On tax, wishing to do your homework is wise and commendable:
1) This is what (in effect) the
ganancias (
income tax) law currently says:
- You will become a tax resident of Argentina once you have completed 12 months as a temporary resident “visa” holder (unless you stayed outside Argentina for 90 days during the 365 days), i.e., once the National Migration Directorate issues you a temporary residency (in the category of "pensionista" in your case) and a national identity document, the clock towards tax residency starts to tick.
- Once a tax resident, you will pay ganancias (income tax) on your income if your income (including your pension and any other investment income you may have) is over the minimum threshold (currently around 2,400,000 pesos per month for a single person, but the government indexes the number upwards to keep pace with inflation and other considerations).
- If you have stayed out of the country for 90 days in each of the three years of your National Migration Directorate-issued temporary pensionista residency and thereby avoided becoming a tax resident, once you become a permanent resident (i.e., from the fourth year), you are now a tax resident regardless of how much time you spend outside the country in any given year. (Mind you, having gained tax residency, you can lose it by subsequently spending less than 90 days in a 365-day period inside the country.)
2) This is what (in effect) the 2019 law on
solidaridad social y reactivación productiva en el marco de la emergencia pública says about
bienes personales (the
wealth tax).
- If you are a tax resident under the ganancias (income tax) law, you are also liable to pay bienes personales (the wealth tax) on your worldwide assets.
The
bienes personales (wealth tax) rate is falling toward zero under the current government (and the asset value threshold at which it kicks in is rising). The asset value is a snapshot taken on 31 December of each year. The current rate is 1.25% for 31 December 2024, dropping in each of the next three years to settle at 0.25% for 31 December 2027 (if the current government survives). If the opposition returns, either before or after the 2027 election, the rate may well rise again (and the threshold fall), perhaps even as high as the 2.25% rate during the Fernandez government.
The bottom line:
You can delay becoming a tax resident and thus delay paying
income tax on your pension and other income, as well as the
wealth tax on your worldwide assets, by staying outside Argentina for at least 90 days in each of the three years of your temporary residency. Or, if you don't stay out of the country for 90 days in the first 365 days, you are a tax resident from day 366 of your stay here. However, even if you play the 90-day game for the first three years, once you hit permanent residency (the fourth year of your Argentina retirement adventure), you unavoidably are a tax resident and thus liable (to the extent your income and assets are over the respective thresholds) to both income tax and the wealth tax.
And yes, you will need the services of a professional tax accountant (I'm not one, but I can read legislation and also paid a professional to get the above advice) to confirm the facts as I have summarized them and that they are still current (the government is talking about a comprehensive tax reform bill, but that may never come given the currently political and economic instability). And to get a feel for the extent to which you could get away with not registering for or paying either tax, and how comfortable you would be with doing so.
