Selling or Letting Your Property in Argentina as a British Owner

Two things changed for owners in the last two years. Argentina abolished the ITI (a withholding tax on sales) and the COTI (a code sellers once needed), and from 1 January 2026 sales of qualifying property, and rents from homes let as a tenant's permanent residence, are exempt from Argentine Ganancias (income tax) for individuals. None of that removes UK tax if you are UK resident, so both sides are set out below. If you have decided to sell or let, you can list your property on PlataPlace yourself: owners can publish a listing, and buyers and tenants with a saved search can be alerted to new listings.

Sell or let: a short comparison

If you let, the contract is your protection as much as the tenant's. Since DNU 70/2023 the parties set the term, the currency, the deposit and the rent rises; the renting guide sets out each clause from the tenant's side, and every one has a landlord's version.

What the tax changes mean

Repealed and abolished. The ITI, a 1.5% withholding on sales of property by individuals, was repealed by article 67 of Law 27,743, published on 8 July 2024. The COTI regime was abolished by ARCA General Resolution 5697/2025, published on 23 May 2025.

Sales from 1 January 2026. Law 27,802 (article 192) and Decreto 406/2026, published on 1 June 2026, exempt individuals and undivided estates from Ganancias on the sale of property in Argentina, whether they are resident in Argentina or abroad, when the sale falls under article 99 of the Income Tax Law and takes place from 1 January 2026. Article 99 is the article that governs the capital-gains (cedular) regime for property; ask your escribano for a written statement of which regime your property is in before you sign a reserva. The exemption also covers assigning your boleto without handing over possession.

Rents from 1 January 2026. The same decree exempts individuals from Ganancias on rent from housing let as casa-habitación, defined by how the tenant uses it: the tenant's only, family, permanently occupied home. The exemption covers rent accrued from 1 January 2026 whenever the contract was signed, and the amounts tenants pay for furniture and other services the owner supplies. Because the test is the tenant's permanent residence, a tourist let sits outside that wording.

What is still there. Stamp duty is charged on the deed and, in the city of Buenos Aires, is split half and half between seller and buyer. The seller also pays for the certificates and title work on their side and any agent commission they agree.

The UK side. HMRC's rules are separate. A UK resident pays Capital Gains Tax when they dispose of overseas property and may also owe tax in the country where the gain arose, with relief if taxed twice; UK residents normally pay Income Tax on foreign income, including rent on overseas property. If you are not UK resident you do not pay UK tax on foreign income. The HMRC guide covers the two tax years and the treaty.

Preparing to sell

The Colegio de Escribanos lists what a seller brings: an identity document and CUIL or CUIT, the original title deed, and the latest municipal, provincial and water bills. For a flat in a building, add the expensas statement, the administrator's details, the building's rules and recent utility bills. You also complete a personal-data form. The seller pays for the registry and administrative certificates and the title study, and stamp duty is shared.

Price the home against real listings first. Homes for sale across Argentina on PlataPlace shows what similar homes are asking, and each listing's source and when it was last seen tell you whether the figure is current. The price is paid in the agreed currency and written into the deed, and for a dollar price the escribano records the peso equivalent at the Banco de la Nación rate on the previous business day.

From listing to deed: the sale in order

1. Set the price in the currency you expect to be paid in. Homes for sale are commonly priced in dollars, and the deed records the peso equivalent for tax.
2. Put an accepted offer on paper. A reserva holds the home for a short period; make sure it states the price, the currency, the deadline and what happens to the deposit.
3. Sign the boleto with a seña. Under article 1059 of the Civil and Commercial Code a seña is confirmatory unless the parties agree that either may withdraw; if they do, a seller who withdraws returns the seña doubled. Decide before you sign whether that right is one you want.
4. Assemble the papers. The escribano's title study needs registry and administrative certificates, which you pay for, alongside the documents listed above.
5. Sign the deed. Possession is normally handed over on the day, and the escribano collects and pays the taxes due on the sale and any municipal and property taxes you still owe.
6. Receive the funds. The price can be paid by cash, cheque, transfer or deposit; if it is a transfer, the escribano checks that the money has reached your account before the receipt is issued.

Selling or letting from the UK

• Power of attorney. A power of attorney lets someone act for you at the signing. It is signed before a UK notary, apostilled and translated by a sworn translator; the apostille guide shows the steps.
• A CUIT. ARCA General Resolution 5803/2025 replaced the old CDI with the CUIT from 2 March 2026. A person resident abroad requests it through an authorised representative with an Argentine address.
• An administrator. For a let, an agent or a trusted person can collect rent, chase expensas and handle repairs. Ask for a monthly statement and keep the deposit and the signed inventory on file.
• Repairs. A tenant can end the contract if the landlord fails to keep the home fit for the agreed use, so agree a fast route for urgent faults.
• Comparing rents. Check what comparable homes ask on PlataPlace's rental listings, and use the furnished apartments page if yours comes with furniture.

Letting: the landlord's checklist

• Write the term, the currency and the rise. Name the index, how often it applies and the date of the first increase; the index has to be expressed in the same currency as the rent.
• Decide the security. The deposit amount, currency and return terms are free. Ask for a guarantee you can enforce, such as an insurance-backed guarantee or a property owner's guarantee, and say in the contract what happens if the rent is late.
• Sign an inventory and photograph every room. It is the record you use when the deposit is settled.
• Say who pays what. Write in the contract which building charges the tenant pays, and keep extraordinary works decided by the owners' meeting with the owner.
• Give receipts. A receipt for every payment protects both sides.
• Price the exit. A tenant can leave at any time by paying 10% of the rent still to come from the day of notice, so set the term and the rent knowing that.

If you are leaving Argentina

If you sell to leave, the moving-back guide covers the wider move, and the money transfer guide covers getting the proceeds to the UK. Keep the deed, the escribano's statement of the tax position and the bank records of the payment together, because HMRC can ask for them.