Argentina’s tax agency ARCA reported September revenue of 21.36 trillion pesos, about US$14.0 billion, as value-added tax continued to lose value in real terms and weigh on public accounts. Revenue rose 38.3% in nominal terms, while inflation-adjusted estimates put the increase at about 3.6% to 3.7%. The total includes national taxes, customs duties and social security contributions.
Revenue and Inflation Estimates
The Argentine Institute of Fiscal Analysis, or IARAF, put September’s real revenue growth at about 3.7%, based on assumed annual inflation of 33.3%. Infobae used an inflation assumption of 33.5% and calculated growth of 3.6% in real terms. INDEC, Argentina’s statistics office, hadn’t yet published the official September inflation rate, leaving the real-growth estimates provisional.
The currency conversions use the central bank’s wholesale reference rate of 1,523.23 pesos per dollar on Oct. 1. Changes to tax deadlines and higher export duties drove September’s result, according to figures from ARCA and the cited outlets.
Income tax generated 4.77 trillion pesos, about US$3.1 billion. That’s a 63.3% nominal increase and an estimated 22.5% rise after inflation. ARCA said the first income-tax advance for 2026 fell due in September, while officials moved the individual filing deadline to Oct. 13. The delayed filing shifts some receipts into October.
Export Duties and Consumption Taxes
Export duties brought in 1.12 trillion pesos, about US$736 million, up 99.2% nominally and an estimated 49% in real terms. ARCA attributed the increase to higher prices for soy, grain and hydrocarbons, as well as increased fuel and mineral exports.
Exporters also brought sales forward to June and July in 2025 to benefit from a temporary duty cut, Ámbito reported. Infobae recalled that the government briefly suspended export duties by decree in September 2025. The reported figures reflect market conditions and changes in the timing and treatment of exports.
Value-added tax, the biggest single revenue source, raised 6.92 trillion pesos, about US$4.5 billion. VAT rose 26.1% nominally but fell an estimated 5.4% after inflation. IARAF estimated that VAT on imports dropped 18.4% in real terms, while domestic VAT rose about 1.7%.
Nadin Argañaraz of IARAF said total VAT had continued to decline in real terms. Gabriel Caamaño, an economist at consultancy Outlier, said September VAT reflected sales from June through August and didn’t yet show September spending. Social security contributions reached 4.97 trillion pesos, about US$3.3 billion, with an estimated real increase of 1.6%, Clarín reported.
The Wider Fiscal Picture
For January to September, IARAF estimated that revenue fell 3.0% in real terms, or 1.5% without trade taxes. El Intransigente published a calculation showing a 2.6% decline. Clarín reported real revenue growth of 1.8% in May, a 7.4% drop in July and roughly flat results in August.
The Economy Ministry reported a primary surplus, before interest, of about 1.1% of GDP for January to August. Consultancy Analytica estimated that committed primary spending fell 10% in real terms in August, the sharpest cut of the year, Clarín reported.
ARCA collects national taxes, customs duties and social security contributions. It replaced the former tax agency AFIP in 2024. The September figures show nominal revenue growth alongside provisional estimates of modest real growth for the month, a real VAT decline and a real fall in total collections across January to September.