There is no income tax treaty between the US and Argentina, and none is currently being negotiated. That absence shapes every cross-border tax question between the two countries: no reduced withholding rates, no residency tie-breakers, no permanent establishment threshold, and no coordinated relief from double taxation. What you get instead is each country’s domestic tax code, with the US Foreign Tax Credit doing most of the work of preventing the same dollar from being taxed twice.
Two narrower agreements do exist. The US and Argentina signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement in Buenos Aires on December 23, 2016, which lets the IRS and Argentina’s federal tax agency share taxpayer information for enforcement. It does nothing to lower anyone’s tax bill. Separately, US law grants a reciprocal exemption for income from operating ships and aircraft internationally when the other country returns the favor, and Argentina does. That carve-out covers transportation profits only. Dividends, interest, royalties, and ordinary business income get no relief from it.
If You’re a US Person With Argentine Income
US citizens and resident aliens owe federal income tax on worldwide income, no matter where it’s earned. A job in Buenos Aires or a portfolio of Argentine shares gets reported on Form 1040 the same as domestic income, and the filing obligation exists even when credits and exclusions wipe out the actual tax due.
The Foreign Tax Credit Is Your Main Tool
The Foreign Tax Credit gives you a dollar-for-dollar credit against your US tax for income taxes paid to Argentina. Only income taxes qualify. Argentina’s value-added tax, wealth tax, and other non-income levies do not.
The credit is capped so Argentine taxes can only offset US tax on Argentine-source income, not US tax on US-source income. Individuals compute the limit on Form 1116; corporations use Form 1118. When Argentine tax exceeds the limitation, the excess carries back one year or forward up to ten. That matters in practice because Argentina’s graduated corporate rate reaches 35% and a 7% dividend withholding tax sits on top of that when distributions go to nonresidents. A US shareholder in an Argentine company can easily generate excess credits that have to be carried.
The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, and Where It Trips People
If you’re earning wages or salary in Argentina, you can instead exclude foreign earned income from your US taxable income. For 2026, the exclusion is $132,900. You have to pass either the bona fide residence test or the physical presence test (330 full days outside the US in a 12-month period).
You can use the exclusion and the credit in the same year, but not on the same dollars. Excluded Argentine wages cannot also generate a Foreign Tax Credit for the Argentine tax paid on them. Earned income above the exclusion, plus passive income like dividends and interest, still can. Claim a credit on income you could have excluded and the IRS treats it as revoking your election, locking you out of the FEIE for six years without IRS consent. The exclusion also does nothing for investment income, so anyone with Argentine dividends or interest still needs the credit.
If You’re an Argentine Resident With US Income
The US taxes nonresident aliens only on US-source income, and it splits that income into two very different buckets.
Passive US Income Faces a Flat 30%
Dividends, royalties, rent, annuities, and similar passive US-source income are subject to a flat 30% withholding tax on the gross amount. The US payer withholds it before paying you, so a $1,000 dividend arrives as $700. Treaty partners routinely see this reduced to 5%, 10%, or 15%. Argentine residents get no reduction. The 30% applies uniformly across royalty types too — patent, software, film distribution — with no treaty carve-outs available.
One meaningful exception: portfolio interest. Interest on registered US debt obligations is generally exempt from the 30% withholding when the recipient owns less than 10% of the paying corporation’s voting stock. The same exemption exists for foreign corporations. Interest paid to a 10%-or-greater shareholder does not qualify and takes the full 30% hit.
Income From a US Business Is Taxed at Regular Rates
Income effectively connected with a US trade or business is taxed at the same graduated rates that apply to US persons, with related deductions allowed. The nonresident files Form 1040-NR.
Argentine corporations with a US branch face an extra layer: the branch profits tax. On top of regular corporate tax on effectively connected income, a 30% tax applies to the “dividend equivalent amount,” which approximates the after-tax earnings pulled out of the branch. Treaty-partner companies routinely see this reduced or eliminated. Argentine companies pay the full 30%.
Documentation: Form W-8BEN
Before any US payer sends you US-source income, give them a Form W-8BEN. It establishes that you’re not a US person and are the beneficial owner of the payment. Without one on file, the payer may withhold at higher backup rates. Because there’s no US-Argentina treaty, the treaty-benefits section on Line 9 stays blank.
No Permanent Establishment Protection for Argentine Businesses
Under a typical treaty, a foreign company’s business profits are taxable in the other country only when it has a permanent establishment there — a fixed office, factory, or similar presence. Without a treaty, US domestic law applies its own “US trade or business” standard, and that bar sits lower. An Argentine company sending employees to perform services in the US, or working through dependent agents, can be pulled into the US tax net without ever opening an office.
The Argentine company then has to lean on Argentina’s own foreign tax credit rules to relieve the double tax, and modest US activity can produce disproportionate US compliance. This is where most planning mistakes happen for Argentine businesses expanding north.
No Totalization Agreement for Social Security
The US and Argentina do not have a Social Security totalization agreement. Totalization agreements, which the US has with roughly 30 countries, prevent a worker from paying social security tax to both systems on the same earnings. Without one, a US citizen who is self-employed in Argentina owes US self-employment tax on top of any Argentine social security contributions.
Self-employment tax kicks in at $400 of net self-employment earnings, and the same rules apply whether you live in the US or abroad. Income you exclude under the FEIE still counts for calculating self-employment tax. There is no credit mechanism between the two systems.
Reporting Requirements Still Apply
The absence of a treaty makes information reporting more important, not less. The 2016 TIEA gives the two tax agencies a channel to share account data, so assuming Argentine accounts stay invisible is a poor bet.
Any US person with foreign financial accounts whose combined value tops $10,000 at any point in the year must file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114), covering Argentine bank, brokerage, and certain investment accounts. It’s due April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15. Willful violations carry substantially higher penalties than non-willful ones, and criminal exposure is possible.
Separately, FATCA requires reporting specified foreign financial assets on Form 8938 with your tax return. Thresholds depend on where you live and your filing status: $50,000 end-of-year or $75,000 at any point for US-based single filers (doubled for joint), rising to $200,000/$300,000 for single filers abroad and $400,000/$600,000 for joint filers abroad. Missing Form 8938 triggers a $10,000 penalty, up to $50,000 more if you still don’t file after IRS notification, plus a 40% accuracy penalty on any tax understatement tied to undisclosed foreign assets.
One boundary worth flagging: if you’re an Argentine resident selling US real estate, FIRPTA taxes the gain at graduated rates and requires the buyer to withhold 15% of the gross sale price (10% for a personal-residence sale of $1,000,000 or less), with the seller filing a US return to reconcile. That rule applies regardless of any treaty, so the absence of one doesn’t change it. For other US capital gains, a nonresident is generally taxed only when physically present in the US for 183 days or more in the tax year.