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Rent: These are the taxes that owners must pay - La Nacion Propiedades
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Alquileres: estos son los impuestos que deben pagar los propietarios
La derogación de la ley de alquileres abrió un nuevo mercado de oportunidades para invertir en propiedades, pero es clave conocer los impuestos que debe pagar un propietario a la hora de hacer números
www.lanacion.com.ar
March 31, 2025
The repeal of the rental law opened a new market of opportunities to invest in properties, but it is key to know the taxes that a landlord must pay when calculating.
By Maria Josefina Lanzi
Rent: These are the taxes that owners must pay.Gonzalo Colini
The real estate market continues to show signs of recovery. In December 2023, the repeal of the rental law brought new hope to the real estate world , resulting in an increase in the supply of rental properties and a rise in sales transactions.
Not only that, but the profitability generated by rentals for owners has also grown considerably: the rent-to-price ratio now stands at 5.26% annually. "Currently, it takes 19 years of renting to repay the initial investment, 11.2% less than what was required a year ago," explains Zonaprop, based on figures collected by the platform in March.
In this context, knowing the taxes that owners pay is key to determining whether or not it's a good deal to allocate an apartment to the rental market.
"When analyzing the final profit from a rental, taxes must be taken into account, because if the tax impact is large, the income is reduced," said Santiago Saenz Valiente, accountant, tax specialist, and partner at SSV & Asociados. This means that those considering investing in a property to rent must take into account certain taxes when calculating the property's profitability.
Knowing the taxes that landlords pay is key to determining whether or not it is a good business to allocate an apartment to the rental market.Daenin - Shutterstock
An important point to keep in mind is that, although the rental law no longer requires registration of contracts, in order to enjoy all the tax benefits listed below, contracts must be registered in the "Registro de Locaciones de Inmuebles - RELI" service of ARCA (formerly AFIP).
Here are some key questions about the taxes that apartment owners who rent out their apartments have to pay:
1) Who must pay VAT?
To answer the question about value-added tax, the most common situations are:- If the landlord is a registered taxpayer: the rent is exempt from VAT if the property is used as a home for the tenant and their family (i.e., the tenant uses the property as a home for their family); they must pay VAT if they do not fall into this category.
- If the owner is a self-employed taxpayer, the rent is exempt from VAT, regardless of the tenant's use.
"You need to know the owner's status, whether they are a self-employed taxpayer or registered with the Income Tax Administration (GNI), to determine whether this actually has a significant impact on the taxes they will have to pay," adds Saenz Valiente. He also clarifies that if the owner is a self-employed taxpayer, they only have to pay the tax component. In other words, leasing property does not require them to pay social security or social security contributions.
To be a self-employed person, it is necessary to comply with all the requirements of the regimeGerardo Viercovich - LA NACION
2) Who can register as a self-employed person when offering a property for rent?
To qualify as a monotributista, you must meet all the requirements of the regime . For example, you must not carry out more than three simultaneous activities or own more than three operating units. As a general rule, each property is considered a single operating unit; therefore, if a retiree owns four rental properties (for example, an apartment and three garages), in principle, they cannot be considered a monotributista. However, if the contracts are registered, they are all considered a single operating unit, regardless of the number of properties involved.“Recently, a benefit was also included consisting of the exemption from paying the single tax for those taxpayers who have income in the regime exclusively from the rental of up to two (2) properties,” shares Sebastián Domínguez, accountant and CEO of SDC Tax Advisors.
3) Which owners are subject to Income Tax?
When the owner is not a sole proprietor and is subject to the general tax regime (registration of taxpayers, whether individuals or legal entities, for national taxes such as VAT and income tax), they must pay income tax, with a rate that can range from 5% to 35%. "It's easy to reach the highest level," says Domínguez, sharing the reference table. He clarifies that it will be updated in July, due to the CPI fluctuation in the first half of the year.
“So, if we're talking about a retiree who buys a property to rent and earns $600,000 a month, they can register for the single tax regime. If we're talking about an employee who buys a property to rent for that amount, they can also register for it. But if they're a professional registered for VAT and Income Tax, because they exceed the single tax threshold, they must include the rental income in their tax return and may end up paying 35% of the income tax on that rent ,” Domínguez adds.
Both landlords and tenants will be able to deduct 10% of the total annual rental income from residential properties. "This deduction is in addition to the 40% deduction available to tenants on the total rental income from residential properties, up to the minimum non-taxable amount applicable each year," Domínguez adds.
Another point is that " credits and debits in savings or checking accounts used exclusively for transactions related to the rental of real estate for residential purposes, whose contracts are duly registered, are exempt from the tax," explains Domínguez. This means that those who make transfers linked to real estate payments will be exempt from paying the tax charged to taxpayers on the movement of funds when making transfers, payments, or deposits.
4) Who pays personal property?
The Personal Property Tax applies to those whose assets are valued at more than $292,994,964.89 as of December 31, 2024. On the other hand, they will be able to compute a non-taxable minimum of $1,025.5 million (meaning, if applicable, the non-taxable minimum will be higher) if they own a property used as a home. However, this would apply only to the property itself; if someone owns a property worth $600 million and assets worth $300 million, they will pay Personal Property Tax on the assets (given that they exceed $292,994,964.89), but not on the property (since it is below $1,025.5 million).“This tax will not be paid on properties intended for residential purposes, with duly registered contracts, when the value of each property is equal to or less than the amount established in the second paragraph of Article 24, which was $350,000,000 in 2023 and approximately $1,025,482,377.13 in 2024,” Domínguez explains.
The Personal Property Tax applies to those whose assets are valued at more than 292,994,964.89 as of December 31, 2024. However, those who own real estate used as a home will be exempt from this tax if they meet a condition.CrizzyStudio - Shutterstock
5) Who is responsible for paying Gross Income?
At the provincial level and in the city of Buenos Aires, there is a Gross Income Tax, which has different characteristics depending on the location of the property and the nature of the activities carried out.The owner may be a local taxpayer from a single jurisdiction or a multilateral treaty taxpayer, because it carries out activities in two or more jurisdictions.
If the property owner is located in the Federal Capital and carries out that sole activity , they will be a local taxpayer in the City of Buenos Aires. In that case, it will be necessary to analyze whether the rental is exempt from the tax . Some cases:
- By 2025, landlords' income from renting up to three residential units is exempt, provided the amount does not exceed $1,000,000 per month per property.
- If you do not qualify for the exemption and are registered under the general tax regime, the rent will be taxed at a rate of 1.5%.
- You can also consider enrolling in the simplified gross income tax regime and paying bimonthly instead of monthly.
If you are located in a province, the gross income tax rate will depend on the applicable tax rate there. Some provinces have joined the unified single tax system alongside the national tax system; in that case, single taxpayers can join and add the provincial tax rate to the national tax rate.
It is key to know the taxes that an owner must pay when doing the math. Fabian Marelli
6) Who should pay the Real Estate Tax?
Typically, the owner pays the property tax; the amount depends on the property's valuation and the jurisdiction. The ABL , on the other hand, is usually paid by the tenant , as it is a fee for public lighting, street sweeping, and urban cleaning services.In any case, Mariano Esper, a lawyer specializing in the sector, analyzed that, following Javier Milei's DNU (Decree of the Unified State), which repealed the rental law, who pays the property tax and the Property Tax on Lighting, Sweeping, and Cleaning (ABL) bills could change. "In general, the property tax is paid by the owner and the ABL by the tenant , although it could be established that the owner of the unit pays the entire amount, and that would not be excessive," he points out.
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