Taxes Earning dollars, spending pesos

[TareantelaNapo]

There may come a time when RedDave would like to open a bank account. A DNI comes in handy for that so one can transfer dollars from the US to a local bank account in BA.

So you admit you did everything "by the book" at the same time you give advice to relax and forget the laws here because no one will notice. Why?

 

[earlyretirement]

@earlyretirement - I just landed a couple of weeks ago and need to find a cueva that can give me USD. Been lurking around the forum about a month or so and I remember reading a thread where someone mentioned there are cuevas here that will accept USD Paypal transfers and then give you physical USD cash in return for a 5% cut or something like that. Any advice or leads, either here or via PM, would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, DM me. I can help you. Yes, I know people that can do Paypal. Not an issue.

^He is going to charge you to set you up with his "personal banker".

If you can learn to use crypto, you can buy usdt with card on binance. Paypal is usually not great for personal transactions.

YES, I do have a consultation fee. But you know what? My reputation is like GOLD in the Buenos Aires community so it's 100% risk free. I'd say it will be worth the money. Because once you have my contacts, you have them for LIFE. These people I've been dealing with for 20 years and NEVER let me down. I've literally done hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions in Argentina and never lost even $1 with my trusted contacts. So yeah, you're going to pay a small donation so I can make sure you are not sketchy and legit. But yep, just so you don't whine like grosso95 about being "bait and switched" for guaranteeing a transaction and gaining access to an elite group of financial people in BA.

99% of the people in Buenos Aires will exit scam you eventually. I know because most people that have come to me have already gotten cheated many times. When they finally want to get it right they come to us.

There may come a time when RedDave would like to open a bank account. A DNI comes in handy for that so one can transfer dollars from the US to a local bank account in BA.

So you admit you did everything "by the book" at the same time you give advice to relax and forget the laws here because no one will notice. Why?

Absolutely long term a DNI is helpful but honestly it's not worth the hassles until the OP knows 100% they want to stay in Argentina. Better to see first. Most ex-pats are perma-tourists and that's ok in a country like Argentina.

 

[OdGreen]

^He is going to charge you to set you up with his "personal banker".

If you can learn to use crypto, you can buy usdt with card on binance. Paypal is usually not great for personal transactions.

Yeah, I gathered that. Since my Spanish isn't great (yet), I guess I don't mind a reasonable "donation" for easy info if it saves me from having to bounce around Buenos Aires and figure it out on my own. I guess I see it as someone offering me a ride and me giving them some gas money to say thank you.

Not trying to hijack this thread, but basically I'm already in BA and need to obtain physical USD cash on a regular basis. I'm a U.S. citizen with U.S. bank accounts and income, so I would be both the sender and the receiver. I have a trip planned to Colonia in a few days and plan to get as much USD as possible from the ATMs while I'm there, but I've read that the ATM per transaction limits are very small, the fees are high, and of course there's the time involved and the added cost of having to pay for a BuqueBus ticket and whatnot. Basically, I'd like the Colonia trip to just be a one-time event and am looking to avoid going to Colonia on a recurring basis.

I've seen various posts in other threads, such as this one ( https://baexpats.org/threads/western-union-money-transfer.40976/post-427110 ) and this one ( https://baexpats.org/threads/sending-physical-u-s-dollars-to-argentina.41415/post-370511 ) which mention there are BA cuevas or financieras that accept USD transfers via ACH, Zelle, Paypal, etc. and then they give you USD cash. I haven't been in BA long enough to know where to find a trustworthy cueva that can pay me in US dollars, so hoping someone reading this can point me in the right direction. Paying a cueva a fee of 2 to 5% certainly has to be cheaper than going to Colonia every month.

I've also read that an option is just going down to Calle Florida with a bunch of pesos and buying US dollars directly from the arbolitos, but I'm not sure what kind of exchange rate I would get, and to me that seems more risky than establishing an ongoing relationship with an honest cueva.

 

[earlyretirement]

Yeah, I gathered that. Since my Spanish isn't great (yet), I guess I don't mind a reasonable "donation" for easy info if it saves me from having to bounce around Buenos Aires and figure it out on my own. I guess I see it as someone offering me a ride and me giving them some gas money to say thank you.

Not trying to hijack this thread, but basically I'm already in BA and need to obtain physical USD cash on a regular basis. I'm a U.S. citizen with U.S. bank accounts and income, so I would be both the sender and the receiver. I have a trip planned to Colonia in a few days and plan to get as much USD as possible from the ATMs while I'm there, but I've read that the ATM per transaction limits are very small, the fees are high, and of course there's the time involved and the added cost of having to pay for a BuqueBus ticket and whatnot. Basically, I'd like the Colonia trip to just be a one-time event and am looking to avoid going to Colonia on a recurring basis.

