VAT (IVA) and invoicing in Argentina (2026): a practical guide

Argentina taxes most sales of goods and services with IVA (Impuesto al Valor Agregado), its value added tax. Two things make it different from VAT in most countries. First, small businesses choose between two regimes: the general one, as a Responsable Inscripto who charges IVA, or the simplified Monotributo, which replaces IVA and income tax with one monthly fee. Second, every invoice is electronic and is only valid once the tax authority, ARCA, has authorised it. This guide covers the rates, who registers where, the monthly return, what goes on an invoice and the changes of 2025 and 2026, with examples in Argentine pesos. Rules are as of October 2026.

IVA in Argentina at a glance

IVA rates: 21%, 10.5% and 27%

Article 28 of the IVA law sets the rates:

• 21%, the general rate: most goods and services, including professional services, clothing, electronics and, when used in Argentina, digital services supplied from abroad.
• 10.5%, the reduced rate: among others, live animals and fresh meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, grains and wheat flour, bread, biscuits and pastries made only with wheat flour and not pre-packaged, some agricultural services and fertilisers, taxi and remis services, health services provided through cooperatives, mutual societies and prepaid medicine plans, the construction of housing and, according to PwC, some capital goods.
• 27%, the increased rate: sales of gas, electricity and metered water, and the related services, when they are supplied to premises not used only as a home and the buyer is a Responsable Inscripto or a monotributista. PwC also lists telecommunications and sewerage services in this group.
• Exempt (article 7): for example books, sales of newspapers and magazines, plain water and milk sold to consumers, and medicines resold by pharmacies; PwC also lists education, medical care and housing rent. Exports are zero-rated: no IVA is charged and the IVA paid on purchases can be recovered.

Who must register: Responsable Inscripto or Monotributo

Every business needs a CUIT (Clave Única de Identificación Tributaria), the 11-digit number ARCA uses to identify self-employed people, shops and companies. What changes is how you pay IVA.

The Monotributo

The Monotributo is a simplified regime for small taxpayers. One monthly payment covers IVA, income tax and pension and health contributions. A monotributista does not charge IVA on sales and does not deduct the IVA on purchases. You are placed in one of 11 categories, from A to K, by your annual gross income and by limits on the area of your premises, the electricity you use and the rent you pay. ARCA updates the values twice a year; these apply from 1 August 2026:

If you sell goods, no single item may cost more than ARS 716,840.77. If you do not meet the conditions, for example because your income goes above category K, you run more than three activities at the same time or you import goods to resell them, you must register in the general regime.

The general regime: Responsable Inscripto

A Responsable Inscripto charges IVA on every taxable sale, deducts the IVA paid on business purchases and files a monthly return. The Monotributo is optional, so a small business that sells mainly to other Responsables Inscriptos sometimes chooses the general regime from the start, because its customers can then deduct the IVA on its invoices.

IVA returns and payment

• Monthly return: Responsables Inscriptos declare and pay IVA every month. Since the November 2025 period, the return is IVA Simple, form F.2051 (RG 5705/2025). It replaced the old F.2002 and other forms and has the IVA books (the former Libro IVA Digital) built in. IVA-exempt businesses still file only the Libro IVA Digital.
• Deadlines: they fall in the second half of the following month and depend on the last digit of your CUIT. For the September 2026 period, the due dates are 19 October (CUIT ending 0 and 1), 20 October (2 and 3), 21 October (4 and 5), 22 October (6 and 7) and 23 October (8 and 9). ARCA publishes the calendar every year, so check it rather than assume a fixed day.
• Credits and withholdings: if your input IVA is higher than your output IVA, the balance carries forward to the next month. IVA your customers withheld from you (retenciones) or that suppliers collected in advance (percepciones) is deducted from what you owe.
• Monotributo: the monthly fee is due around the 20th of each month (20 October 2026 for October). There is no IVA return to file.

What an Argentine invoice must show

Invoicing is governed by RG 1415/2003 (the regime for issuing invoices) and RG 4291/2018 (electronic invoices), both amended by RG 5866/2026 from 1 July 2026. The letter of the invoice depends on who issues it and who receives it:

When ARCA authorises an electronic invoice, it checks and records, among other things:

• your CUIT, the point of sale (punto de venta, up to five digits) and the invoice number (up to eight digits). Each number must be exactly one higher than the last one for the same point of sale and invoice class, so a typical number reads 00001-00000123
• the invoice date, which can be at most five days before or after you request authorisation for goods, and ten days for services
• the customer's document (CUIT, or DNI for consumers) and the customer's IVA status, required by RG 5616/2024
• whether you sell goods, services or both; for services, the period invoiced and the payment due date
• the currency and the exchange rate
• the net amount per IVA rate, the IVA per rate (class C invoices show no IVA) and the total
• the CAE, a 14-digit authorisation code, with its expiry date, and a QR code, which RG 4291/2018 makes mandatory on every electronic invoice

Some cases need more:

• Class A to a monotributista: a legend explaining that the IVA shown can only be used under the regime of Ley 27.618.
• Class B to consumers: the words “A CONSUMIDOR FINAL”. From ARS 10,000,000 the buyer must be identified with a DNI, CUIL or CDI, and with a CUIT at any amount if they need the invoice to deduct the expense for income tax.
• Tax transparency for consumers (Ley 27.743, RG 5614/2024): since 1 April 2025 (1 January 2025 for large companies), invoices to final consumers show a block headed “Régimen de Transparencia Fiscal al Consumidor (Ley 27.743)” with the IVA Contenido and the Otros Impuestos Nacionales Indirectos included in the price.
• No more Factura M: since 1 December 2025 (RG 5762), a new Responsable Inscripto that does not pass ARCA's solvency checks issues class A with the legend “Pago en CBU informada” (payment only by transfer to the bank account it declared) or “Operación sujeta a retención” (the customer withholds 100% of the IVA and 6% for income tax).

