Payroll in Argentina

Payroll in Argentina means calculating gross-to-net salary, withholding 17% in employee social-security aportes, applying Impuesto a las Ganancias income tax where it bites, paying employer contribuciones of roughly 24% to 26.4%, issuing payslips and filing Formulario 931 with ARCA each month. The key local issue is indexation: nearly every rate, floor, ceiling and tax threshold is tied to inflation and revised every quarter, so any figure you build into a salary offer has to be re-checked for the exact payroll period you are running.

Total employer cost for a $1,500,000 monthly salary is about $1,860,000, around 24% on top of gross.

Our verdict: Fewer than 2 employees and no local entity in Argentina: use an EOR at $199 to $599 per employee per month. At 2 or more, opening a S.A.S. (roughly $4,750 in setup costs and 8 to 16 weeks to complete) usually works out cheaper. Already running a local entity: standard payroll outsourcing is the cheaper route.

Use this page if you already have, or plan to set up, a local entity in Argentina and want to know what running payroll actually involves. If you want to hire in Argentina without becoming the legal employer, an Employer of Record is the faster route.

No local entity yet? See our guide to EOR in Argentina.

Payroll in Argentina at a Glance

How Does Payroll Work in Argentina?

Argentine payroll runs on a monthly cycle. You calculate each employee’s gross salary, strip out their social-security aportes and any income tax to reach net pay, add the employer contribuciones on top, then declare the whole run and pay what is owed by a single monthly deadline.

The authority you report to is ARCA, the Agencia de Recaudacion y Control Aduanero, which is Argentina’s national tax collector and the renamed successor to AFIP. It works alongside ANSES, the social-security administration that runs the state pension and family-benefit systems. Between them they collect the contributions and audit employers whose declarations do not match what was paid.

The employee side is a flat block. From gross pay you withhold aportes, the employee’s own social-security contributions, totalling 17%: 11% Jubilacion into the state pension, 3% INSSJP / PAMI for retiree healthcare, and 3% obra social for the union-linked health scheme.

Income tax, called Impuesto a las Ganancias, is the personal income tax on salaries, treated as fourth-category income. It is progressive from 5% to 35%, but the non-taxable minimum is set so high that a single worker only starts paying around 3,000,000 pesos of gross a month, so most ordinary salaries pay nothing.

The employer cost sits on top of gross. You pay contribuciones patronales, the employer’s social-security contributions, of roughly 24% to 26.4% once the obra social employer share is included.

One named system carries the monthly compliance load. Formulario 931, usually shortened to F.931, is the single declaration of all salaries and contributions that you file with ARCA every month, and it is covered in detail below.

Get the rates or the order wrong and two things break at once: the employee’s take-home is incorrect, and your F.931 no longer reconciles against what you paid in.

What Payroll Taxes Apply in Argentina?

Three charges sit on every Argentine salary: the employer’s contribuciones patronales, the employee’s aportes, and Impuesto a las Ganancias income tax where it applies. They are calculated in a fixed order, and that order is what produces the gross-to-net result.

Employer Payroll Contributions in Argentina

The employer pays contribuciones patronales, the employer share of social security, on top of gross salary. For a standard private firm this runs at a general 18% (covering the SIPA pension system, INSSJP, family allowances and the unemployment fund) plus a 6% obra social contribution, for roughly 24% in total. Large commerce and services firms sit higher, closer to 26.4%, because their general rate is 20.4% rather than 18%.

SIPA here is the Sistema Integrado Previsional Argentino, the integrated state pension system that the pension contributions flow into.

This is the number to budget against, and it is where the indexation problem bites: the contribution bases and ceilings these percentages apply to are revised every quarter, so the cash amount moves even when the rate does not. Always confirm the rate for the period you are running.

The true cost of employing in Argentina

Statutory employer rates; items can apply to different wage bases or carry conditions, so lines do not always sum to the total.

Sources: taxsummaries.pwc.com (employer contributions).

Employee Payroll Deductions in Argentina

You withhold aportes from the employee before income tax, totalling 17% of gross. That is 11% Jubilacion into the SIPA pension, 3% INSSJP / PAMI funding the PAMI healthcare system for retirees, and 3% obra social as the employee’s share of the health-fund contribution.

