Paying and owning

Property taxes on land in Argentina: what a foreign owner pays

By Nico F. · Updated October 12, 2026 · Leer esta nota en español

General information, not legal, immigration or tax advice. Rules, exchange rates and prices change and every case has its own details. Before you pay, sign or apply for residency, check the current rules with an Argentine notary (escribano), lawyer or accountant.

Quick answer The owner of a lot pays the provincial property tax (impuesto inmobiliario) every year and a fee to the municipality, and a non-resident owner also owes Bienes Personales (the national personal assets tax; 0.50% of the value, a single and final payment), which a substitute taxpayer (responsable sustituto) in Argentina pays when there is one. In Río Negro, the tax law adds a 50% surcharge to the property tax of "absentee" owners, which includes people who live abroad. On a sale, since 2026 the gain from selling real estate by individuals, resident or not, is exempt from income tax (impuesto a las ganancias) when the sale falls under article 99 of the income tax law (not the sale of subdivisions or other business activity), and the real estate transfer tax (1.5%) was repealed in 2024. Amounts change every year and should be confirmed by an accountant and by the tax agency of each province.

Amounts marked "ARS" are in Argentine pesos. On this page, ARCA is the national tax agency, CUIT is the Argentine tax ID, baldío is a vacant lot (one with no building on it) and tasas are municipal service fees.

What taxes do you pay for owning a lot in Argentina?

How much is the property tax in Río Negro, Neuquén and Chubut?

Río Negro. Law 5837 sets the 2026 tax with a formula that depends on the assessed value and on separate tables for vacant urban, suburban, sub-rural and rural lots. The annual minimum for a vacant urban lot is ARS 72,468.48, which is also the amount of the first bracket (assessed value up to ARS 3,775,000). For 2026, the tax cannot exceed the 2025 tax by more than 25%, unless the assessed value changes, for example because of a new improvement or a change in property type. Under the current law, an urban or suburban property counts as vacant (baldío) if it has no buildings cleared for use according to its purpose, or only perimeter fences (Law 1622, art. 3, consolidated text).

Neuquén. Law 3541, the 2026 tax law, sets a rate of 28 per thousand on the taxable base for vacant urban properties, with an annual minimum of ARS 33,280 (arts. 10 and 12). The base is the assessed value adjusted by the provincial coefficients (Fiscal Code, art. 163).

Chubut. Each municipality collects the urban property tax, as Chequeado reported in February 2025, so the rates are in each city's tariff ordinance. It is worth asking the municipality for the assessed value of the parcel and for the ordinance in force.

These amounts come from the 2026 laws and are updated every year: the exact figure for a lot is given by the bill or by a query to the provincial agency.

Do owners who live abroad pay more?

In Río Negro, the surcharge depends on residence, not nationality. Law 1622 provides an additional charge for "absentee" owners (art. 5) and Law 5837 sets that surcharge at 50% (art. 3). Among others, the Fiscal Code treats as absentees people domiciled or permanently resident abroad, people who live in the country temporarily six months or less in the calendar year, and legal entities with a board or main seat abroad (art. 137). Owners domiciled outside the province must also set an address for legal notices (domicilio procesal) inside it; if they do not, the location of the property is taken as their address (art. 24).

As an illustration, if the surcharge applies to the base tax, a vacant urban lot in the first bracket would go from ARS 72,468.48 to ARS 108,702.72 per year. This is an illustrative estimate, not a published amount, and it must be confirmed with the agency. The exemption in the law is for someone who lives in or personally operates their only property, with an assessed value of up to ARS 917,462 in 2026, and it does not help an absentee owner with an empty lot.

What are municipal fees and the vacant lot surcharge?

Each municipality charges its own fees. In Bariloche, the municipal services fee is calculated with a fixed value per zone, the assessed value times a unit cost, and the meters of frontage times another unit cost, with categories for built, vacant and vacant with improvements. The fiscal ordinance also includes a tax on properties free of improvements, with an exemption, which must be requested, for the owner of a single property of up to 1,000 m², except for so-called idle properties (Ordinance 2374-CM-12, arts. 100, 103, 109, 310 and 309 to 315). The municipality may clean a lot at the owner's expense and add the cost to the fee (art. 110). The 2026 amounts are set by the tariff ordinance. For San Martín de los Andes, El Bolsón, Villa La Angostura and Esquel, it is worth asking the municipal revenue office for the tariff ordinance and for a simulation for the parcel.

When and where do you pay?

The property tax is paid in installments, with discounts for paying the full year: in Río Negro, the 2026 law provides 20% for those who had no debt on December 31, 2025 or had regularized it, and 5% if they had debt (Law 5837, art. 40), and the agency publishes the calendar and allows you to pay and check debts online. In Neuquén, the Provincial Revenue Office (Dirección Provincial de Rentas) publishes the calendar for each year. Dates and discounts change every year, so check with the agency of the province.

What happens if the lot has unpaid taxes?

• Río Negro: at the deed signing, the notary (escribano) must ensure payment through the last due installment (Law 1622, art. 12), and the Registry asks for proof of payment to register the deed, except for attachments, bars on disposing of assets and pending-lawsuit notices (art. 13). If ownership has not been transferred, the owner and the possessor are jointly liable (art. 9), and the possessor is a taxpayer (art. 8).
• Neuquén: the tax is a joint and indivisible obligation between the parties to the contract, and after a transfer it is attributed to the buyer from January 1 of the year after registration (Fiscal Code, arts. 158 and 160). Notaries must require a certificate from the revenue office that the tax is paid through the year of the transaction (art. 161). The no-debt certificate (libre deuda) costs ARS 8,320 in person and ARS 31,590 if urgent (Law 3541, art. 28).

See debts on a lot before buying (in Spanish).

What if you built and did not declare it?