When to invoice

Under RG 5866/2026, goods are invoiced by the last day of the month in which you delivered them, services on the day the work is completed, or earlier if you are paid first, and continuing services at the end of each month. In most cases the invoice must reach your customer within 10 calendar days of being issued.

Credit notes, debit notes and foreign currency

An authorised invoice is never deleted or edited. To reduce or cancel it you issue an electronic nota de crédito; to increase it, a nota de débito. Both need their own CAE, and ARCA's system rejects them unless they point to at least one associated invoice or to the period they correct.

You may invoice in a foreign currency. Under RG 5616/2024 the invoice shows the exchange rate used; if the customer pays in that same foreign currency, the rate is Banco de la Nación Argentina's closing selling rate for the business day before the invoice date, and ARCA's system checks it.

How long to keep records

Keep your books, invoices and supporting documents for 10 years (article 328 of the Civil and Commercial Code). The tax procedure law (Ley 11.683, article 33) lets ARCA require the same period for invoice copies.

Electronic invoices: the CAE and the MiPyME credit invoice

Argentina has no paper option for most businesses: Responsables Inscriptos and monotributistas issue electronic invoices, and each one needs a CAE (Código de Autorización Electrónico) from ARCA. You can get it through ARCA's free services (Comprobantes en línea on the website, or the Facturador Móvil app) or through software connected to ARCA's web service.

The Factura de Crédito Electrónica MiPyME (FCE), created by Ley 27.440, applies when a micro, small or medium-sized business invoices a company on ARCA's list of large companies, from a minimum amount of ARS 5,549,862 (since 14 April 2026). The buyer has 21 calendar days from receipt to accept or reject it; after that the invoice counts as accepted. That 21-day period is an extension that runs until 31 October 2026 (Resolución 219/2025), so check whether it has been renewed. An accepted FCE can be traded to get paid sooner.

A worked example in pesos

A Responsable Inscripto designer invoices another company ARS 1,000,000 for a website (class A):

• net amount: ARS 1,000,000
• IVA at 21%: ARS 210,000
• total: ARS 1,210,000

A bakery that is a Responsable Inscripto sells ARS 200,000 of bread to a restaurant: IVA at 10.5% is ARS 21,000 and the total ARS 221,000.

On a class B invoice to a consumer the price includes IVA. For ARS 121,000 at 21%, the IVA contained is ARS 121,000 × 21 ÷ 121 = ARS 21,000, which the transparency block shows separately.

At the end of the month, the designer adds it up:

IVA to pay with the IVA Simple return: ARS 1,680,000 − ARS 735,000 = ARS 945,000, less any IVA withheld from the designer or collected in advance during the month.

Late payment by business customers

Argentina has no fixed statutory late-payment rate between businesses. Under article 768 of the Civil and Commercial Code, a debtor in default owes interest at the rate the parties agreed, or the rate set by special laws, or failing both, rates fixed under the Central Bank's regulations. Put your payment term and a late-payment interest rate in your quotes and contracts. For invoices to large companies, the FCE gives you a document you can finance once it is accepted. Our guide to getting paid faster covers the practical side.

Common mistakes

1. 1Assuming Monotributo limits stay the same. They change twice a year, and moving past category K takes you into the general regime.
2. 2Issuing the wrong class. A Responsable Inscripto invoices a monotributista with class A and the Ley 27.618 legend, not class B.
3. 3Sending a document without a CAE. A PDF or a quote is not an invoice in Argentina.
4. 4Forgetting the consumer rules: the transparency block on every consumer invoice and the buyer's ID from ARS 10,000,000.
5. 5Invoicing goods late. Since July 2026 the invoice is due by the last day of the month of delivery.
6. 6Using the wrong exchange rate on an invoice in dollars that will be paid in dollars.
7. 7Ignoring Ingresos Brutos and withholdings when you calculate what you will actually keep from a sale.

How Clientlly helps

The official invoice comes from ARCA. Clientlly helps with everything around it: invoices numbered in sequence per series with Argentina's IVA rates, credit notes linked to the original invoice, the PDF in your client's language, a card payment link, and a view of when the client opened the invoice. If a client does not pay, reminders go out automatically 3, 14 and 30 days after the due date. Recurring invoices and multiple currencies are included.

On the purchases side, scan your receipts and Clientlly reads the IVA automatically. It keeps your sales and purchase IVA books per rate, including exports, and prepares tax reports for you and your contador, with Excel and PDF exports. You can import clients, suppliers, products and opening balances from Excel or CSV, and use the mobile app on the go. See the invoicing module and the accounting module.