Argentina 2026: FX Liberalisation, Corporate Reform and New Opportunities for International Business

Argentina's business environment continues to change rapidly in 2026, with further foreign-exchange liberalisation, a proposed overhaul of corporate law, simplified registration of foreign companies and a broader tax-reform agenda.

1. A more liberal foreign-exchange framework

Argentina's major foreign-exchange liberalisation began in April 2025, when the BCRA introduced a floating exchange-rate regime within a moving band and removed several longstanding exchange restrictions.

The initial band was set at ARS 1,000-1,400 per USD, but from 1 January 2026 the floor and ceiling have been adjusted in line with the latest published monthly inflation figure from INDEC. The system therefore no longer operates with a fixed ARS 1,000-1,400 range.

The reforms also removed restrictions applicable to individuals, eliminated the previous "blend" exchange rate and relaxed certain foreign-trade and profit-repatriation rules.

Argentina has also expanded the use of the US dollar in domestic financial activity. The BCRA has enabled USD debit-card payments, interoperable QR payments using USD debit cards, USD-denominated DEBIN payments and USD current accounts.

For international businesses, the changes are relevant when considering treasury, pricing, dividend distributions, foreign investment and cross-border transactions.

2. A proposed complete rewrite of corporate law

The Executive Branch has submitted to Congress a draft bill that would replace Argentina's existing General Companies Law No. 19,550 with a new corporate-law framework.

The proposal would modernise and simplify the corporate system, including reducing the number of statutory corporate forms to five proposed types:

• Sociedad Simple;
• Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (SRL);
• Sociedad Anónima (SA);
• Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada (SAS);
• Sociedad Descentralizada Autónoma Operativa (DAO/OAD).

The proposal would also introduce broader contractual freedom, digital corporate records and registration, modernise the SAS framework and introduce new concepts for technology-driven businesses, including automated companies and DAOs/OADs.

Importantly, this remains a draft bill and is not yet the applicable corporate-law framework. Its final form will depend on the legislative process.

3. Foreign-company registration has already been simplified

While the broader corporate-law reform remains under consideration, an important change has already taken effect.

IGJ General Resolution 4/2026, effective from 27 May 2026, significantly simplified the registration regime for companies incorporated abroad.

The reform reduces documentary requirements, consolidates the rules applicable to foreign companies under Articles 118 and 123 of the General Companies Law, allows certain foreign corporate documents to be submitted digitally and apostilled, and permits the registration of a foreign company and the incorporation of a local subsidiary in which it will participate to be processed jointly.

For international groups entering Argentina, this can make the initial corporate-registration process more straightforward.

4. Tax reform remains on the agenda

Argentina is also preparing a broader tax reform.

Proposals under discussion include changes to Ingresos Brutos, VAT, trade taxes, and income taxes. The Government has committed to presenting a broader tax-reform proposal, while the IMF's reform roadmap has also identified taxes such as Ingresos Brutos and the impuesto al cheque (basically a bank debit and credit tax) as areas for potential reform.

The impuesto al cheque is therefore part of the wider reform discussion, but any reduction or elimination should currently be treated as a policy proposal rather than enacted law.

5. New incentives for formal employment

The Labour Modernisation Law, passed in March 2026, introduced measures to encourage formal employment.

Under the Formal Employment Incentive Regime, employers pay reduced contributions to certain social-security systems for the first 48 months of a qualifying new employment relationship. Several conditions apply:

• The new employment relationship must be registered between 1 May 2026 and 30 April 2027.
• The worker must fall into an eligible category: for example, someone who had no registered employment as of 10 December 2025, someone who was unemployed for at least six months before being hired, a former monotributo (self-employed) taxpayer, or someone moving from public-sector employment.
• Workers hired under the regime may not exceed 80% of the employer's total payroll.
• Employers must document each worker's eligibility and keep records for audits. If the conditions are not met, the standard rates apply retroactively, plus penalties.

Separately, the Promoción del Empleo Registrado regime allows employers to regularise certain previously unregistered or incorrectly registered employees, with partial forgiveness of the related social-security debt, subject to the applicable conditions.

For international businesses employing staff in Argentina, these measures are relevant when assessing the cost and structure of local employment.

What does this mean for international businesses?

Argentina's 2026 reforms are moving in several directions at once: a more flexible foreign-exchange framework, simpler foreign-company registration, proposed corporate-law modernisation and a developing tax and labour reform agenda.

For businesses considering Argentina, the distinction between rules already in force and reforms still under consideration is particularly important.

Through Doing Business International (DBI) and our strategic partners in Argentina, we help international clients:

• Navigate the evolving foreign-exchange framework and international payment flows.
• Establish and structure Argentine companies and subsidiaries.
• Register foreign companies under the simplified 2026 IGJ framework.
• Assess proposed corporate-law changes and their potential impact on existing structures.
• Review tax and employment considerations when entering the Argentine market.

Argentina is entering a period of significant regulatory and economic transition. For international businesses, the opportunity is clear, but so is the need for careful implementation: foreign-exchange rules, corporate-registration requirements, employment incentives and proposed reforms should be assessed together before committing capital, structuring operations or hiring locally. Early planning and flexible structures will be key to navigating Argentina's evolving 2026 framework.