Argentina’s Law 27.826 took effect on 9 October. It gives eligible taxpayers protections and reduced fines as the government tries to bring hidden dollars into the formal financial system. INDEC, the national statistics office, estimated residents held US$268.8 billion in foreign-currency cash and deposits abroad on 30 June 2026, although its figure doesn’t distinguish cash kept at home from money in overseas accounts.
President Javier Milei enacted the measure through Decree 1160/2026, dated 8 October and signed by Milei, Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli and Economy Minister Luis Caputo. The law appeared in the Official Gazette on 9 October and took effect that day. Congress passed it on 17 September.
What the law protects
Law 27.826 amends Law 27.799, the first Inocencia Fiscal law, and the Tax Procedures Law. Resident individuals and estates can use its simplified income-tax return. Those who qualify get a presumption that their reported figures are accurate, unless ARCA, the tax and customs agency, finds a significant discrepancy.
The law defines a significant discrepancy as at least 15% more tax owed, a gap above the tax-crime threshold, or the use of fake invoices. ARCA must prove its case and may draw on the taxpayer’s return, its own systems and third-party data. If a ruling annuls an ARCA challenge, the agency must return any payment with interest within 45 working days.
Argentines have kept U.S. dollars at home or abroad amid inflation and devaluation. Some call cash kept at home “dollars under the mattress.” The US$268.8 billion INDEC estimate combines residents’ foreign-currency cash and deposits abroad; it doesn’t show how much is physically in Argentina or how much sits overseas.
People using the simplified regime must move funds through channels authorized by the Central Bank or the National Securities Commission, known as CNV. Cash paid when signing a property deed at a notary also qualifies. Funds transferred through authorized channels keep the regime’s protection until 31 December 2027.
Eligibility and penalties
Banks and other businesses covered by anti-money-laundering rules must treat proof of participation in the regime as a favorable sign, but they still have to check clients. ARCA must provide an automated query so businesses can verify a client’s status. The law sets no target for how much hidden money should enter banks; the effect is expected to emerge in later central bank deposit data.
Formal tax fines, including penalties for missing a filing deadline, automatically drop 25% for individuals, estates, nonprofit groups, and micro, small and medium-sized firms. Large taxpayers, as ARCA classifies them, don’t qualify for that reduction. Another measure cuts fines in half for formal breaches before 9 October that aren’t final or remain unpaid, for obligations due since the first law. Taxpayers must meet the original obligation before or at the same time they use the reduction; earlier payments won’t be refunded.
Large taxpayers may use the simplified return to file and pay on time, but they don’t get its protections. The same restriction applies to senior officials who held office during the five years before joining, including secretaries of state and higher ranks, national and provincial legislators, judges, prosecutors and judicial council members. Users generally must have been Argentine tax residents for the full year, with an exception for the 2025 return. Foreigners who qualify as Argentine tax residents can, in principle, opt in; tourists and foreign investors who don’t live in Argentina aren’t affected.
The law also changes penalties for rural employers who fail to register workers with RENATRE, the national register of rural workers and employers. The highest fine runs from 1,500,000 pesos to 7,500,000 pesos per worker. From 1 January 2027, rural fines will rise annually in line with the UVA, an inflation-linked unit of account.
Bank response and implementation
Infobae reported on 9 October that local bank shares had fallen more than 50% in dollar terms since their January 2025 peak on Wall Street. Claudio Maulhardt of Latin Securities, writing about results at Galicia, a leading Argentine bank, said he struggled to be very optimistic about banks. If Argentina does well, he added in comments Infobae cited, its banks will do well in the future.
The financial intelligence unit, UIF, has 15 working days to tell banks how to treat clients covered by the regime. ARCA must issue rules for halving older fines within 30 days. The law doesn’t specify how many hidden dollars should reach banks.