Simplified tax return regime for Income Tax: Regulations under Decree 93/2026 and General Resolution (ARCA) 5820/2026
Tax Department report | Simplified tax return regime for Income Tax: Regulations under Decree 93/2026 and General Resolution (ARCA) 5820/2026
1. Regulatory Context and Effective Date
Decree No. 93/2026 approved the regulations for the Simplified tax return for Income Tax established under Law No. 27,799 (the “Tax Innocence Law”), incorporating the applicable rules into Decree No. 1397/1979.
In addition, the Revenue and Customs Control Agency (“ARCA”) issued General Resolution No. 5820/2026, which establishes the procedures and deadlines for accessing, ratifying, or withdrawing from the regime.
The regime applies to fiscal periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025, and its regulations became effective upon publication of Decree 93 in the Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic.
2. Eligible Taxpayers and Objective Access Requirements
The regime applies to individuals and undivided estates resident in the country that, as of December 31 of the year immediately preceding the year in which the election is exercised or, as applicable, its ratification, and during the two prior fiscal years:
- Comply with the total income thresholds (gross income—taxable, exempt, and non-taxable—from Argentine or foreign sources);
- Comply with the total net worth thresholds (assets located in the country and/or abroad, whether taxable, exempt, or non-taxable for Personal Property Tax purposes); and
- Are not classified within the large national taxpayers segment according to the criteria determined by ARCA.
These parameters must be verified with respect to the year immediately preceding the year of the election and the two prior fiscal periods, as a concurrent condition for both enrollment and annual ratification of continued participation in the regime.
3. Enrollment and Formalization of Adhesion
The enrollment option may be exercised from the first business day of the fiscal period through the general deadline for filing the corresponding tax return for that period.
To enroll, the taxpayer must access the “Registration System” service on the ARCA website, under the “Simplified Individual Income Tax” option, using a fiscal key with the required security level. The taxpayer must declare compliance with the objective access requirements.
Once compliance with these requirements has been verified, the system issues an acknowledgment of receipt and assigns the taxpayer the corresponding characterization code. The digital certificate of enrollment or ratification of continued participation serves as evidence before third parties who must verify the taxpayer’s tax status.
4. Simplified Filing Modality
The simplified tax return consists of a pre-filled filing prepared by ARCA, based on information available in its systems and information provided by responsible parties and/or third parties. The taxpayer may review, adjust, confirm, and submit said tax return.
The simplified regime operates as an alternative to the general tax determination scheme, allowing for an agreed determination of the tax based on information held by the tax collection agency.
5. Base Period and Legal Effects
The “base period” is the period in which the taxpayer, having exercised the enrollment option or ratified continued participation, files the simplified tax return and—where applicable—pays the resulting tax by the due date.
Timely filing and payment of the tax under this modality produce a discharge effect with respect to the Income Tax corresponding to said period. The payment requirement is deemed satisfied when the balance is fully paid or when the taxpayer enrolls, within the established deadlines, in an ARCA payment plan.
6. Presumption of Accuracy and Scope of Protection
Taxpayers who enroll and comply with the established conditions obtain, as a consequence of the discharge effect, a presumption of accuracy that applies without admitting evidence to the contrary with respect to the Income Tax and Value Added Tax returns corresponding to non-prescribed periods.
This presumption remains in effect provided that no significant discrepancy is detected, and serves as a protection mechanism against extensive audits of prior non-prescribed periods.
7. Significant Discrepancies and Loss of Discharge Effects
The regulations establish that the loss of the discharge effect may occur if ARCA verifies any of the grounds provided by law—such as failure to declare income, improper deductions, or use of invoices or other documents that prove to be fraudulent—and, as a consequence, a significant discrepancy in the tax determination for the base period is detected.
A significant discrepancy arises when, upon comparison of the simplified tax return with information contained in the agency’s systems or provided by third parties under applicable reporting regimes:
- The adjusted tax exceeds the declared amount by a percentage of no less than 15%; or
- The difference exceeds the amounts established under the Criminal Tax Regime (currently ARS 100,000,000); or
- The use of fraudulent documentation is verified, in which case no quantitative threshold is required.
In all cases, the burden of proof lies exclusively with ARCA, which must demonstrate the existence of the significant discrepancy based solely on the information declared by the taxpayer and information available in its systems or provided by third parties.
A difference resulting from a voluntary amended return filed prior to notification of an audit order shall not be considered a significant discrepancy.
The existence of a significant discrepancy enables the challenge of the simplified period and, consequently, the extension of ARCA’s audit and enforcement powers with respect to non-prescribed periods.
8. Banking of Transactions
Transactions must be conducted using means authorized by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (“BCRA”) and/or the National Securities Commission (“CNV”). This requirement is deemed satisfied when such authorized means within the formal financial system are used at either the origin or destination of the transaction involved.
The requirement shall not be deemed satisfied when the recipient receives payment in cash or through other means outside the financial system, even if such funds are subsequently deposited.
9. Withdrawal and Exclusion
The taxpayer may withdraw from the simplified regime at any time prior to filing the return for the corresponding period, using the same registration service. Filing the return under the general regime constitutes automatic withdrawal from the simplified option.
When ARCA detects non-compliance with the regime’s requirements, it notifies the taxpayer to provide clarifications or a response. If inconsistencies are not remedied within the prescribed period, exclusion from the regime is ordered by administrative act.
10. Operational Effective Date
Decree 93/2026 entered into force on February 8, 2026, and General Resolution 5820/2026 was published with effect from the following day, applying to Income Tax returns for fiscal periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025.
Full Text of Decree 93/2026 and its Annex: Decree No. 93/2026
Full Text of GR 5820/2026: GR 5820/2026