I've seen various posts in other threads, such as this one ( https://baexpats.org/threads/western-union-money-transfer.40976/post-427110 ) and this one ( https://baexpats.org/threads/sending-physical-u-s-dollars-to-argentina.41415/post-370511 ) which mention there are BA cuevas or financieras that accept USD transfers via ACH, Zelle, Paypal, etc. and then they give you USD cash. I haven't been in BA long enough to know where to find a trustworthy cueva that can pay me in US dollars, so hoping someone reading this can point me in the right direction. Paying a cueva a fee of 2 to 5% certainly has to be cheaper than going to Colonia every month.

I've also read that an option is just going down to Calle Florida with a bunch of pesos and buying US dollars directly from the arbolitos, but I'm not sure what kind of exchange rate I would get, and to me that seems more risky than establishing an ongoing relationship with an honest cueva.

Definitely Paypal is NOT the preferred method but I use ACH, Zelle all the time with mine. It's super simple. Basic concept is a tremendous amount of trust as YOU are the one sending first. But you will instantly get the cash same day or next day if you're sending after business hours. I do it all the time.

Colonia is NOT a great option and you have costs of your time. Buquebus ticket both ways, ATM fees and as you mentioned it's limited. You CAN set up a US dollar account but these days most banks around the world do NOT want American clients due to red tape hassles and reporting required by IRS. I had a HSBC US dollar account in Uruguay but remember you have a risk of being robbed!! That is your biggest risk! I personally have witnessed people leaving the bank in Buenos Aires and Montevideo and getting robbed. The bank tellers text their friends that you're leaving with $X money. I posted threads about it here if you look back in OLD posts.

Calle Florida also you have to factor in ALL your costs and risks. You're going to lose % both ways on the spread. Sometimes you CAN get lucky and Western Union pays more than blue rate but you will get kicked buying US dollars. Plus the added risks of getting robbed which you MUST factor into the equation. A friend recently got robbed at gunpoint that has been doing this for 20 years. He got complacent but people are desperate now in BA.

At the end of the day you need established contacts that are safe to deal with and that you can do repeatable business with. ALL my contacts are trustworthy. I've been posting on this forum for 13 YEARS.

 

[RichardOne]

Doing a WU transfer to yourself, can be paid in dollars at WU Colonia ?. Any Xp's

 

[CarlosVoler]

Definitely Paypal is NOT the preferred method but I use ACH, Zelle all the time with mine. It's super simple. Basic concept is a tremendous amount of trust as YOU are the one sending first. But you will instantly get the cash same day or next day if you're sending after business hours. I do it all the time.

Colonia is NOT a great option and you have costs of your time. Buquebus ticket both ways, ATM fees and as you mentioned it's limited. You CAN set up a US dollar account but these days most banks around the world do NOT want American clients due to red tape hassles and reporting required by IRS. I had a HSBC US dollar account in Uruguay but remember you have a risk of being robbed!! That is your biggest risk! I personally have witnessed people leaving the bank in Buenos Aires and Montevideo and getting robbed. The bank tellers text their friends that you're leaving with $X money. I posted threads about it here if you look back in OLD posts.

Calle Florida also you have to factor in ALL your costs and risks. You're going to lose % both ways on the spread. Sometimes you CAN get lucky and Western Union pays more than blue rate but you will get kicked buying US dollars. Plus the added risks of getting robbed which you MUST factor into the equation. A friend recently got robbed at gunpoint that has been doing this for 20 years. He got complacent but people are desperate now in BA.

At the end of the day you need established contacts that are safe to deal with and that you can do repeatable business with. ALL my contacts are trustworthy. I've been posting on this forum for 13 YEARS.

Reading here it sounds like scamming is universal in Buenos Aires. I have never been scammed here nor have done it......but I am ready to get started so I can join the club. So where do I sign up? I am willing to walk down the street with my backpack open......I could leave some dollars in my shirt pocket so all could see....I could walk up and down Florida offering to buy dollars ABOVE the blue rate....or...maybe rent a kid and ask for donations. Any good ideas would be considered.

 

[OdGreen]

Doing a WU transfer to yourself, can be paid in dollars at WU Colonia ?. Any Xp's

I don't think that's possible, but even if it were, it still would require me to go to Colonia on a regular basis. I'm going in a few days and the roundtrip BuqueBus ticket was over $100 USD, so I'm not keen on repeating if I can help it. Finding someone reliable in Buenos Aires would be ideal I think.

