ARGENTINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Juan McEwan and Agustín Lacoste, McEWAN
• Natural persons and legal entities domiciled within PBA that have benefited from a gratuitous transfer are liable. In this case, the tax applies to the total sum of the assets received by that person or entity. • Natural persons and legal entities domiciled outside PBA are liable when the increase in their wealth comes from a gratuitous transfer of assets located within PBA (PBA situs assets). In this case, the tax applies only to the amount of the increase derived from the transfer. The PBA Tax Code considers that the shares and equity interests of a company registered outside PBA are a PBA situs asset in the proportion of those assets held by the company that are situated in PBA (eg, a company incorporated and registered in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires having real property in PBA). For tax assessment purposes, the shares will be valued according to the net asset value of the lat - est closed financial statements. The tax-free allowance when the beneficiary is the spouse, child or parent of the transferor is ARS23,343,337. If the amount received exceeds this sum, the tax will be applied to the difference. In any other cases, the tax-free allowance is ARS5,606,568. The applicable tax rates vary between 2.404% and 9.513%, depending on the value of the property trans - ferred and the relationship between the transferor and the transferee of the property. The rates are based on the assessment value or the market value (whichever is higher). The PBA Tax Code (Section 320 of Provincial Law 10.397) provides that certain heirs (surviving spouse, ascendants and/or descendants) will be exempt from ITGB when they receive any of the following assets mortis causa: • a homestead ( vivienda familiar ) in accordance with Section 244 of the Argentine Civil and Commercial Code ( Código Civil y Comercial de la Nación , or CCCN); • real property entirely destined for the housing of the decedent or their family, provided it is the only property and its assessed value does not exceed ARS1,154,400 (for the 2026 fiscal period); and
• a company, whatever its form of organisation, pro - vided the valuation of its assets does not exceed the amount established by law (ARS421,510,967 for the 2026 fiscal period) and as long as the activity is effectively maintained in the five years following the death of the decedent – otherwise, they must pay the tax reassessment for the remain - ing years to obtain the benefits of the exemption (although this exemption will not apply when the income of the company derived from rental and financial assets exceeds ARS16,900,450 (for the 2026 fiscal period)). Even though there are no similar taxes in the rest of the provinces (Entre Ríos Province abrogated this tax on 22 December 2018), it cannot be ruled out that oth - er provinces may introduce similar taxes in the future or that an inheritance is enacted at a federal level. Every now and then these possibilities are mentioned. 1.2 Exemptions See 1.1 Tax Regimes (Gift/Estate Tax). 1.3 Income Tax Planning Income tax planning alternatives should be analysed on a case-by-case basis. However, there are no spe - cial provisions in the ITL that provide a step-up in the value of assets to their fair market value. 1.4 Pre-Immigration and Exit Planning As noted in 1.3 Income Tax Planning , the ITL con - tains no provision for a step-up in the tax basis of assets to fair market value upon becoming a resident. Against this backdrop, individuals relocating to Argen - tina often find it prudent to keep careful records of the historical acquisition cost of their foreign assets, and to weigh – while such income still falls outside the scope of Argentine taxation – whether realising built- in gains, distributing retained earnings, or undertak - ing corporate reorganisations ahead of the move may prove advantageous. 1.5 Taxation of Real Estate Owned by Non- Residents and Non-Citizens Personal Asset Tax Non-residents are subject to PAT on all property locat - ed in Argentina as of 31 December each year. To col - lect this tax, the law provides a method of substitution
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