, deducts it from the sale proceeds, and remits it to the government before releasing the remaining funds. The treasury collects before the money leaves the country.
You generally have two options: pay on a presumed net gain, or demonstrate actual expenses and pay on the real net gain. The presumed-gain method skips the need to produce Argentine documentation of your original purchase cost but usually produces a higher effective tax. If you kept thorough records of what you paid and what you spent on improvements, the actual-gain method can save you a significant amount, though it requires submitting supporting documentation through a local representative.
The Sole-Home Replacement Exemption
Argentine tax law lets individuals selling their only home to buy another avoid the capital gains obligation. Under the reemplazo de vivienda única, the property sold must have been your sole home and primary residence, and you must purchase a replacement residence within one year, either before or after the sale.
The exemption is not automatic. You have to obtain a Certificado de No Retención from the tax agency and hand it to the notary before the deed is signed. Without that certificate, the notary is legally required to withhold the full tax. Obtaining it means proving the property qualifies as your sole dwelling and documenting the planned replacement purchase. Start the process well before your closing date; otherwise the tax gets withheld and you have to chase a refund later.
Provincial Stamp Tax on Top
Every Argentine province levies its own stamp tax (Impuesto de Sellos) on the deed of sale, separate from the national capital gains tax. The average rate across the 24 jurisdictions sits around 1% of the transaction value, but the actual rate depends on where the property is located. In the City of Buenos Aires, rates run from 0.5% to 3.6% depending on the type of transaction. 3PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. Argentina – Individual – Other Taxes
Stamp tax is typically split between buyer and seller, though the parties can agree otherwise. Because it applies to the full transaction value rather than the gain, it can be a meaningful cost even when your capital gains bill is small or zero.
What You Need Before Closing
Argentina’s tax agency, now called ARCA (Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero) after replacing AFIP in October 2024, requires several steps before a real estate closing can proceed.
The key pre-sale filing is the Código de Oferta de Transferencia de Inmuebles (COTI), which registers the sale offer with the tax authority. A COTI is required when the listed price exceeds a threshold set by ARCA, adjusted periodically for inflation. You generate it through the ARCA website using the property’s cadastral identification number (nomenclatura catastral), the asking price, and your tax identification number (CUIT or CUIL).
At closing, the notary needs the original deed, the COTI certificate, both parties’ tax identification numbers, and any exemption certificates, including the Certificado de No Retención if you are claiming the sole-home exemption. Assemble everything in advance. The notary calculates and withholds any applicable taxes, submits the withholding to ARCA, and only then completes the transfer of title. Missing or expired paperwork forces a postponement until the file is complete.