Argentina’s Deputies Pass Inocencia Fiscal II, Senate Next
Argentina · TAX
Key Facts
- —Vote Deputies passed Inocencia Fiscal II by 139 to 110 with two abstentions.
- —Status This is a media sanción, not a finished law, and senators vote next.
- —Scope The text removes income and asset caps on the simplified income tax regime.
- —Window The presumption of accuracy would run until 31 December 2027.
- —Target Argentines held US$268.8 billion in foreign currency and deposits at end-March 2026.
Deputies backed the tax bill 139 to 110 after a session of about 16 hours. It is not law yet, because the Senate has still to vote.
Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies approved Inocencia Fiscal II late on 26 August 2026. The vote was a media sanción, so the bill now moves to the Senate.
The vote in Buenos Aires
Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies passed Inocencia Fiscal II on the night of 26 August 2026. The count was 139 votes in favour, 110 against and two abstentions.
The sitting ran for roughly 16 hours and covered a stack of government bills. Deputies reached the tax vote close to the end of it.
La Libertad Avanza, Propuesta Republicana (PRO) and the Unión Cívica Radical backed the text, joined by provincial blocs. Unión por la Patria, Provincias Unidas, the Coalición Cívica and left-wing deputies opposed it.
President Javier Milei welcomed the result on social media the next morning. He called it another step on the road to freedom.
The result is a media sanción, the Argentine term for approval by one chamber. The Senate must pass the same text before anything becomes law.
What Inocencia Fiscal II changes
The heart of the reform is who may file the simplified income tax return. That return is prepared by the Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero (ARCA).
ARCA is the tax agency that replaced the Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP) in 2024. The taxpayer reviews the pre-filled return, edits it where needed and pays.
Until now, income above 1 billion pesos (US$661,000) over three fiscal years blocked access. Assets above 10 billion pesos (US$6.6 million) did the same.
The bill deletes both caps, so higher earners can enter the regime. Argentine tax residency is still required, and the largest registered taxpayers stay outside the main benefits.
Peso figures here use the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA) A3500 reference rate. That rate stood at 1,512.75 pesos per dollar on 27 August 2026.
Thresholds, penalties and reporting relief
The bill rewrites what counts as a significant discrepancy in a filed return. The test now applies to the tax determined rather than the balance still owed.
A 15% gap no longer breaks the shield when it stays at or below 5 million pesos (US$3,305). Above that line, the filer has 15 business days to correct the return.
People inside the regime no longer report opening or closing wealth to ARCA. They also no longer have to justify their spending during the fiscal year.
Money brought into the open enters only the final personal assets return. Funds must travel through channels authorised by the BCRA or the Comisión Nacional de Valores (CNV).
Fines for formal breaches drop 25% for individuals and small firms. Lapsed penalties fall by half where the taxpayer puts the underlying breach right.
How the first law set the stage
The Senate sanctioned the original Inocencia Fiscal law on 27 December 2025. It appeared in the official gazette as Law 27.799 on 2 January 2026.
That law created the simplified return and a tapón fiscal, or fiscal cap. The cap presumes the return is accurate and stops ARCA reopening settled periods.
It also lifted the criminal evasion thresholds sharply. Simple evasion moved from 1.5 million to 100 million pesos (US$66,100) per tax and year.
Aggravated evasion moved from 15 million to 1 billion pesos (US$661,000). The executive regulated the regime in February 2026 and the simplified return opened in June.
The carve-out for public officials
The committee text bars people who hold or held senior public office from the benefits. The bar covers all three branches of government and looks back five years.
Those officials may still use the simplified channel to file and pay income tax. They do not get the presumption of accuracy that shields other filers.
The Rio Times covered that amendment on 12 August 2026, when it was a committee change. The clause survived into the text deputies approved on 26 August.
The dollars the government is chasing
The Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC) measures this stock every quarter. It put resident holdings of foreign currency and deposits at US$268.8 billion at end-March 2026.
INDEC published that reading on 24 June 2026. Ministers usually quote a smaller number, around US$170 billion, drawn from central bank work.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo says that stock is more than four times dollar deposits in local banks. Argentines call the money dólares del colchón, or mattress dollars.
The bill levies no tax on funds brought into the open. Cash can still move through a notarised deed, which matters for property purchases.
Laundering and fairness objections
Deputy Guillermo Michel called the bill unconstitutional in a paper dated 26 July 2026. He argues it limits the state’s duty to collect tax and to police laundering.
Michel says regularising a tax gap does not show how the wealth was generated. He adds that the design clashes with the risk-based approach of Argentina’s last mutual evaluation.
That review was run by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Grupo de Acción Financiera Internacional (GAFI) in Spanish. Argentina sits in enhanced follow-up, and its representative to the body resigned on 26 August 2026.
Tax lawyer Diego Fraga warns the shield covers income tax and value added tax. Personal assets tax, the monotributo and provincial turnover taxes stay outside it.
The research arm of Fundación Mediterránea says the design suits future formalisation better than past assets. Ariel Rauschenberger of Unión por la Patria called it close to laundering for property deals.
What happens next in the Senate
No Senate date for Inocencia Fiscal II had been set when deputies finished voting. The government will again need votes from allied provincial blocs.
If senators change the text, it returns to deputies for a further vote. If they approve it unchanged, it passes to the president for promulgation.
The Unidad de Información Financiera (UIF), Argentina’s financial intelligence unit, has signalled lighter monitoring for these filers. That plan was announced rather than published as a rule, so it remains unconfirmed.
Savers should note that the shield is conditional rather than absolute. ARCA can still act where it finds a discrepancy above the new floor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Inocencia Fiscal II already law in Argentina?
No. Deputies gave it a media sanción on 26 August 2026, and the Senate has not voted yet.
What does the bill do about the origin of undeclared funds?
Inocencia Fiscal II stops ARCA reopening settled periods where no significant discrepancy appears. Anti-money-laundering duties on banks and notaries are unchanged.
Who cannot use the regime?
Senior public officials from the past five years get no presumption of accuracy. Argentine tax residency is required, and the largest registered taxpayers stay outside the main benefits.
Sources
- www.lanacion.com.ar
- www.parlamentario.com
- www.infobae.com
- www.infobae.com
- www.iprofesional.com
- www.iprofesional.com
- www.iprofesional.com
- www.cronista.com
- www.cronista.com
- www.hcdn.gob.ar
- www.parlamentario.com
- web.cpcecba.org.ar
- www.argentina.gob.ar
- www.ambito.com
- www.indec.gob.ar
- api.bcra.gob.ar
- www.riotimesonline.com
- www.riotimesonline.com
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