En esta noticia
The FATCA agreement between the United States and Argentina allows the automatic exchange of certain financial information between the two countries. The agreement was signed in December 2022 and entered into force on January 1, 2023.
Through this agreement, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States can send information to the Customs and Tax Control Agency (ARCA) about certain financial accounts held in that country by Argentine tax residents.
What information should the IRS send to ARCA?
FATCA is a U.S. law that requires financial institutions to report on accounts of people from other countries.
Article 2 establishes which data must be exchanged automatically regarding the so-called “Argentine reportable accounts”.
The information the United States automatically sends to ARCA:
- Name and address of the account holder.
- Argentine tax identification number (CUIT, CUIL or other applicable TIN).
- Account number or functional equivalent.
- Name and identifying number of the U.S. financial institution maintaining the account.
- Interest paid on a deposit account, when it is an account covered by the agreement.
- U.S.-source dividends paid or credited to the account.
- Other U.S.-source income paid or credited to the account, to the extent that it is subject to the reporting obligations provided for by U.S. tax law.
In the case of deposit accounts of individuals residing in Argentina, the agreement considers the account reportable when more than USD 10 in interest has been paid during the calendar year.
What information does the IRS not automatically send?
One of the points of the agreement is that the United States must not automatically send ARCA the account balance or value nor the detail of bank transactions.
If ARCA requires additional information, it must make a specific request to the U.S. authorities through the available tax cooperation channels.
It is worth noting that, when Argentina informs the United States about a reportable account of a U.S. person, it must communicate, among other data, the account balance or value at year-end and certain income and transactions.
By contrast, for Argentine reportable accounts held in the United States, the information the agreement requires the U.S. to exchange includes identification, account number, financial institution and certain income, but does not include the account balance.
When the exchange takes place
The agreement establishes that the information must be exchanged annually and automatically. The first exchange was scheduled for September 2024, after the IRS confirmed that Argentina had the security measures and infrastructure needed to begin operating the system.
ARCA also officially states that the FATCA agreement has been in force since January 1, 2023.
What ARCA can do with the information
The data received through the international exchange are part of the tax enforcement tools available to the agency.
The information can be used to compare the data obtained from the United States with taxpayers’ returns and other tax information.