How to pay contractors in Argentina

How to choose: five questions for paying a contractor in Argentina

1. Does the contractor bill as a person or through a company? Most Argentine freelancers are monotributistas invoicing as individuals under their own CUIT. For an individual, service-export receipts credited to a foreign-currency account in their own name at a local bank do not have to be converted to pesos (BCRA, Exterior y Cambios 2.2.2.1, checked 2026-09-28). A company, such as an SAS or SRL, must bring the proceeds into the FX market and sell them for pesos within 20 business days, unless it is a beneficiary of the knowledge-economy regime and meets further conditions (same source, 2.2.1 and 2.2.2.2). If the contractor bills as an individual, any rail that delivers USD to their dollar account keeps the payment in dollars. If they bill through a company, the money ends up in pesos whichever rail you use.

2. Does the contractor want dollars or pesos? A SWIFT wire in USD lands as dollars in the contractor’s dollar account. Since September 2025 the Argentine bank may not charge an individual a commission for crediting it, though documented charges from foreign banks in the chain pass through at cost (BCRA A 8330, checked 2026-09-28). Payoneer lets contractors withdraw USD or ARS to their Argentine bank for up to 2%, generally within 2 business days (payoneer.com, published 2025-08-28). Wise delivers pesos only, to a CBU with the recipient’s CUIT or CUIL, up to the equivalent of USD 18,000 per transfer, per calendar month (wise.com, checked 2026-09-28). Dollars: a USD wire, Payoneer or a platform paying USD. Pesos: Wise or a platform paying ARS.

3. How much do you pay each month, and will the contractor outgrow the monotributo? Fees come as a percentage per payout or a monthly seat. At 3%, a percentage fee equals a $19 seat at about $633 a month, a $40 seat at about $1,333 and a $49 seat at about $1,633. The contractor has a ceiling too: category K of the monotributo caps annual gross income at ARS 126,610,838.75 from 1 August 2026 (ARCA, checked 2026-09-28), about USD 81,900 at Banco Nación’s selling rate of ARS 1,545 on 28 September 2026 (El Cronista, checked 2026-09-28). A contractor who exceeds it is excluded and cannot return for three full calendar years (ARCA, checked 2026-09-28). Exports are zero-rated for VAT (PwC Tax Summaries, reviewed 2026-06-16), so the switch to the general regime changes the contractor’s taxes, not the VAT on your invoice.

4. How close is the engagement to employment? Law 27.802, in force since 6 March 2026, rewrote article 23 of the Labor Contract Law: the presumption of an employment contract no longer applies to contracts for works or professional services where invoices are issued or payment goes through the banking system (Ley 27.802, art. 13, checked 2026-09-28). The same article still says that services rendered in dependency presume employment unless the contrary is shown, so the invoice removes the presumption and leaves the dependency test in place. Long, exclusive engagements where you set the hours are the profile our hiring guide flags (see also contractor misclassification). If that describes your contractor, use a Contractor of Record. 4dev acts as one and becomes the contracting party for each contractor, which reduces reclassification risk; Deel, Remote, Multiplier, Rivermate and Mellow also list one. If the role is really a job, hire through an EOR, which brings the aguinaldo, Argentina’s 13th salary, and statutory severance.

5. What does your finance team need on file? If your accountant only needs an invoice, the contractor’s factura E and a bank confirmation are enough, and a wire or transfer service does the job. If you need a signed contract and a document behind every payment, choose a contractor platform with a document flow. If a contractor asks for USDT, some platforms pay to crypto wallets; decide first how your books will record a payment the central bank’s service-export rules do not provide for.

Rule of thumb. One monotributista who wants dollars, under about $1,600 a month: a USD wire, Payoneer or a percentage-fee platform. Pesos: Wise. A team, or documents with every payment: a contractor platform. Single-client, full-time work: a Contractor of Record, or an EOR if it is a job. Compare the full field in the contractor payouts rating.

Payout rails that work in Argentina in 2026

Payments to Argentine residents for services sold abroad must be brought into the FX market within 20 business days of being received abroad or credited to a foreign account. An individual may keep them in dollars in their own account at a local bank; a company converts them to pesos (BCRA, Exterior y Cambios 2.2, in force from 15 September 2026, checked 2026-09-28). The rails differ in what currency arrives.

