Buying an apartment in CABA

[Shane]

Hi all. Due to the rental prices being so high, I'm considering buying an apartment. I'm a US citizen with residency here. I would need to sell my assets in gold and silver. Any idea if I would need to prove my source of funds? Or if I would need to pay taxes on the money I get for selling my metals?

 

[Alby]

If you have a residency issued by Migraciones, you are almost certainly an Argentine tax resident too. That doesn't necessarily mean you should be/should have been paying Argentine tax up to now, but it may, depending on your income levels (if any) and worldwide assets (if any). I don't know the answer to your question, but to the extent you are not registered with ACRA (if you aren't) but have income and assets that they could tax you on (if you do), you may well be complicating your situation by entering into a major property purchase.

If you are not already well acquainted with Argentina's tax laws (and their interaction with US tax laws), get professional advice.

 

[Johngwyn]

Hi all. Due to the rental prices being so high, I'm considering buying an apartment. I'm a US citizen with residency here. I would need to sell my assets in gold and silver. Any idea if I would need to prove my source of funds? Or if I would need to pay taxes on the money I get for selling my metals?

Buying apartment here takes cash, hard US dollar. That's right, cash. I don't know silver or gold, maybe. But you can use western Union to wire yourself 5k each and an apartment might cost anywhere 30-80K or whatever the price might be, it's gonna be a lot of transactions. I would worry about your BOA or Chase that they might have to stop it freeze it or give you some hardtime, that happened to me few times including once buying the wedding ring at Tiffany store....

 

[nikad]

It really depends on where you sell the metals and get the money from, and the value of what you want to buy. It can be very simple or an adventure.

 

[steveinbsas]

Hi all. Due to the rental prices being so high, I'm considering buying an apartment. I'm a US citizen with residency here. I would need to sell my assets in gold and silver. Any idea if I would need to prove my source of funds? Or if I would need to pay taxes on the money I get for selling my metals?

The escribano has the responsibiliy to "certify" the source of the funds. Some escribanos are very diligent about this and some appear to be less so.

You could start "shopping" for an escribano while you are looking for an apartment. Each escribano will tell you how you must demonstrate the source of the funds to their satisfacton (for them to agree to conduct the escritura).

What they tell you may depend on the source of the funds you used to buy the metals, where you bought them, and where you will sell them. If you bought the metals in Argentina with undeclared income that was earned in Argentina, you can expect a different answer than if you bought the metals in the USA and will sell them in the USA.

If you sell them in the USA you will obviously have to get the funds to Argentina. Western Union transfers will cost about 5%(?) and you will only recieve the funds in pesos which you would then have to use to buy (suddenly more expensive) dollars. Perhaps those costs will be less than the taxes someone with tax residency would have to pay on declared income. Some ecribanos might already know the answer. If not, they probably work with an accountant who does.

If the metals are in Argentina and you sell them here, at least you won't have any costs getting them into Argentina. There may or may not be a tax on the gains/profits. If the sale of the metals is en negro and the escribano is willing to record the sale, perhaps you will never have anything to worry about...or lose sleep over.

 

[nikad]

The escribano has the responsibiliy to "certify" the source of the funds. Some escribanos are very diligent about this and some appear to be less so.

You could start "shopping" for an escribano while you are looking for an apartment. Each escribano will tell you how you must demonstrate the source of the funds to their satisfacton (for them to agree to conduct the escritura).

What they tell you may depend on the source of the funds you used to buy the metals, where you bought them, and where you will sell them. If you bought the metals in Argentina with undeclared income that was earned in Argentina, you can expect a different answer than if you bought the metals in the USA and will sell them in the USA.

If you sell them in the USA you will obviously have to get the funds to Argentina. Western Union transfers will cost about 5%(?) and you will only recieve the funds in pesos which you would then have to use to buy (suddenly more expensive) dollars. Perhaps those costs will be less than the taxes someone with tax residency would have to pay on declared income. Some ecribanos might already know the answer. If not, they probably work with an accountant who does.

If the metals are in Argentina and you sell them here, at least you won't have any costs getting them into Argentina. There may or may not be a tax on the gains/profits. If the sale of the metals is en negro and the escribano is willing to record the sale, perhaps you will never have anything to worry about...or lose sleep over.

The limits that escribanos have to ask for source of funds and report has changed about a month ago ( roughly up to 200k dollars )

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blogdelcontador.com.ar

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La Unidad de Información Financiera oficializó los nuevos umbrales. A quiénes afecta y cómo cambia el régimen de información para los ciudadanos y los registros oficiales

www.infobae.com

 

[LuckyLuke]

Howdy Shane,

I need some more info before answering.

Is the bullion located in the US or Argentina? I assume it was purchased in the US? Are we talking bars or coins?

What's your cost analysis on rent/buying? How much are you paying in rent? How long do you plan on holding the asset?

I assume by residency you are a permanent resident? Do you have an account in dollars open down here?

What is your income tax status down here? Are you registered in a regimen?

 

[Shane]

Thank you all for your answers. I've collected numismatic and bullion coins since I was a kid and brought them here slowly over the years. I support 3 children here and rent an apartment for $1000 a month with high expenses. I'm an independent contractor with permanent residency and tax status. I am by no means rich. I would like to buy a modest 2 bedroom PH in Capital up to $70000 and eventually give it to my kids. I know practically nothing about the process and new laws, so I appreciate all of your knowledge.

 

[redlobster]

...I would need to sell my assets in gold and silver.

I've seen people trade in their old apartment as part of the payment for a new one. Sometimes, they include their car. If cars can be part of the deal, I don't see any reason why gold coins couldn't be.

 

[LuckyLuke]

Thank you all for your answers. I've collected numismatic and bullion coins since I was a kid and brought them here slowly over the years. I support 3 children here and rent an apartment for $1000 a month with high expenses. I'm an independent contractor with permanent residency and tax status. I am by no means rich. I would like to buy a modest 2 bedroom PH in Capital up to $70000 and eventually give it to my kids. I know practically nothing about the process and new laws, so I appreciate all of your knowledge.

In a sideways market I would expect your coins to fetch more in the US. However, Gold has done quite well YOY and you may get some interest from investors down here. As others have mentioned, partial payment of real estate with trades of other assets is quite common down here so I would not jump on liquidating the coins at a commission cost without first checking with the sellers agent if the sellers are interested.

You can wire yourself dollars as repatriated savings tax free, talk to your accountant. You will need to show statements to the bank indicating the source of the funds to assure them it's not laundering.

Understand that the cost/benefit analysis makes a lot more sense with the dollar priced in this range, but please factor into your calculations the return of a 200% blue/oficial spread to see if it still makes sense for you to lock up that capital to ensure you don't get any buyer's remorse.

There are plenty of other threads on this forum that discuss in depth the process of buying real estate. Trustworthy local counsel is paramount.