Reading here it sounds like scamming is universal in Buenos Aires. I have never been scammed here nor have done it......but I am ready to get started so I can join the club. So where do I sign up? I am willing to walk down the street with my backpack open......I could leave some dollars in my shirt pocket so all could see....I could walk up and down Florida offering to buy dollars ABOVE the blue rate....or...maybe rent a kid and ask for donations. Any good ideas would be considered.

I've only been here for two weeks, so I'm hoping to avoid being scammed for at least another month or two, lol. LATAM airlines scammed me on the way here, but that's a story for different thread.

 

[earlyretirement]

Reading here it sounds like scamming is universal in Buenos Aires. I have never been scammed here nor have done it......but I am ready to get started so I can join the club. So where do I sign up? I am willing to walk down the street with my backpack open......I could leave some dollars in my shirt pocket so all could see....I could walk up and down Florida offering to buy dollars ABOVE the blue rate....or...maybe rent a kid and ask for donations. Any good ideas would be considered.

LOL. NOW that I get your sense of humor I understand your posts more. I didn't get it before. No, I've never gotten scammed either because I've always been careful but I can tell you lots and lots of people that have. Also, I've had over 100+ employees in Buenos Aires. You know what? Almost all of them have had phones stolen in BA in the past 20 years. I have never and don't fear walking around with my iPhone. But I'm very aware of my surroundings. Lots of people get robbed there but fortunately NOT violent crime.

I don't find BA to be a dangerous city overall but full of scams.

I don't think that's possible, but even if it were, it still would require me to go to Colonia on a regular basis. I'm going in a few days and the roundtrip BuqueBus ticket was over $100 USD, so I'm not keen on repeating if I can help it. Finding someone reliable in Buenos Aires would be ideal I think.


I've only been here for two weeks, so I'm hoping to avoid being scammed for at least another month or two, lol. LATAM airlines scammed me on the way here, but that's a story for different thread.

Trust me, going back/forth to Colonia is NOT an efficient use of your time. You won't get scammed if you do some due diligence and are careful.

 

[IgnacioGud]

I don't think that's possible, but even if it were, it still would require me to go to Colonia on a regular basis. I'm going in a few days and the roundtrip BuqueBus ticket was over $100 USD, so I'm not keen on repeating if I can help it. Finding someone reliable in Buenos Aires would be ideal I think.


I've only been here for two weeks, so I'm hoping to avoid being scammed for at least another month or two, lol. LATAM airlines scammed me on the way here, but that's a story for different thread.

I have no first hand experience but if I were you I would WU to myself pesos and just change that to us cash at any cuevas. Most argentinians save in pesos and then go and buy us cash bills. You would pay a bit higher % due to the double conversion but it's the most hassle free way.

That's how I planned to do it before I realized WU didn't work for me.

ACH Transfers, paypal/payoneer/zelle etc all most likely have a higher % fee anyways and you open yourself up for more trouble (like paypal closing down your acc, etc).

 

[earlyretirement]

I have no first hand experience but if I were you I would WU to myself pesos and just change that to us cash at any cuevas. Most argentinians save in pesos and then go and buy us cash bills. You would pay a bit higher % due to the double conversion but it's the most hassle free way.

That's how I planned to do it before I realized WU didn't work for me.

ACH Transfers, paypal/payoneer/zelle etc all most likely have a higher % fee anyways and you open yourself up for more trouble (like paypal closing down your acc, etc).

I totally agree with you grosso95. Paypal is NOT a good method for what grosso95 is mentioning. They shut down your account and many times even if you have cash in it they are a nightmare to deal with to reopen it. We have had people that used it for "one off" payments but I'd recommend other methods.

ACH is the easiest method or Zelle. All of the trusted people that have done this for years never have issues. Like I said, I've dealt with hundreds of millions of dollars since 2002 without any issues.

 

[OdGreen]

I have no first hand experience but if I were you I would WU to myself pesos and just change that to us cash at any cuevas. Most argentinians save in pesos and then go and buy us cash bills. You would pay a bit higher % due to the double conversion but it's the most hassle free way.

That's how I planned to do it before I realized WU didn't work for me.

ACH Transfers, paypal/payoneer/zelle etc all most likely have a higher % fee anyways and you open yourself up for more trouble (like paypal closing down your acc, etc).

Zelle at least is completely free to use. It's owned and operated by several major U.S. banks and integrated into the banking apps of over 1,600 U.S. banks - something like 80% of the U.S. banking population has easy direct access to Zelle via their own bank's app or website. Transfers are typically instantaneous. I use Zelle regularly to transfer funds to myself from one bank to another and my balances at both banks are adjusted within seconds. Both of my regular banks have Zelle incorporated, so I log directly into the bank's website to access Zelle.

