# How to Calculate Duties and Taxes on Imports to Argentina

> Argentina: personal parcels skip duty and statistics fee up to USD 400 FOB, 5 times a year, but IVA still applies. Commercial imports have no threshold.

Source: https://traddal.com/resources/calculate-duties-taxes-imports-argentina
Last updated: 2026-11-06

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## Key facts

- IVA standard rate: 21%
- Duty de minimis: USD 400
- Tax de minimis: USD 0
- Currency: Argentine peso (ARS)
- Customs authority: [Agencia de Recaudacion y Control Aduanero (ARCA)](https://www.arca.gob.ar/)
- Tax authority: [Agencia de Recaudacion y Control Aduanero (ARCA)](https://www.arca.gob.ar/)
- Checked: 5 November 2026

- [Calculate duty for Argentina](https://traddal.com/tools/import-duty-calculator)

## Importing into Argentina

Personal parcels into Argentina pay no import duty or statistics fee on the first USD 400 FOB, for up to 5 shipments a year per person, but IVA at 21% or 10.5% and any internal taxes still apply. Above USD 400, duty and the statistics fee apply to the excess. Commercial imports have no threshold and also pay the 3% statistics rate and income tax and VAT prepayments.

## De minimis thresholds

| Threshold | Amount | In US dollars | In force from |
| --- | ---: | ---: | --- |
| Duty | USD 400 | about USD 400 | Not confirmed |
| Tax | USD 0 | about USD 0 | Not confirmed |

**Duty:** Small shipments for personal use, by courier or the postal operator: free of import duty and statistics fee up to USD 400 FOB per shipment, for up to 5 shipments a year per person. Duty applies to the excess. Maximum USD 3,000 per shipment, 50 kg per package and 3 units of a kind, no commercial purpose, and USD 15,000 a year per ARCA's October 2026 note. Ordinary commercial imports have no threshold. **Tax:** Under the small-shipment regime the first USD 400 is still liable to IVA and internal taxes where they apply. US dollar amounts are approximate, at exchange rates on 5 November 2026. The legal thresholds are the local amounts.

## What duty and tax are charged on

- **Valuation basis:** Not confirmed
- **Tax base:** Not confirmed
- **IVA standard rate:** 21%. ARCA's system tables list 10.5%, 21% and 27%. 27% is an increased rate, not a reduced one. Other import levies, such as the 3% statistics rate (to 31 December 2027 under Decree 1140/2024) and income tax and VAT prepayments, sit on top for ordinary imports.
- **Reduced rates:** 10.5%

## Low-value parcels

Not confirmed

## Recent rule changes

| Date | What changed | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 30 July 2026 | ARCA published Resolucion General 5884/2026 under Decree 604/26: postal and door-to-door shipments now get the same treatment as courier small shipments, with the USD 400 relief. | [Source](https://servicioscf.afip.gob.ar/publico/sitio/contenido/novedad/ver.aspx?id=5829) |
| 12 December 2025 | Decree 877/2025 reduced import duty rates, as ARCA reported in its revenue notes. | [Source](https://www.arca.gob.ar/institucional/documentos/ARCA-Recaudacion-122025.pdf) |

## What we could not confirm

We left these out rather than guess.

- valuationBasis: null. The small-shipment limit is expressed FOB, but the general customs value was not confirmed from an official source. The old guide's CIF is not contradicted, just unconfirmed.
- taxBase: null. The base for import IVA was not confirmed from an official page.

## The small-shipment regime has limits on count, units and use

ARCA, which combines customs and tax, runs the **pequeños envíos** regime. To qualify, a shipment must be for personal use, not exceed USD 3,000 per shipment, stay under 50 kg per package and hold up to 3 units of the same kind.

Since the publication of Resolución General 5884/2026 on 30 July 2026, under Decree 604/26, postal and door-to-door shipments get the same treatment as courier small shipments. Before that, the USD 400 relief was courier territory.

Shipments on this option are excused from prior INAL approval, the SIDIP identification regime, and economic restrictions and prohibitions. They're also excused from prior ANMAT sign-off on cosmetics, household cleaning and hygiene products, and non-prescription medical products for personal use, but not on medicines. ARCA's October 2026 note also gives a USD 15,000 yearly cap for purchases through these platforms.

## How the calculation works

IVA and duty run on different portions. On a qualifying shipment, duty and the statistics fee apply only to value above USD 400 FOB, and IVA applies from the first dollar where it's due. ARCA's pages don't give duty percentages for the excess, or state the base for IVA, so our examples show their assumptions.

ARCA's tables list IVA at 10.5%, 21% and 27%. The 27% is an increased rate. For ordinary imports, the 3% statistics rate, kept until 31 December 2027 by Decree 1140/2024, and income tax and VAT prepayments sit on top, which raises the cash you need at clearance. Decree 877/2025 of 12 December 2025 reduced many duty rates, so don't reuse rates from older quotes.