These contributions apply to a capped base. For July 2026 the base runs between a floor of 138,757.90 pesos and a ceiling of 4,509,567.41 pesos, so above the ceiling the 17% stops climbing.

These are the employee’s contributions, but you calculate, withhold and remit them. Both the floor and the ceiling are inflation-indexed and shift every quarter, so a figure that is correct in one period will be wrong in the next.

Income Tax on Salary in Argentina

Impuesto a las Ganancias on salary is progressive, running from 5% up to 35% on net taxable income after the social-security aportes and the personal deductions are removed. Unlike a flat tax, the rate climbs by bracket as net income rises.

The detail that matters is the personal deduction, the ganancia no imponible plus deduccion especial, which strips out a large slice of income before tax applies. For the first half of 2026 it totals roughly 23.18 million pesos a year for an employee, which is why a single worker with no dependents only begins to pay around 3,000,000 pesos of gross a month.

For most ordinary salaries, including the one in the example below, the income tax line is zero. The deduction figures are reset every quarter, so the salary at which tax starts to bite moves through the year.

Payroll Tax Example: Gross Salary to Net Pay

Here is how the charges stack up for a representative salary. The figures come from the contribution and tax rates above, calculated in the statutory order, and are illustrative for the period shown.

Simplified illustration: Single employee, no dependents, paid ARS 1,500,000 gross per month, which sits between the SIPA floor and cap so the flat 17% employee rate applies. Employer is a standard (non-large) private firm on the general 18% rate plus 6% obra social; income tax is zero because the salary is below the Ganancias threshold. First-half-2026 figures total roughly ARS 23.18m a year (5,151,802.50 non-taxable minimum plus 18,031,308.76 special deduction) for an employee.

Read the two bold rows together. A worker on 1,500,000 pesos gross takes home 1,245,000 pesos, while your total cost as employer is 1,860,000 pesos.

Because income tax is zero at this level, the gap between gross and net is just the flat 17% in aportes. The wider gap is on your side: the employer contribuciones add 24% on top of gross, so budget around the employer cost line, not the salary itself.

What Payroll Filings Are Required in Argentina?

Argentina consolidates its monthly social-security reporting into a single declaration, which keeps the routine month cleaner than systems that split contributions across several forms. That form is F.931, and it is the centre of your compliance month.

What Formulario 931 Reports

Formulario 931 is the monthly social-security declaration every Argentine employer files with ARCA, reporting all salaries, the employee aportes and the employer contribuciones across the workforce. You prepare it through ARCA’s Declaracion en Linea online system, which calculates the amounts due from the data you enter.

Because it is the single declaration, it has to reconcile with your actual payroll run and the contributions you remit. ARCA cross-checks the figures, and a mismatch is the most common trigger for a payroll query.

When Formulario 931 Is Due

F.931 is due in the middle of the month following the payroll month, on an exact date set by the last digit of the employer’s CUIT. The CUIT is the employer’s tax identification number, and ARCA staggers deadlines across the month according to it, so two companies running May payroll can have different June due dates.

The filing deadline and the payment deadline fall on the same day, so the contributions have to be settled when the form is filed. Your provider needs the run finalised with enough margin to both submit and pay by your CUIT date.

Who Files It

The legal obligation sits with the employer. In practice your payroll provider or local accountant prepares and submits F.931 through ARCA’s system on your behalf, or your in-house team files it directly if you run your own Argentine entity.

Either way, confirm in writing who presses submit and by which CUIT date each month. The liability for a late or wrong filing stays with you as employer regardless of who does the keying.

What Happens If Payroll Filings Are Wrong

Penalties are governed by Law 11.683. Late or non-filing of F.931 draws fixed-amount fines, while late payment of the contributions accrues daily resarcitory interest at a rate set by the Ministry of Economy, so a missed payment compounds for every day it stays open. Failing to register an employee at all carries significantly heavier fines, so a declaration that does not match your register is the exposure to avoid most.

What Are the Payroll Deadlines in Argentina?

Most Argentine payroll obligations land monthly, anchored to that mid-following-month F.931 date keyed to your CUIT. The exception is new-hire registration, which is event-driven: a worker has to be registered before they start, not at month end.