In Río Negro, a lot that is listed as vacant but has undeclared buildings can receive retroactive assessments. In July 2026 the Río Negro tax agency reported that it began sending an extraordinary installment to 5,053 parcels with undeclared buildings, detected with satellite and aerial images, that had not regularized during the 2025 plan. According to the local press, works must be reported within 30 days of completion. See building a house on a lot in Patagonia: permits and timelines.

Does a non-resident foreigner pay Bienes Personales on a lot?

Non-residents are taxpayers for assets located in Argentina, and real estate is considered located in the country (Law 23.966, arts. 17 and 19). Whoever is domiciled in the country and holds, administers or has custody of a non-resident's assets must pay the tax as a single and final payment on the value as of December 31, and can recover it from the owner (art. 26). The rate is 0.50% since the 2019 tax period (Law 27.541, arts. 30 and 31). Owners who have no one administering the asset, such as an owner with an empty lot, should ask an accountant how the payment is made. The scales with a non-taxable minimum and the decreasing rates that are reported in the press are for residents. If the property belongs to a foreign company and is unused or used for rental or recreation, the law presumes a resident owner and doubles the rate (art. 26).

Two points to review with an accountant: rural properties owned by individuals are exempt (art. 21 inc. f), and whether a lot is rural or urban depends on its cadastral classification, and the computable value cannot be lower than the property tax base (until the federal valuation method is defined, the base in force on December 31, 2017, updated by the consumer price index, is used; art. 22 and the Law 27.480 note). The special payment regime (REIBP, Régimen Especial de Ingreso del Impuesto sobre los Bienes Personales) was only for people who were residents or former residents on December 31, 2023, and its deadline to join expired in 2024 (Law 27.743, arts. 46 and 48).

Your home country's tax and reporting rules are outside this page; ask a tax adviser there.

Do you need a CUIT?

The notary usually asks the buyer for a CUIT, CUIL or CDI. Since March 2, 2026, ARCA processes the CUIT instead of the CDI for individuals, and CDIs already issued stay valid until some detail is changed. A non-resident requests it through a representative domiciled in the country (ARCA General Resolution 5803/2025, arts. 6, 33 and 34). See CUIT for foreigners buying land in Argentina.

What taxes do you pay when you sell?

• Income tax on the gain. The gain of an individual on the sale of real estate was taxed at 15% (Income Tax Law, art. 99). Law 27.802 (art. 192) exempts it for sales from January 1, 2026, and Decree 406/2026 clarifies that the exemption covers individuals and undivided estates (sucesiones indivisas), resident in the country or abroad, and includes the assignment of a purchase agreement (boleto) without possession. The decree speaks of individuals, not companies. Someone who sells habitually, or a subdivision, should ask an accountant.
• Real estate transfer tax. The 1.5% tax was repealed by Law 27.743 (art. 67) from July 2024. Many guides still mention it.
• Stamp tax and fees. They are paid at the deed signing: see cost of buying land in Argentina.

What if you rent out the lot or a house?

Whoever pays rent to a beneficiary abroad must withhold 35% as a single and final payment, on a presumed net gain of 60% of the amount paid, which equals an effective withholding of 21% of the gross rent, unless the owner chooses to deduct actual expenses (Income Tax Law, arts. 102 and 104). Law 27.802 (art. 192) exempts from 2026 the rent of a dwelling used as the tenant's home (casa-habitación), and Decree 406/2026 (art. 1) regulates it for the tenant's only, family and permanent home. Whether this reaches a non-resident owner, or the rent of a lot or a tourist rental, is not clear: an accountant must confirm it.

What should you check before buying?

• Any debt for property tax and municipal fees, and the no-debt certificate (libre deuda) from the province and from the municipality.
• Whether the lot is listed as vacant and has undeclared buildings.
• The cadastral classification, urban or rural, which changes the Bienes Personales treatment.
• If the owner will be a non-resident: the absentee surcharge in Río Negro, the legal address and who will pay Bienes Personales.
• The buyer's CUIT.
• Who pays each cost at the deed signing: see the deed step by step (in Spanish) and how to verify a lot (in Spanish).

If you buy through a company, the tax treatment changes: see buying land in your own name or through a company and buying land in Argentina as a non-resident.

See also: buying a house or an apartment in Argentina.

Sources

• Río Negro, Law 5837 (2026 tax law) (in Spanish): web.legisrn.gov.ar
• Río Negro, Law 1622 (property tax), consolidated text (in Spanish): web.legisrn.gov.ar and Fiscal Code, Law 2686 (in Spanish): argentina.gob.ar
• Neuquén, Law 3541 (2026 tax law) (in Spanish): legislaturaneuquen.gob.ar and Fiscal Code, Law 2680 (in Spanish): argentina.gob.ar
• Property tax in each province, Chequeado, February 2025 (in Spanish): chequeado.com
• Bariloche, Fiscal Ordinance 2374-CM-12 (in Spanish): concejobariloche.gov.ar
• Declaration of improvements and retroactive assessments in Río Negro, ANB, July 16, 2026 (in Spanish): anbariloche.com.ar
• Law 23.966, Bienes Personales, consolidated text (in Spanish): biblioteca.afip.gob.ar and Law 27.541, art. 31 (in Spanish): argentina.gob.ar
• Law 27.743, repeal of the real estate transfer tax (in Spanish): consejosalta.org.ar and Law 23.905, title VII, art. 13 (rate) (in Spanish): colegio-escribanos.org.ar
• Income Tax Law, consolidated text (Decree 824/2019) (in Spanish): argentina.gob.ar
• Decree 406/2026, Official Gazette, June 1, 2026 (in Spanish): colegio-escribanos.org.ar
• ARCA General Resolution 5803/2025 (CUIT) (in Spanish): argentina.gob.ar