Jun 1, 2026Argentina

Argentina Property Taxes and the Blue Dollar: What Foreign Owners Need to Know in 2026

Owning property in Argentina means navigating a tax system that has changed significantly under the Milei administration and a currency environment that looks nothing like it did two years ago. The blue dollar, once the defining feature of Argentine financial life for foreigners, has been rendered nearly irrelevant by the elimination of currency controls. The tax landscape, meanwhile, has been simplified in some areas and remains complicated in others.

This guide covers the three taxes that directly affect foreign property owners (Bienes Personales, Ganancias, and the former ITI), the current state of the dollar-peso exchange, and the practical implications for your holding costs and eventual exit.

Bienes Personales: The Wealth Tax

Bienes Personales (formally, Impuesto sobre los Bienes Personales) is Argentina's annual wealth tax. It applies to all individuals who own assets in Argentina, including non-residents.

For non-resident foreign property owners, the rules are relatively straightforward. You pay Bienes Personales only on your Argentine-source assets (the property and any other Argentine holdings). You do not pay on worldwide assets. The tax is assessed at a flat rate of 0.5% for non-residents, calculated on the fiscal valuation of the property.

The payment is made annually through a local tax representative (responsable sustituto), who is typically your accountant or lawyer in Argentina. The filing deadline falls in June of each year for the previous tax year.

The fiscal valuation used for Bienes Personales is not the market value of your property. It is the valor fiscal, a government-assessed value that is typically well below market price. The gap between fiscal and market value varies by jurisdiction and property type, but it is common for the fiscal valuation to be 30% to 60% of what the property would actually sell for. This significantly reduces the effective tax burden.

For Argentine tax residents, Bienes Personales applies to worldwide assets above a non-taxable threshold. Law 27.743, enacted in 2024, reformed the rate structure to a progressive scale ranging from 0.5% to 1.50%. The primary residence (casa habitacion) is exempt if its fiscal value does not exceed approximately ARS 350 million.

Practical impact for foreign owners: On a property with a fiscal valuation of $100,000 (which might have a market value of $200,000 or more), the annual Bienes Personales liability for a non-resident would be approximately $500. This is a modest carrying cost by international standards.

Ganancias: Income Tax and Capital Gains

Ganancias (Impuesto a las Ganancias) affects foreign property owners in two ways: rental income and capital gains on sale.

Rental income. If you rent your Argentine property, the rental income is subject to Argentine income tax. For non-residents, rental income is taxed at a flat rate on gross income, with limited deductions. The rate for non-resident individuals is 35% on net presumed income, which ARCA calculates as a percentage of gross rental income (typically 40% to 70% of gross, depending on the type of property and whether expenses are documented). In practice, the effective tax rate on gross rental income for non-residents usually works out to approximately 12% to 24%.

You will need an Argentine accountant to file the Ganancias return and a local tax representative to handle the withholdings and payments. If you are renting through a property management company, they will typically handle the withholdings for you.

Capital gains on sale. When you sell the property, the gain is subject to a cedular (schedular) capital gains tax. Following the 2024 repeal of the ITI (see below), the capital gains tax rate is 15% on the net gain, defined as the sale price minus the original acquisition cost (adjusted for inflation using the official IPIM index), minus documented improvement costs.

For properties acquired before 2018, the old ITI regime may still apply instead of the cedular Ganancias. The transition between the two regimes is one of the more confusing areas of Argentine tax law, and your accountant will need to determine which applies to your specific situation.

ITI: The Former Transfer Tax

The ITI (Impuesto a la Transferencia de Inmuebles) was a simple 1.5% tax on the sale price of property, collected from the seller at the time of transfer. It applied to properties acquired before January 1, 2018, and was a "final" tax, meaning it replaced rather than supplemented income tax on the gain.

The ITI was repealed in 2024 as part of the Milei administration's tax reform package. For properties acquired after 2018, the cedular Ganancias (15% capital gains tax) had already replaced it. For pre-2018 properties, the transition is still being clarified by ARCA regulations, but the general direction is toward the cedular Ganancias framework for all future sales.

Practical implication: If you are buying in 2026, the ITI is no longer relevant to you. Your future sale will be subject to the 15% cedular Ganancias on the net gain. If you are selling a property you acquired before 2018, consult your accountant to determine whether the ITI or the cedular Ganancias applies to your transaction.

ABL: The Local Property Tax

In addition to national taxes, property owners in Buenos Aires City pay ABL (Alumbrado, Barrido y Limpieza), a combined property and municipal services tax. ABL covers street lighting, street cleaning, and garbage collection.