The downside of Zelle is that it is near impossible to have funds reversed if someone else scams you into sending them money, or if you accidentally send money to the wrong person. Because the funds are going directly from one bank account almost instantly into another bank account, with no middleman, there's no going back if you make a mistake. So with Zelle its extremely important to know your recipient and not fall for any kind of phishing or social engineering. My primary bank has a daily Zelle limit of $1,000 and a weekly limit of $2,500 - most likely to limit the damage from elderly citizens falling prey to scammers.

I personally have only had awesome experiences with Zelle, and since there are no fees, it's sort of a no-brainer for transfers between U.S. bank accounts. I'm not sure why anyone who has Zelle access via their bank would still use Paypal or CashApp, except for maybe commercial transactions in which the PayPal buyer protection might be more important to you.

The initial hurdle, like @earlyretirement mentioned a few posts back, is having the confidence and trust to send someone in BA a Zelle transfer for the first time, especially if you're new here (like me). I'd probably be hesitant the first time unless I was standing right next to the recipient when I push the "send" button. But once the relationship and trust is established, and since Zelle doesn't have any fees, it seems like it's a better way to go than approaching random people on the street with a bag full of pesos (and in my case broken Spanish as well).

I get that Zelle is really only a decent option for U.S. expats though. Folks from other countries may be forced to use other money transfer providers where the percentage of the cut is too large and perhaps buying dollars on the street might make more financial sense.

 

[OdGreen]

And also sorry @IgnacioGud for going off-topic in your thread a little bit, my apologies.

 

[earlyretirement]

Zelle at least is completely free to use. It's owned and operated by several major U.S. banks and integrated into the banking apps of over 1,600 U.S. banks - something like 80% of the U.S. banking population has easy direct access to Zelle via their own bank's app or website. Transfers are typically instantaneous. I use Zelle regularly to transfer funds to myself from one bank to another and my balances at both banks are adjusted within seconds. Both of my regular banks have Zelle incorporated, so I log directly into the bank's website to access Zelle.

The downside of Zelle is that it is near impossible to have funds reversed if someone else scams you into sending them money, or if you accidentally send money to the wrong person. Because the funds are going directly from one bank account almost instantly into another bank account, with no middleman, there's no going back if you make a mistake. So with Zelle its extremely important to know your recipient and not fall for any kind of phishing or social engineering. My primary bank has a daily Zelle limit of $1,000 and a weekly limit of $2,500 - most likely to limit the damage from elderly citizens falling prey to scammers.

I personally have only had awesome experiences with Zelle, and since there are no fees, it's sort of a no-brainer for transfers between U.S. bank accounts. I'm not sure why anyone who has Zelle access via their bank would still use Paypal or CashApp, except for maybe commercial transactions in which the PayPal buyer protection might be more important to you.

The initial hurdle, like @earlyretirement mentioned a few posts back, is having the confidence and trust to send someone in BA a Zelle transfer for the first time, especially if you're new here (like me). I'd probably be hesitant the first time unless I was standing right next to the recipient when I push the "send" button. But once the relationship and trust is established, and since Zelle doesn't have any fees, it seems like it's a better way to go than approaching random people on the street with a bag full of pesos (and in my case broken Spanish as well).

I get that Zelle is really only a decent option for U.S. expats though. Folks from other countries may be forced to use other money transfer providers where the percentage of the cut is too large and perhaps buying dollars on the street might make more financial sense.

Just keep in mind Zelle has limits.

Just keep in mind that Zelle has limits. You can't use it for big transactions. I had a client this morning that needed to send $9,000 and couldn't. Look at the limits and note them. That's the only negative about Zelle. Just an FYI.

 

[RichardOne]

Zelle can send transfers overseas..? to foreign banks..? Is Zelle better than ACH ?

 

[earlyretirement]

Zelle can send transfers overseas..? to foreign banks..? Is Zelle better than ACH ?

No, not overseas. It's just USA to USA. So basically OP would use his Zelle in the USA to send to a cueva or person that also uses Zelle in the USA. Send the funds and then get charged X% fee and get his US $cash in Buenos Aires. Almost all of these financial people in Buenos Aires have USA bank accounts. So it's just going USA bank to USA bank.

Like I said, the only limitation I've run into with Zelle is their limits are lower. I can't remember but I think like $5,000 per week and $500 up to $1,000 each time or something like that. It might differ by credit union/bank. (https://www.zellepay.com/faq/there-limit-how-much-money-i-can-send-or-receive#:~:text=If your bank or credit,in the Zelle® app.) It's good for smaller payments. Some times some of these bankers in order not to mess around with too small of transactions will change $20 US plus X% for each transfer. It works flawlessly though. I'd certainly do that vs. going over to Uruguay which is going to burn time, money and has risks. Zelle works fabulous if your limit is high enough.