What the contractor needs to get paid

Monotributo. The simplified regime for small taxpayers bundles VAT, income tax, pension contributions and health cover into one monthly payment (arca.gob.ar, checked 2026-09-28). Values from 1 August 2026 (ARCA, checked 2026-09-28):

Exceeding category K means exclusion and a three-calendar-year wait before re-entry (ARCA, checked 2026-09-28).

Responsable inscripto. Above the cap, or by choice, the contractor registers in the general regime: income tax on a progressive scale from 5% to 35% (PwC Tax Summaries, reviewed 2026-06-16), and VAT at 21%, with exports zero-rated and input VAT creditable or refundable (PwC Tax Summaries, reviewed 2026-06-16).

Invoice. Every service export is backed by a type E invoice (factura E), issued through ARCA’s online invoicing service after enabling an export point of sale. It can be issued in foreign currency or in pesos at Banco Nación’s buying rate of the previous day, and monotributistas do not have to join the exporters’ register (arca.gob.ar, checked 2026-09-28).

Account. A dollar account in the contractor’s own name at an Argentine bank to receive USD, or a peso account with a CBU for pesos.

Classification, IP and the contract are covered in our hiring guide.

Documents and tax on the payer’s side

Argentine withholding. A foreign client pays the invoice gross. Argentine residents are taxed on worldwide income and pay it through their own regime (PwC Tax Summaries, reviewed 2026-06-16).

US payers. Argentina is not on the IRS list of income tax treaty partners (irs.gov, checked 2026-09-28). The two countries signed only a tax information exchange agreement, on 23 December 2016 (treasury.gov, checked 2026-09-28). For services performed in Argentina the pay is foreign-source income (irs.gov, checked 2026-09-28), with no US withholding and no Form 1099-NEC. A monotributista is an individual and signs Form W-8BEN (irs.gov, checked 2026-09-28); an SAS or SRL signs W-8BEN-E.

What to keep on file:

• the signed services contract, with currency, the receiving account and who pays transfer charges;
• the contractor’s factura E for each payment;
• payment confirmations with the reference text;
• the W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, if you are a US payer.

On a platform or Contractor of Record model, you keep the platform’s invoice; the platform holds the contractor’s documents.

USDT and other stablecoins

Stablecoins are a mainstream savings and payment tool in Argentina. The country recorded $93.9 billion in crypto transaction volume between July 2022 and June 2025, second in Latin America, and stablecoins account for more than half of exchange purchases in peso markets (Chainalysis, published 2025-10-02). Exchanges operating in Argentina must register with the CNV as virtual asset service providers (PSAV) under Law 27.739, under rules set by CNV General Resolution 1058/2025 (boletinoficial.gob.ar, checked 2026-09-28). The central bank’s rules on service-export receipts are written for foreign currency entering the FX market and make no provision for stablecoins (Exterior y Cambios 2.2). Treat a USDT payment as a documentation and tax question for both accountants before the first transfer.

Where it breaks

• Dollars sent to a company account. An SAS or SRL must sell service-export receipts for pesos within 20 business days; the no-conversion exemption is for individuals, plus knowledge-economy companies that meet extra conditions.
• The account is not the contractor’s. The exemption requires a foreign-currency account held by the contractor at a local bank. A payment to someone else’s account, even a relative’s, does not meet that condition.
• Money waits abroad. The 20-business-day clock starts when the payment is received or credited abroad, including in a foreign account, not when the contractor decides to withdraw it (Exterior y Cambios 2.2.1).
• The bank cannot classify the payment. The exemption covers service-export receipts, which the bank records under a services concept code (Exterior y Cambios 2.2.2.1). Put the service, factura E number and period in the payment reference.
• Wise sends pesos only. A contractor who expected dollars gets ARS, and one transfer cannot exceed the USD 18,000 equivalent in a calendar month.
• Less money arrives than you sent. The Argentine bank may not add its own commission for an individual, but intermediary banks’ documented charges still come out of the amount.
• The peso moves the monotributo cap. A factura E in USD is converted at Banco Nación’s buying rate for the category test, so a weaker peso raises the contractor’s peso income on the same dollar fee. Past ARS 126.6 million a year they are excluded for three calendar years.
• Reclassification. Invoices and bank payments remove the article 23 presumption, but dependency can still be shown (Ley 27.802, art. 13, checked 2026-09-28).