Late filing: Penalties for non-compliance are governed by Law 11.683. They include fixed-amount fines for late or non-filing of declarations (e.g., F.931) and daily ‘resarcitory interest’ on late payments at a rate set by the Ministry of Economy. Failure to register an employee results in significant fines.

Payroll Operations Risk in Argentina

Employers in Argentina file with 4 separate agencies.

Sources: argentina.gob.ar (compliance), bcra.gob.ar (payments).

What Payslip and Employee Record Rules Apply in Argentina?

Two record obligations sit alongside the monthly filing in Argentina: registering the employee before they start, and issuing a compliant payslip each pay run. Both have to match your F.931, and the registration one is where foreign employers slip up.

New hires go into Mi Simplificacion, ARCA’s online employer register, also called the Registro de altas y bajas, which records who works for you and from when. The rule is strict: registration must be completed up to the day immediately before the employee’s start date, never after their first payroll.

Miss that window and the worker counts as undeclared, which carries far heavier penalties than a late tax filing. Family-benefit and contribution data flows from this register to ANSES, so an unregistered hire breaks the chain from day one.

On payslips, Argentina requires you to issue one to every employee each pay run, itemising gross pay, each aporte deducted, and net pay. Your payroll provider should produce compliant payslips automatically and keep Mi Simplificacion in step with every hire, change and exit. When you assess a provider, treat register accuracy as seriously as the F.931 itself: a clean filing with a neglected register still leaves you exposed on the labour-law side.

How Much Does Payroll Outsourcing Cost in Argentina?

There are two separate numbers in Argentine payroll cost, and confusing them is the most common budgeting mistake. The first is your statutory employer cost, the contribuciones patronales of roughly 24% to 26.4% on top of gross.

11 of the 17 EOR providers we track publish Argentina fees; they range from $199 to $599 per employee per month.

Published list prices in USD: EOR fees are per employee per month, contractor fees per contractor per month. Providers that publish neither fee for Argentina are not shown.

According to Whichapp’s July 2026 analysis of EOR fees across 40 countries, providers charge $199 to $599 per employee per month in Argentina.

11 of the 17 providers we track publish Argentina EOR fees. The lowest published rate is $199 per employee per month and the highest is $599.

Contractor management fees in Argentina run from $6 to $49 per contractor per month.

The second is the fee you pay a provider to run the payroll for you. They are unrelated, and only the second is negotiable.

Managed Payroll Provider Fees

Managed payroll in Argentina is normally priced per employee per month, and most providers quote rather than publish a rate. The price turns on headcount, on whether you also need accounting support, and on local complexity, because the quarterly reindexing of bases and tax thresholds means the calculation engine has to be kept current every period.

The fee buys the gross-to-net calculation, the F.931 filing, register upkeep and payslip production. It does not include the statutory contributions themselves, which you fund on top, so gather two or three quotes before committing.

What Payroll Provider Fees Usually Include

A standard managed payroll fee in Argentina should cover the monthly gross-to-net calculation, withholding of the 17% aportes, any Impuesto a las Ganancias withholding, preparation and submission of F.931 to ARCA through Declaracion en Linea, Mi Simplificacion registration and updates, and monthly payslips. Ask for that list in writing. If any of it sits outside the headline fee, you want to know before the first run, not after.

Extra Payroll Costs to Ask About

The gaps tend to appear at the edges of the standard cycle. Ask specifically about the aguinaldo, the mandatory half-yearly thirteenth-salary bonus paid in June and December, plus termination and severance calculations, correction filings when a base has to be restated, the handling of quarterly indexation updates, and onboarding setup fees for taking on your entity. These are the line items that turn a tidy per-head quote into a larger annual number.

When Payroll Outsourcing Becomes Cheaper Than EOR

The choice between running your own payroll and using an EOR is mostly about headcount and how long you plan to stay. An EOR carries a higher monthly fee per person because the provider is the legal employer and absorbs the entity, but it saves you setting one up.

Running your own payroll through an Argentine S.A.S., the standard simplified company form, is cheaper per head once you are past a handful of employees and committed to staying, because the entity and provider fee spread across more people. In our assessment, the more people you hire and the longer the horizon, the more the economics favour your own entity with outsourced payroll.

Payroll in Argentina vs EOR in Argentina

The line between the two routes is simple: standard payroll assumes you are the legal employer through an Argentine entity, while an EOR makes the provider the legal employer so you do not need one.