There is no bigger cost than your time. People never seem to put a value on their time and you always have to. Time= money.

 

[FrankPintos]

I don't think that's possible, but even if it were, it still would require me to go to Colonia on a regular basis. I'm going in a few days and the roundtrip BuqueBus ticket was over $100 USD, so I'm not keen on repeating if I can help it. Finding someone reliable in Buenos Aires would be ideal I think.


I've only been here for two weeks, so I'm hoping to avoid being scammed for at least another month or two, lol. LATAM airlines scammed me on the way here, but that's a story for different thread.

Do please post your LATAM experience to the Facebook group "LATAM Airlines Suck". The more, the better

 

[earlyretirement]

Do please post your LATAM experience to the Facebook group "LATAM Airlines Suck". The more, the better

Actually I've been quite pleased with my last few experiences with LATAM. Previously I usually only flew American Airlines or "American" based airlines. But ticket prices have been insane. I have flown down 3 times this year on LATAM. LAX to Lima to EZE. 2 times I flew in Business class and the service was excellent. And then I flew down with my family in coach class and even that was good. Flights all left on time. food was decent and staff were friendly.

If you have a layover, you can stay at that Holiday Inn right across the street from the airport. It's handy for a flight the next day.

 

[FrankPintos]

Actually I've been quite pleased with my last few experiences with LATAM. Previously I usually only flew American Airlines or "American" based airlines. But ticket prices have been insane. I have flown down 3 times this year on LATAM. LAX to Lima to EZE. 2 times I flew in Business class and the service was excellent. And then I flew down with my family in coach class and even that was good. Flights all left on time. food was decent and staff were friendly.

If you have a layover, you can stay at that Holiday Inn right across the street from the airport. It's handy for a flight the next day.

LATAM are good in the air, the Chilean part of the operation seems to have mostly ex-airforce pilots who know what they're doing. They have a good safety record, in spite of there being some really big rocks in the clouds where they fly.

They do seem to be getting less careful, though, they had a major screw up a year ago in Asuncion, see the Aviation Herald for details.

Most people's (and my) problems seem to be with the ground operations, ticketing, flight cancelations, customer service and so on, which absolutely suck. Getting refunds from them for paid bookings they cancelled is a major task, and their customer service is set up to frustrate you at every step.

You actually stayed at the Lima Holiday Inn on the other side of the craziest roundabout in South America? It could take you 30 mins to get from one side to the other.

 

[RedDave]

TONS of people out there like you. I trust your client doesn't know or care you're in Argentina? If they don't care you're golden. You don't have to do anything right now. You can easily just cross the border into Uruguay every 3 months. Argentina doesn't really care. I know many people that over stayed their visa. Some for up to 2 years and they just paid a fine when they left. I personally have never stayed in Argentina illegally even one day. I always got a visa but I wouldn't recommend that for you.

Just enjoy life earning US $ and spending pesos. You don't have to worry about Argentina taxes. You'll pay taxes in the USA if you're American. Just make sure to follow all the tax laws and declare income, etc. You can get by with Western Union.

Talk to me like I'm super new to this. What do I need to do in Uruguay to keep my tourist visa?

Will I need to be legit to buy a car, sign a long term rent agreement, sign up for healthcare or get married in Argentina? Could not being legit interfere with my girlfriends visa application(to the US) or other visa/citizenship applications such as mine in the future?

What does the "legit" process look like and what are its limitations? Do I end up paying US and Argentine Taxes?

 

[earlyretirement]

LATAM are good in the air, the Chilean part of the operation seems to have mostly ex-airforce pilots who know what they're doing. They have a good safety record, in spite of there being some really big rocks in the clouds where they fly.

They do seem to be getting less careful, though, they had a major screw up a year ago in Asuncion, see the Aviation Herald for details.

Most people's (and my) problems seem to be with the ground operations, ticketing, flight cancelations, customer service and so on, which absolutely suck. Getting refunds from them for paid bookings they cancelled is a major task, and their customer service is set up to frustrate you at every step.

You actually stayed at the Lima Holiday Inn on the other side of the craziest roundabout in South America? It could take you 30 mins to get from one side to the other.

NO you can NOT walk to that. It's impossible. There is a FREE shuttle bus right there when you land. It's always available when I land. Takes 5 minutes to DRIVE there. Do NOT attempt to walk it.