Argentina’s Congress has approved the 2026 budget, the first under President Javier Milei, which boosts social programme funding and sets the stage for upcoming labour and tax reforms. However, it does not introduce any new corporate tax changes.
Argentina’s Congress approved the 2026 budget bill on 26 December 2025, marking the first budget passed since President Javier Milei took office in late 2023.
The measure, which passed with 46 votes in favour, 25 against, and one abstention, outlines spending of ARS 148 trillion (around USD 102 billion) and forecasts 5% economic growth alongside 10.1% inflation for South America’s second-largest economy.
During Milei’s first two years, Congress failed to approve a new budget, forcing the government to extend the previous year’s plan. This, combined with soaring inflation that peaked at nearly 300% in April 2024, significantly affected the public sector.
The budget proposes various structural reforms, including labour law liberalisation, tax simplification, and lower export taxes on oil and agricultural products, aiming to boost competitiveness, formalise the labour market, and attract foreign investment, particularly in energy and mining projects such as Vaca Muerta shale and lithium/copper mining, expected to bring in over USD 30 billion.
As Congress had failed to pass a budget for the past two years, the government emphasised that it had neither introduced new taxes nor raised existing tax rates. Therefore, the corporate tax and personal tax rates have remained unchanged.
In Argentina, the corporate tax rate is currently 35%, consistent with its historical high, while the personal income tax rate is also 35% as of December 2025. The standard sales tax rate is 21%. Since 1997, the corporate tax rate has averaged 34.34%, with a low of 30% in 2018 and a peak of 35% in 1999.
The budget does not include specific changes to transfer pricing regulations, national property taxes, or stamp duties.
The new budget increases funding for social programmes, including health care, education, and Social Security. However, the ACIJ (Civil Association for Equality and Justice) notes that these increases do not fully offset years of steep cuts.
The government hopes the approved budget will support upcoming reforms to the labour and tax systems in the months ahead.
Other tax measures include:
Large investment incentive regime (RIGI)
As corporate rates remain unchanged, the 2026 budget bill maintains critical incentives, including the large investment incentive regime (RIGI). It allows micro and small businesses to continue using the “check tax” as a credit against their income tax liabilities.
VAT: New exemptions for media and health
The most notable change proposed in the 2026 budget is the total VAT exemption for books, brochures, and digital news platforms. Producers in these sectors will now be able to recover VAT paid on their inputs, which were previously reserved for exporters.
The budget bill also removes VAT and all import duties on vaccines and medical supplies imported by the Ministry of Health for programmes targeting HIV, Hepatitis, and Tuberculosis.
Fuel and excise tax updates
The budget authorises the duty-free importation of up to 1 million cubic meters of gasoil and diesel, exempting these shipments from both liquid fuel and carbon taxes to meet peak electricity demand.
Earlier, the Argentine National Executive Branch presented the 2025 budget bill to Congress, which made no significant changes to the current tax framework except for eliminating the tax on foreign currency purchases (PAIS tax rate) starting 1 January 2025.