Use payroll outsourcing if you already have a local entity (S.A.S.) or are hiring enough people to justify one. Use an EOR if you need to hire before setting up an entity.

If that second case is you, our guide to EOR in Argentina covers the providers, licensing and costs in full. EOR pricing and provider ranking live there, not on this page.

Best Payroll Providers for Argentina

These providers all run payroll in Argentina, but they are built for different situations. Below is where each one fits and the local point to check before you sign. We do not list EOR prices here; for unpriced managed payroll, treat the fee as by quote and confirm it during your shortlist calls.

5 providers in Whichapp’s independent index cover Argentina. The top 5 by composite score:

1. Deel (9.1/10). From $599/month. Best for scale, automation and contractor volume. Runs its own Argentina entity.
2. Multiplier (8.5/10). From $400/month. Best for APAC expansion and mid-market value. Runs its own Argentina entity.
3. Papaya Global (8.2/10). From $650/month. Best for multinational payroll consolidation. Serves Argentina through a partner.
4. Remote (8.0/10). From $599/month. Best for IP protection and owned-entity purity. Runs its own Argentina entity.
5. Rippling (6.4/10). Best for unified IT, HR, and global finance. Serves Argentina through a partner.

Rankings come straight from Whichapp’s provider index (coverage 30%, pricing transparency 25%, security and compliance 25%, integration depth 20%); see how we score.

Only 3 of 5 major EORs run their own Argentina entity; 2 more serve it via a partner.

Entity model as reported on provider websites, last checked 2026-06-06. An own entity means the provider is the direct legal employer; a partner model adds a third party to the chain.

Deel for Payroll in Argentina

Deel is a strong fit if Argentina sits alongside other Latin American hires you want on one platform, with a single dashboard and API across markets. Argentina watch-out: confirm whether your Argentine payroll runs on Deel’s own local entity or a partner bureau, and that it files F.931 directly and keeps pace with the quarterly reindexing rather than handing it to a third party. Read our Deel review.

Remote for Payroll in Argentina

Remote runs much of its payroll through owned entities, which gives a cleaner compliance chain than a partner-network model. That suits employers who want a direct line of accountability for F.931 and contribution filings.

Argentina watch-out: confirm Argentine payroll is on Remote’s owned entity rather than a local partner, and that Mi Simplificacion registration is handled inside the platform before each start date. Read our Remote review.

Papaya Global for Payroll in Argentina

Papaya Global is built for consolidating payroll across many countries with finance-grade reporting and audit trails, so it earns its place when Argentina is one market in a larger stack. Its weakness is the opposite case: for a single Argentine entity with no multi-country reporting need, the platform is heavier than the job requires.

Argentina watch-out: Papaya leans on local partners in some markets, so confirm whether your Argentine payroll runs on its own entity or a third-party bureau, and how directly it owns the F.931 filing and quarterly base updates. Read our Papaya Global review.

Rippling for Payroll in Argentina

Rippling appeals when you want payroll wired into the same system as HR, IT and device management, with automated journal entries. Argentina watch-out: it is platform-first, so confirm the depth of its Argentine statutory handling, specifically the 17% aportes withholding, contribuciones patronales and F.931 filing, against what a local specialist would offer. Read our Rippling review.

Multiplier for Payroll in Argentina

Multiplier is the value option for multi-country payroll where price predictability matters, which fits smaller Argentine teams. The trade-off for that price is depth: in tightly regulated, fast-moving markets it tends to carry less local specialist weight than a Papaya or an in-country bureau.

Argentina watch-out: confirm it files F.931 and registers Mi Simplificacion directly rather than through a reseller, and that its gross-to-net engine tracks the quarterly indexation of bases and Ganancias thresholds before you anchor any salary offers on it. Read our Multiplier review.

Safeguard Global for Payroll in Argentina

Safeguard Global is a payroll-led specialist rather than an HR platform with payroll bolted on, which appeals when running the payroll correctly is the whole point and you do not need a wider people stack. That focus is also its limit: if you want integrated HR, devices and onboarding in one tool, it does less than Rippling or Deel.

Argentina watch-out: confirm its Argentine coverage is run in-house rather than subcontracted, and that the service includes Mi Simplificacion upkeep, the aguinaldo runs and ARCA correspondence, not just the monthly calculation. Read our Safeguard Global review.

