The Argentine Tax System (and How to Do Monotributo)

The Lay of the Land

Argentina's tax agency is ARCA (Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero) — it replaced the old AFIP in late 2024, and everything runs through its website with your CUIT (tax ID) and clave fiscal (your login). To get a CUIT you generally need a DNI, which is one more reason residency paths that end in a DNI are worth it (see Residency & Visas).

For a self-employed person, there are two doors:

1. Monotributo — the simplified regime. One fixed monthly payment that bundles income tax, VAT, pension contributions, and a basic health plan (obra social). This is how most freelancers, small traders, and self-employed expats go legit.
2. Régimen General (Responsable Inscripto) — the full regime: income tax at progressive rates (5%–35%), 21% VAT on invoices, and real accounting. You end up here if you outgrow monotributo's caps or your activity doesn't qualify.

Almost every expat who formalizes starts with monotributo. It is genuinely simple by design — the clue is in the name ("mono" = one payment).

Monotributo: Who It's For

• Self-employed people providing services or selling goods, below annual revenue caps.
• The categories run from A (lowest) up to K. As of mid-2026 the lowest category covers roughly ARS 12 million per year in billing, and the top category caps out around ARS 126 million (~US$84,000). The scales are inflation-adjusted twice a year, so always check the current table on ARCA's site rather than trusting a blog post — including this one.
• Each category has a fixed monthly cuota. Lower categories cost relatively little; the top category runs around ARS 1.6 million per month. You slot into a category by your trailing twelve-month billing (plus a few secondary criteria like electricity use and rent for physical businesses).

The detail that matters for expats: export services — invoicing foreign clients — are treated favorably. Export invoices (Factura E) are zero-rated for VAT, and for monotributistas exporting services there are important nuances about what counts toward your cap. This is exactly the situation a contador resolves in one meeting.

How to Register, Step by Step

1. Get your CUIT at ARCA (with your DNI) and set up your clave fiscal.
2. Adhere to monotributo on the monotributo portal: pick your activity code, estimate your billing, choose your category.
3. Choose an obra social — your monthly payment includes a health plan contribution; you pick which provider.
4. Set up electronic invoicing (facturación electrónica) through ARCA's "Comprobantes en línea" or an invoicing app. For foreign clients you'll issue Factura E.
5. Pay the cuota monthly — set up automatic debit; missing payments eventually gets you kicked out of the regime.
6. Recategorize twice a year (January and July): if your trailing billing moved you up or down a category, you adjust it yourself online.

That's it. Genuinely. The whole setup can be done in an afternoon once you have a DNI, and plenty of expats do it without help — though a contador for the first setup (typically modest one-time fee, or a small monthly retainer) is money well spent.

Why Bother Going Legit?

• A paper trail — monotributo invoices are how you prove income in Argentina: for a lease, for residency renewals, for citizenship applications, for credit.
• Health coverage — the obra social is real coverage, upgradeable by paying the difference to a prepaga.
• Pension credits — the payment includes retirement contributions.
• Peace of mind — you're a legal, tax-paying resident, which matters more with every year of the current enforcement-modernization push.

What About Everything Beyond Monotributo?

Income tax brackets, wealth tax (Bienes Personales — being phased down to a flat 0.25% from 2027), tax residency rules, and what expats actually report: that's the other tax guide — Taxes for Expats.