## Run these checks before you quote

1. **Confirm the regime:** personal use, 5 uses or fewer this calendar year, USD 3,000 or less, up to 3 units of a kind, and 50 kg or less per package.
2. Split the FOB value at USD 400. Freight doesn't count in this test.
3. Apply the tariff rate and statistics fee to the portion above USD 400 only. Use our [HS code classifier](https://traddal.com/tools/hs-code-classifier) for the code.
4. Apply IVA at the product's rate, and any internal tax. ARCA doesn't publish the base on these pages, so check with the courier.
5. **Pay the courier, not ARCA:** couriers handle the process, and no form is needed from you. Our [duty calculator](https://traddal.com/tools/import-duty-calculator) gives a starting estimate.

## Two shipments, with our assumptions stated

Headphones, USD 250 FOB, by courier, within quota, at an illustrative USD 1 = ARS 1,400.

| Line | How | Amount |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| Declared value | USD 250 × 1,400 | ARS 350,000 |
| Duty | | None |
| Statistics fee | | None |
| **IVA** | 21% of ARS 350,000 | **ARS 73,500** |

Bike parts, USD 600 FOB.

| Line | How | Amount |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| Value | USD 600 | ARS 840,000 |
| Excess over USD 400 | USD 200 | ARS 280,000 |
| Duty | Assumed 20% of ARS 280,000 | ARS 56,000 |
| Statistics fee | Assumed 3% of ARS 280,000 | ARS 8,400 |
| IVA | 21% of ARS 904,400, assuming duty and fee are in the base | ARS 189,924 |
| **Total** | Duty + statistics fee + IVA | **ARS 254,324** |

## What trips people up

- **Saying Argentina has no de minimis:** the USD 400 relief exists for personal shipments, by courier and now by post.
- **Calling USD 400 tax free:** it removes duty and the statistics fee only. IVA still applies where due.
- **Forgetting the count:** on a sixth import, the courier asks you to pay all applicable taxes on the shipment, because the allowance is spent.
- **Paying a stranger:** ARCA doesn't ask taxpayers to pay these charges directly, and says to ignore emails, calls or social media messages claiming otherwise.

## Tracking your quota, and what we could not confirm

Your allowance is visible on ARCA's site, and it counts per person, not per seller.

With Clave Fiscal level 2 or higher, open **Envíos Postales Internacionales** on the ARCA site. It shows each shipment, the courier or postal provider, and how much of the quota is used.

We couldn't confirm the general customs value basis for ordinary imports from an official source, nor the base for import IVA. The USD 400 test is FOB, but that doesn't settle what ordinary commercial entries use. If you're importing stock, get the figures from your despachante rather than from this page, and treat this page as guidance only.

## Other guides in Americas

- [Brazil](https://traddal.com/resources/calculate-duties-taxes-imports-brazil)
- [Canada](https://traddal.com/resources/calculate-duties-taxes-imports-canada)
- [Chile](https://traddal.com/resources/calculate-duties-taxes-imports-chile)
- [Mexico](https://traddal.com/resources/calculate-duties-taxes-imports-mexico)
- [Peru](https://traddal.com/resources/calculate-duties-taxes-imports-peru)
- [United States](https://traddal.com/resources/how-to-calculate-duties-and-taxes-on-imports-to-usa)

## Businesses, forms and the postal route

### Can a business use the USD 400 relief?

Only without a commercial purpose. ARCA's page lets these shipments go to people or companies, but bars any commercial end, and the five uses count per person. Ordinary commercial imports have no threshold.

### Do I file anything with ARCA for a courier parcel?

No form. ARCA's October 2026 note says courier companies handle the process with ARCA on your behalf, and you pay the courier.

### Does the postal route now match courier?

On the tax point, yes: RG 5884/2026 aligns non-commercial postal imports with the courier regime, including the five-shipment quota and the USD 3,000 cap.

## Sources

1. [Pequenos envios, importacion por courier (ARCA)](https://www.afip.gob.ar/envios-internacionales/courier/importacion/pequenios-envios.asp), checked 5 November 2026
2. [ARCA agiliza el regimen de envios postales internacionales y puerta a puerta (30 July 2026)](https://servicioscf.afip.gob.ar/publico/sitio/contenido/novedad/ver.aspx?id=5829), checked 5 November 2026
3. [Regimen de Courier (ARCA, 6 October 2026)](https://servicioscf.afip.gob.ar/publico/sitio/contenido/novedad/ver.aspx?id=5939), checked 5 November 2026
4. [Tablas del sistema, alicuotas del IVA (ARCA)](https://www.afip.gob.ar/iva/documentos/Libro-IVA-Digital-Tablas-del-Sistema.pdf), checked 5 November 2026
5. [Recaudacion diciembre 2025 (ARCA)](https://www.arca.gob.ar/institucional/documentos/ARCA-Recaudacion-122025.pdf), checked 5 November 2026
6. [Decreto 1140/2024, tasa de estadistica (Boletin Oficial)](https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/319050/20241231), checked 5 November 2026
7. [Euro foreign exchange reference rates, 5 November 2026 (European Central Bank)](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_and_exchange_rates/euro_reference_exchange_rates/html/index.en.html), checked 5 November 2026