How to Choose a Payroll Provider in Argentina

The questions below separate a provider that genuinely runs Argentine payroll from one that resells a local bureau without owning the detail. Ask them before you sign, not after the first run.

Can They Handle Formulario 931?

Confirm the provider prepares and submits F.931 to ARCA directly through Declaracion en Linea, and that it reconciles the declaration against the actual payroll and contribution payments each month. Ask who presses submit and by which CUIT date.

Do They Manage Mi Simplificacion?

Check that new-hire registration, changes and terminations are logged in Mi Simplificacion within the deadlines, especially the rule that a hire must be registered before their first working day. A provider that treats the register as an afterthought leaves you exposed to undeclared-work penalties.

Can They Model Gross-to-Net Salary Accurately?

Argentina’s quarterly reindexing means a gross-to-net result correct in one period can be wrong in the next, and the salary at which Ganancias starts moves through the year. A capable provider models gross-to-net both ways and refreshes the bases and thresholds each period, rather than just processing whatever number you hand over.

How Do They Update for Payroll Law Changes?

Argentine bases, ceilings and tax deductions change every quarter, and contribution rules shift with them. Ask how the provider tracks ARCA and ANSES updates and how quickly each quarterly revision reaches your payroll runs.

Who Is Liable for Payroll Errors?

The statutory liability stays with you as employer, but the contract should set out what the provider is accountable for if a miscalculation or late filing is their fault. Get the indemnity and correction process in writing.

Can They Support Multi-Country Reporting?

If Argentina is one of several markets, confirm the provider can consolidate reporting across them in a single view, so your finance team is not stitching country files together by hand.

What Support Do They Offer During Terminations or Audits?

Terminations, the aguinaldo runs and ARCA queries are where weak providers show their limits. Ask what support you get during a severance calculation or an audit, and whether a named contact handles it or you are routed through a ticket queue.

What Does Terminating an Employee Cost in Argentina?

Severance: In case of dismissal without just cause, the employee is entitled to severance pay equal to one month’s best, normal, and habitual monthly salary for each year of service or any period longer than three months. The monthly salary used for this calculation is capped. The total severance payment cannot be less than one month’s salary.

Statutory leave: 14 days of paid annual leave plus 15 public holidays a year.

Sources: argentina.gob.ar (leave).

Argentina Payroll Checklist Before Hiring

• Confirm whether you need payroll or an EOR
• Check your local entity status
• Model gross-to-net salary for your offers
• Confirm employer contribution rate (employer contribuciones + obra social)
• Confirm employee deductions (Jubilacion (SIPA), INSSJP / PAMI, Obra Social)
• Confirm income tax treatment
• Check who files F.931 and by when
• Confirm Mi Simplificacion registration is handled
• Confirm the payslip process
• Check leave, sick pay and termination workflows
• Ask who carries liability for calculation errors
• Confirm provider pricing and any extra fees

Work through this before your first hire. The Mi Simplificacion registration at point eight is the one foreign employers miss most often, because it falls due before the employee’s start date rather than at month end.

FAQs About Payroll in Argentina

Methodology and Disclosure

Contribution rates, the income tax treatment, filing deadlines and penalty rules on this page come from Whichapp’s Argentina statutory dataset, grounded in ARCA and ANSES contribution tables, Formulario 931 filing rules and Law 11.683, and refreshed as rates change. Because the bases, ceilings and tax thresholds are reindexed every quarter, confirm the current figures for your payroll period; the worked example is calculated from the rates shown and reconciles by construction.

Provider assessments reflect our independent editorial view of payroll fit for Argentina; we do not sell payroll, EOR or contractor services. Some provider links may carry affiliate referrals, which never affects our editorial judgement or the figures above.

Already hiring contractors instead of employees? See contractor management in Argentina, or start from the Argentina hiring hub for the full picture.

Primary sources

• Income tax and employee contributions: taxsummaries.pwc.com
• Employer contributions: taxsummaries.pwc.com
• Minimum wage: argentina.gob.ar
• Payroll filing deadlines: afip.gob.ar
• Notice periods and leave: argentina.gob.ar
• Severance rules: servicios.infoleg.gob.ar