Purchasing A House

[JanxSpirit]

We bought property 6 years ago in the city. A few things that might help: The custom is that the buyer chooses the place where the transaction is carried out ( payment and deed registering ). You simply wire transfer the money to your local usd bank account: if you send dollars, you will receive dollars. Make sure you talk to your bank and know which codes to use exactly, etc. We did it with Galicia, but Santander and BBVA Frances are also friendly. It is important that you have document that support the origin of these funds and taxes paid. Get copies of that, the bank might ask, the escribano will ask as well. And lastly, make sure that your escritura states the amount you actually paid for the property. This will save you a lot of trouble if/when you decide to sell it.

Hi! Did you have to pay taxes in Argentina for the cash you transferred? or by just proving taxes paid in the US was enough? Thank you!

 

[nikad]

Hi! Did you have to pay taxes in Argentina for the cash you transferred? or by just proving taxes paid in the US was enough? Thank you!

I did not have to pay taxes. I declare the property every year but since it is our only and primary residence and the value falls below taxable we do not pay taxes for it.

 

[steveinbsas]

Hi! Did you have to pay taxes in Argentina for the cash you transferred? or by just proving taxes paid in the US was enough? Thank you!

If you are asking if you have to pay income tax in Argentina on the money you transfer from the USA to buy a property here the answer most likely is no, unless you had tax residency in Argentina when you earned the money.

If your US (or worldwaide) income was not subject to taxation in Argentina when you earned it, you will not have to pay taxes in Argentina on that revenue when you transfer it.

The escribanos always ask about the source of the funds, but I am not sure what they will accept as evidence that the funds were legaly acquired. Anyone could get a blank IRS form and fill it out, creating the impression they had declared the funds to the IRS.

I wonder how any escribano would actually know if a signed IRS form was real and had ever been submitted. I had no signed IRS forms or a cancelled check to show I had paid any taxes on the sale of my house in March of 2006, only a copy of the sales agreement and bank statement showing the deposit of the funds into my US bank acount.

It woud have been too soon to actually report the "income" on an IRS tax rerturn and pay any taxes (if owed) on any gain.

When I asked if I would have to pay any taxes on the transferred funds in Argentina before buying the apartment in late October of 2006. I was told no, as that was money I "earned" before ever living in Argentina with tax residency.

I received my precaria for temporary residency only a few days before I transferred the funds from my US bank to a casa de cambio in Buenos Aires. It was clear I did not have tax residency in Argentina when I "made" the money I transferred.

PS: I arrived in Argentina for the first time in May of 2006, less than two months after the sale of my house.

Hope this helps.

 

[steveinbsas]

PS to my previous post:

An escribano might ask for and/or accept IRS form 1099 from employers that "prove" previously "earned" income, but I am not certain.

AllI know for certain is what I was told and that my bank statements and a copy of the sales ageement were enough to satisfy the escibano at the time of the escritrua (which took place ten days after I saw the apartment for the first time).

 

[Ries]

I am pretty sure its the transfer to the bank in Argentina that requires the bank to inquire about the source of funds.
we recently did a purchase without a wire transfer, and neither the escribano, nor anyone else at closing cared about the source of funds.
once funds are in the country, the actual real estate transaction doesnt seem to require declaring the source. Obviously there are argentine transfer taxes, but they are all related to the sales amount of the property, not to the buyers income or the source of the funds.

Its the international transfer that requires it, and I think thats mostly due to US money laundering laws which require banks to file a form, even foreign ones.

 

[Utopos]

This morning I went to BBVA (Banco Frances) to open a dollar account. They said I need to be a bank customer for 1 year before I would be allowed to have a dollar account. My permanent residence didn't matter, nor did the fact that I'm retired. The clerk was sympathetic and understood that we were trying to buy a house, but couldn't offer any solutions except banking in Uruguay.

If anyone has any suggestions they would be welcome.

 

[Alby]

This business of banking in Uruguay keeps cropping up. But, in 2015 we went across to Montevideo and spent a day asking around the banks there. None were interested. They said they had a glut of foreigners' accounts that were uneconomical for them.

 

[FrankPintor]

This morning I went to BBVA (Banco Frances) to open a dollar account. They said I need to be a bank customer for 1 year before I would be allowed to have a dollar account. My permanent residence didn't matter, nor did the fact that I'm retired. The clerk was sympathetic and understood that we were trying to buy a house, but couldn't offer any solutions except banking in Uruguay.

If anyone has any suggestions they would be welcome.

I opened an Itau account online in June last year (as a temporary resident), approval took about a week, and I was immediately able to open a USD account from their online banking, and use it to buy Dollars. It took a further week to receive the debit card.

 

[Utopos]

A CORRECTION:

my wife says I could have opened a dollar account earlier today. HOWEVER, I would not be able to do a wire transfer into it until the account was open for 1 year. Not quite the same, nevertheless not helpful now.

The confusion and misinformation is mine and mine alone. The frustration is nacional... <sigh>

 

[Edu R]

Is there any reason you cannot do the transfer to your wife's account? If you're married, it shouldn't be a problem for the bank.