ABL is assessed based on the fiscal valuation of the property and is paid bimonthly (six payments per year). The amounts are modest by international standards: a typical apartment in Palermo or Recoleta might pay ARS 30,000 to ARS 80,000 per billing period, which at current exchange rates amounts to $20 to $55 every two months.

Other Argentine cities have their own local property taxes with different names but similar structures. Mendoza and Bariloche each have their own municipal tax regimes.

The Blue Dollar: What Changed and Why It Matters

For years, the blue dollar was the defining feature of financial life in Argentina. The gap between the official exchange rate and the parallel (blue) market rate created a parallel economy where dollars were worth dramatically more than the government officially acknowledged. At its peak in 2023, the blue dollar traded at nearly double the official rate.

For foreign real estate buyers, this meant that bringing physical dollars to Argentina and converting them at the blue rate (or negotiating prices effectively denominated at the blue rate) could yield discounts of 30% to 50% on property purchases.

That era is over. In April 2025, the Milei administration eliminated the cepo cambiario (currency controls) that had sustained the gap between official and parallel rates. As of mid-2026, the official rate, the MEP (electronic market) rate, and the blue dollar all trade within a 2% to 3% band of each other, hovering around 1,430 to 1,460 pesos per dollar.

What this means for property buyers: You no longer gain a significant advantage by bringing physical cash dollars versus wiring funds through the banking system. The blue dollar premium has effectively disappeared. This is actually positive for the market overall because it brings transactions into formal channels, improves title clarity, and reduces the cash-handling risks that were an inherent part of the old system.

What this means for property owners: If you purchased property during the peak of the blue dollar era and paid a price that reflected the parallel rate, your cost basis in real terms is lower than the nominal dollar amount. This means your eventual capital gain (and associated tax liability) may be larger than expected. Discuss this with your accountant when planning your exit.

Currency Risk and Holding Costs

Although property prices in Argentina are denominated in dollars, your ongoing costs are mostly in pesos. This creates an interesting dynamic for foreign owners.

Monthly expensas (building maintenance fees) for a typical apartment in Buenos Aires range from ARS 100,000 to ARS 300,000 per month, which at current rates is approximately $70 to $210. ABL adds another $10 to $30 per month effectively. Utility costs (electricity, gas, water, internet) total approximately $30 to $80 per month for a standard apartment.

All of these peso-denominated costs are subject to Argentine inflation, which has dropped significantly under Milei (from over 200% annualized in early 2024 to roughly 40% to 50% in early 2026) but remains high by global standards. If the peso depreciates against the dollar, your holding costs in dollar terms decrease. If the peso strengthens (as it has been doing in real terms through 2025 and early 2026), your holding costs in dollar terms increase.

For a Bektu-listed apartment in Palermo with a market value of $180,000, total annual holding costs (Bienes Personales, ABL, expensas, utilities) typically run $2,500 to $4,500, depending on the building and the exchange rate at the time of payment. This represents roughly 1.4% to 2.5% of the property's value, which is comparable to holding costs in most Latin American markets and significantly lower than equivalent costs in the United States or Europe.

Tax Planning Considerations

Several tax planning points are worth discussing with your Argentine accountant before you buy.

Ownership structure. Buying in your personal name is the simplest approach but may not be optimal depending on your home country's tax treatment of foreign property. Some buyers use Argentine sociedad anonima (SA) or sociedad de responsabilidad limitada (SRL) structures for liability protection or estate planning purposes. Corporate structures have their own tax implications and should be evaluated case by case.

Tax treaty benefits. Argentina has double taxation treaties with several countries (though notably not with the United States, which only has a limited tax information exchange agreement). If your country of residence has a treaty with Argentina, it may reduce or eliminate double taxation on rental income and capital gains.

Fiscal valuations. The gap between fiscal valuation and market value means that Bienes Personales is calculated on a number that bears little resemblance to what you paid. This works in your favor for the wealth tax but can create complexities for capital gains calculations. Keep thorough records of your purchase price, all documented improvements, and the inflation indices applicable to your holding period.

Exit timing. If you plan to sell within three to five years, model the capital gains tax liability before you buy. The 15% cedular Ganancias on the inflation-adjusted gain can be significant on a property that has appreciated in dollar terms, particularly in the current environment where Buenos Aires prices are rising 8% to 12% annually.

Sources:

- PwC: Argentina Individual Other Taxes

- Global Property Guide: Argentina Taxes and Costs

- TheLatinvestor: Property Taxes, Fees and Costs Argentina 2026

- Live and Invest Overseas: Taxes in Argentina 2026

- GoldenHarbors: Argentina Tax Regime 2026

- Blue Dollar Net: Current Rates

- Quinterno & Fidanza: Tax Residency Guide 2026

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