Question about Monotributo

[Isaa]

Hello, everyone! I am new. I moved to Buenos Aires about nine months ago, I'm a freelancer, so most of my clients are abroad. While I wait for my DNI to (finally) arrive, I have been thinking of ways I can get health insurance. Apparently, the monotributo is one of them. I am unfamiliar with the process or how high the tax is. Most of my clients pay me via PayPal, so I don't know how to declare that either. I was wondering if anyone here was a monotributista and if they had any recommendations for new residents in BA. Thank you!

 

[Anna3313]

I was able to obtain a private health insurance plan through Hospital Aleman using only my passport/ tourist Visa. You might do well to go there and check. This was in 2014 and I still have the same plan. Not sure they still allow sign-up using only a passport/tourist VISA but if you tell them you're awaiting your DNI should be no problem whatsoever.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

Monotributo is super simple but your billing must be under certain amount. Just check that you do not pass it.

 

[lost]

... I have been thinking of ways I can get health insurance. Apparently, the monotributo is one of them.

The plain "obra social" you can sign up with when creating a monotributo does not provide much coverage. So it is recommended to sign up with one of the "Prepagas" like Swiss Medical, OSDE etc. that provide pretty good coverage. Neither monotributo nor DNI is required to sign up with those.

I am unfamiliar with the process or how high the tax is. Most of my clients pay me via PayPal, so I don't know how to declare that either. I was wondering if anyone here was a monotributista and if they had any recommendations for new residents in BA. Thank you!

The process to sign up for a Monotributo is relatively simple. You make an appointment at the local AFIP office (via web) for something like "Alta de CUIT". Once you got the CUIT you sign up your Monotributo via the AFIP website. The tax is based on your past sales. You declare every 6 months how much revenue you had during the last 12 months (or you extrapolate when it existed less than 12 months). When first registering a Monotributo you estimate your revenue for the next 12 months. Based on that you will be put into a category and pay the taxes accordingly: https://www.afip.gob.ar/monotributo/categorias.asp

In your case you would write export invoices (factura E) for services. You can declare that income even if the clients pay with PayPal.

 

[Isaa]

Wow. Thank you, guys! This was super helpful! I have been looking for a site like this for months.

 

[Iznogud]

Get a private service. Forget Monotributo if your billing is completely abroad. Remain under the radar. Thank me later. Message ends.

Iz

 

[lost]

I disagree. Providing a proof of income via the Monotributo has been very useful for a variety of things. For example for getting a local credit card and then buying stuff with 6, 12, or 18 monthly payments and no interest is a very good deal (considering the high inflation). Or for renewing the residency or getting citizenship the proof of income that the Monotributo provides comes in handy. And the taxes you pay with the Monotributo are really low.

I have heard that some people providing services abroad do not declare all their income via the Monotributo, but keep some of the revenue abroad.

 

[Iznogud]

Good points.

The situation is fluid right now with the new government grasping at straws to draw foreign currency income by all and any means.
I'd wait, if i could, until things settle down a bit. Maybe around April or even later.

Iz

 

[Isaa]

Good points.

The situation is fluid right now with the new government grasping at straws to draw foreign currency income by all and any means.
I'd wait, if i could, until things settle down a bit. Maybe around April or even later.

Iz

Yes. I have considered lying low. But as @lost said, I need certain benefits only the monotributo can offer (seeing as I am an independent worker). For instance, a credit card that would allow me to to pay stuff in several installments and that would work wonders for me right now. I also need to move, so I need to prove I can afford rent, etc. Surely, you can work around the tax and not declare all of your income?

 

[d.gray]

I've been working for foreign clients from Argentina for years, and I agree the Monotributo is a good system. Easy to sort out, no accountant needed, and cheap monthly payments.

However, if you want to do things legally, by far the biggest headache is the fact that you are obliged to bring all the money you earn from your foreign clients into Argentina within 5 days of receiving the payment.

At the moment, you can receive the money in PayPal, but you cannot leave it there or do what you want with it. You have to 'liquidar' the money by transferring it to your Argentinian bank account. The only way you can do that right now, as far as I'm aware, is to use a third party platform called Nubi.

If you get paid into a foreign bank account, you have to transfer the money into your Argentinian account via SWIFT within 5 days, fill out forms in the banks, etc. It's a huge hassle.

Will AFIP catch you if you leave your money in PayPal? Who knows. But basically, if you are legally declaring your earnings, you will have to fill in a Factura E invoice for every client who pays you. That is then on the system, and the money you earn has to be brought into the country. It also can't be brought in by a service like Western Union, it has to come in via what's called the MULC

Lots of people don't declare all their foreign income. You could do the same, just declare some of your payments coming into PayPal, transfer those in, use that for your Monotributo, then keep the rest somewhere else. Just make sure you know what you are doing before you start doing that.

Feel free to PM me with any questions if you want. I've been through it all before and it can be very confusing.