What should I expect in terms of taxes?

[Zetaphor]

Hello all,

US Citizen living in BA for about 3 months now, with plans to reside here long term with my Argentinian native wife. I will be applying for the permanent resident visa.
I work for a US company earning my income in USD and then use Western Union to get my local pesos.

I'm about to begin the process of applying for residence and I was curious what I should expect when it comes to taxes?
I am making plans to speak to a US and Argentinian accountant in further detail, but I was hoping folks here could share some insight.

What does the tax rates look like if my income comes from the exterior, what can I expect in terms of paperwork burden?
Is there any recommended path I should take?

Thanks for reading!

 

[toongeorges]

Try to keep your money away from the Argentine tax system.

If it is an option, you could have a company in the US that is paid for your services and this company only pays you a limited wage, while you keep the rest of the money in the US.

If you are going to have your full income taxed in Argentina, the tax rates themselves may be ok and I do not know them in detail, but you will also have to convert all your dollars to pesos at the official rate. With this conversion, half of the value of your money will instantly disappear and the remaining value will not last long because of the inflation. If you wish to convert some of these pesos back to USD for saving, you can do so for at most 200 USD per month and will have to pay an extra tax of 30% on top of that.

If you want to follow the law and pay taxes in this country, you get fleeced. That is why almost no one does it. You either set up a tax construction that taxes you outside Argentina, or you earn your money in black.

 

[Cordoba]

This is how it works.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

I suggest you apply for citizenship and use your wife income to evidence the honest way of living.
immigration is interested on taxes, judges are not.

 

[W5cre]

Based on my research you’d best be seeking legal counsel. You will continue to be required to file and pay US taxes, then file and pay Argentina taxes with a deduction of what you pay the US. Your total tax burden could be as much as 35% plus a social security tax of 17%. Yea, whatever that lawyer costs will be worth it.

 

[Zetaphor]

Thanks for the replies all. After speaking to legal counsel and reviewing the laws and the impact to our income, we decided it's ultimately going to be best if the both of us leave Argentina together. It's an unfortunate decision, but it's the only way the numbers make sense with our long term goals.

 

[Brian_is_here]

To be in compliance with AFIP, you should be reporting your USD income to AFIP (Argentina IRS). AFIP is _very_ busy and might not notice. But ... The taxes are excessive.

Additionally, you must file with the IRS every year regardless of your physical residence outside the USA. BUT since you're outside of the US you may be able to claim the foreign tax exclusion since you're paying AFIP. This would dramatically lower your tax obligation to the IRS.

I'm not sure what the Green card visa line is. you could be working in Argentina for quite some time while your wife gets her visa to enter the USA.

 

[lunar]

Thanks for the replies all. After speaking to legal counsel and reviewing the laws and the impact to our income, we decided it's ultimately going to be best if the both of us leave Argentina together. It's an unfortunate decision, but it's the only way the numbers make sense with our long term goals.

This is unfortunate.

I guess your idea was to meticulously play by the book and it kind of contradicts the local mentality. It is difficult even to explain that you want to bring money from abroad and pay on them taxes here. Everybody will probably ask you "what for?".

Unless you have a regular job here from 9 to 5, you are in an unusual situation. And without any flexibility it is difficult to handle, especially for a foreigner.

 

[lunar]

US Citizen living in BA for about 3 months now, with plans to reside here long term with my Argentinian native wife.

Migraciones and AFIP are different agencies. Probably in your situation for migraciones you should just demonstrate "the honest way of living". They can be flexible in this respect. For example, they may agree to accept an apostilled letter from your USA employer describing your position, what kind of work do you do, and how long have you been with them, and that they expect you to be doing the same kind of work from Argentina.

 

[Fiscal]

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To be in compliance with AFIP, you should be reporting your USD income to AFIP (Argentina IRS). AFIP is _very_ busy and might not notice. But ... The taxes are excessive.

Additionally, you must file with the IRS every year regardless of your physical residence outside the USA. BUT since you're outside of the US you may be able to claim the foreign tax exclusion since you're paying AFIP. This would dramatically lower your tax obligation to the IRS.

I'm not sure what the Green card visa line is. you could be working in Argentina for quite some time while your wife gets her visa to enter the USA.

How do you report your income to AFIP?