Argentina collected 21.36 trillion pesos in taxes in September, a 38.3% nominal increase, while committed primary spending fell 10% in real terms in August, figures from ARCA and consultancy Analytica show. IARAF estimated tax revenue rose about 3.7% after inflation in September, but calculated a 3.0% real decline from January to September.
Receipts and deadlines
ARCA, Argentina’s Agency for Revenue Collection and Customs Control, reported the September total on Oct. 1. The figure combines collections from the tax office, customs and social security. Peso-to-dollar conversions use the central bank wholesale reference rate of 1,523.23 pesos per dollar on Oct. 1.
Tax-deadline changes and higher export duties drove most of the increase. ARCA said the first income-tax advance for 2026 came due in September, unlike a year earlier, when it fell due in August. The government moved the individual filing deadline to Oct. 13, shifting some receipts into October.
Income tax brought in 4.77 trillion pesos, about US$3.1 billion. That represented a 63.3% nominal increase and an estimated 22.5% gain after inflation. Export duties generated 1.12 trillion pesos, about US$736 million, up 99.2% nominally and about 49% in real terms.
ARCA linked the rise in export duties to higher soy, grain and hydrocarbon prices, as well as increased fuel and mineral exports. The comparison also reflects exporters bringing sales forward to June and July in 2025 to take advantage of a temporary duty cut, Ámbito reported. Infobae recalled that the government briefly suspended export duties by decree in September 2025.
Households, imports and the tax base
Value-added tax, the largest single source of revenue, generated 6.92 trillion pesos, about US$4.5 billion. The total climbed 26.1% nominally, but fell an estimated 5.4% after inflation.
IARAF’s Nadin Argañaraz said total VAT had now declined in real terms for 11 consecutive months, since November 2025. VAT on imports fell an estimated 18.4% in real terms, while domestic VAT rose about 1.7%, IARAF estimated. Gabriel Caamaño, an economist at consultancy Outlier, said September VAT reflected sales from June through August, so it doesn't yet capture September spending.
Social security contributions reached 4.97 trillion pesos, about US$3.3 billion, an estimated 1.6% real increase, Clarín reported. The revenue total, then, brings together collections from income, consumption, trade and social security, which moved sharply differently after inflation.
Surplus alongside cuts
The Economy Ministry reported a primary surplus, before interest payments, of about 1.1% of GDP for January to August. Analytica estimated committed primary spending dropped 10% in real terms in August, the sharpest cut of the year, Clarín reported.
IARAF estimated revenue fell 3.0% in real terms from January to September, or 1.5% when trade taxes are excluded. El Intransigente published a calculation showing a 2.6% decline. Clarín reported that revenue rose 1.8% in real terms in May, fell 7.4% in July and was roughly flat after inflation in August.
The September real-growth estimates remain provisional. IARAF assumed annual inflation of 33.3%, while Infobae used 33.5% and estimated real revenue growth at 3.6%. INDEC, Argentina’s statistics office, hadn't yet published the official September inflation rate. Infobae called September the largest real increase since May 2024.
ARCA replaced the former tax agency AFIP in 2024 and collects national taxes, customs duties and social security contributions. The official inflation figure will determine whether September’s reported real revenue increase was about 3.6% or 3.7%; VAT, the largest revenue source, remained down in real terms.