Money & BankingUpdated 2026-10-02 · 10 min read
UK-Argentina double tax treaty: pensions, rent and relief
For an Argentine treaty resident, qualifying UK past-employment pensions are usually taxable only in Argentina. The UK State Pension and UK property income can be taxed in both countries, with an Argentine credit for eligible UK tax within treaty limits.
In short
- The 1996 convention has been in force since 1997; MLI anti-abuse changes take effect in stages from 2026.
- Article 18 normally gives Argentina sole taxing rights over qualifying UK past-employment pensions and annuities paid to an Argentine treaty resident.
- The UK may tax the State Pension under Article 21, while Argentina allows a capped credit for eligible UK tax actually paid.
- UK rent and property gains may be taxed in the UK even when the owner is Argentine tax-resident.
- DT-Individual is the UK pension-relief claim; P85 or SA109 reports departure residence, and treaty withholding ceilings are not flat tax rates.
A pensioner moving from Britain to Argentina may receive three payments from the UK and face three different treaty outcomes. A qualifying former-employer pension is normally taxable only in Argentina once the recipient is treaty-resident there. The UK State Pension and profit from a UK rental flat can be taxed in both places, with relief limited to eligible tax actually charged. Those rules come from the 1996 UK–Argentina convention, in force since 1 August 1997; the bank account receiving the money does not decide which country taxes it.
Tax residence comes before the pension article
Each country first applies its own residence rules. HMRC's Statutory Residence Test measures UK days, work and ties across a tax year from 6 April to 5 April. For a foreign national, Argentine tax residence generally begins upon permanent immigration residence or after 12 months under temporary authorisations, subject to absence rules. Argentine residents generally report worldwide income for *Ganancias* (income tax). Compare the Argentine residence triggers and calculate UK days and ties against the dates of the payments.
If both domestic systems treat you as resident, Article 4 tests a permanent home first, then the centre of personal and economic ties, habitual abode and nationality, with agreement between the authorities last. Having access to a house in each country makes the later tests especially relevant. Family location, nights spent in each country and work and financial connections help establish the picture. Argentine treaty residence can limit UK tax on a particular pension while leaving UK filing duties and UK property income within the UK system.
The treaty gives different answers for different income
The allocations below assume Argentine treaty residence. When the treaty says the UK *may* tax a receipt, domestic allowances and exemptions still determine whether any UK tax is due.
| Income or gain | Treaty allocation | Practical implication |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying UK past-employment pension or annuity, Article 18 | Argentina only | An HMRC treaty-relief claim can remove UK PAYE; Argentine domestic rules determine the tax there |
| UK State Pension, Article 21 | UK may tax; Argentina taxes its resident with a credit for eligible UK tax | It belongs in a separate calculation from the occupational pension |
| Pension for UK government service, Article 19 | Usually UK only, subject to a residence-and-nationality exception | The employer, service and scheme determine the category |
| UK property rent, Article 6 | UK and Argentina | UK profit and eligible tax feed into a capped Argentine credit |
| Gain on UK land or buildings, Article 13 | UK and Argentina | Each country's gain reporting and credit limits matter |
| Salary for work physically performed in Argentina, Article 15 | Usually Argentina, with special short-stay conditions | UK payroll alone does not establish the work location |
| Dividends, interest and royalties, Articles 10–12 | Residence country; source country can also withhold within treaty limits | Beneficial ownership and treaty-residence proof affect reduced withholding |
Article 2 defines the covered taxes. The convention is not a social-security agreement for UK National Insurance or Argentine social contributions, and Argentine *Bienes Personales* (personal assets tax) needs its own domestic assessment. For other UK obligations after departure, see UK tax after leaving.
A workplace pension paid for past employment, or an annuity meeting Article 18, belongs to Argentina for an Argentine treaty resident. A provider may continue deducting UK PAYE until HMRC processes a claim. A SIPP (self-invested personal pension) needs to be classified from its scheme and payment terms rather than its label; a government-service pension may instead fall within Article 19.
The UK State Pension follows Article 21 as other UK-source income. Argentina taxes its resident and can credit qualifying UK tax actually paid, so a UK bill of zero produces a credit of zero. The full new 2026/27 rate is £241.30 weekly, £12,547.60 for 52 weeks before personal adjustments. Annual increases are frozen while a recipient lives in Argentina; an existing award may be below that full UK rate. Plan your State Pension abroad with your own award rather than the headline figure.
A lump sum representing qualifying past-employment pension remuneration can also fall under Article 18, but its domestic Argentine tax treatment needs separate calculation. The UK's 25% pension commencement lump sum treatment does not create an equivalent Argentine exemption. Flexi-access taxable payments, pension commencement lump sums and transfers have different characteristics and dates; check SIPP withdrawal choices before fixing a withdrawal amount.
A pension and rental flat in the same tax year
Consider two British spouses established as Argentine treaty residents in a 2026/27 planning illustration. One receives the full new State Pension, £241.30 weekly or £12,547.60 over 52 weeks, and owns a UK flat with £8,000 rental profit after deductible costs. The other has a qualifying former-employer pension of £18,000 a year. One spouse holds a SIPP but draws no income from it during the year.
Article 18 assigns the £18,000 employment pension to Argentina, with UK PAYE relief claimed by its recipient. The State Pension can be taxable in the UK and is reported in Argentina. If its recipient has a full £12,570 UK personal allowance and no other relevant income beyond that State Pension and the rental profit, only £22.40 of the allowance remains for rent. The other £7,977.60 of rental profit would attract £1,595.52 at an assumed 20% UK basic rate. That State Pension bears no UK tax after the allowance, so its Argentine credit on that income is zero.
Suppose the Argentine tax attributable to the rent is the sterling equivalent of £2,100 under the filing year's currency rules. A £1,595.52 credit leaves £504.48 equivalent Argentine tax on that rent. If attributable Argentine tax were instead £1,200, the credit would stop there; Argentina would not refund the other £395.52 of UK tax. Actual allowances, ownership shares, currency dates and Argentine bands change the numbers. The unwithdrawn SIPP is not pension income just because its value rises, although Argentine asset-tax rules may still matter.
Claiming relief without confusing the forms
Departure and treaty relief happen on different paperwork. Someone who does not normally file Self Assessment may report a qualifying departure on P85. Self Assessment filers normally report their residence position on SA109; neither route by itself stops pension PAYE. UK residence is assessed over the relevant 6 April–5 April tax year, and a dual-residence period calls for Article 4 evidence. There is no universal treaty rule under which a move of 183 days settles every residence question.
ARCA (*Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero*, formerly AFIP) offers a free online *certificado de residencia fiscal* through a *clave fiscal* tax-account login. Its covered period should match the payments for which relief is sought; HMRC may ask for a translation. The official DT-Individual form is the HMRC claim for relief at source or repayment of UK tax on eligible income. Its instructions cover certification, payment details and years; the pension scheme's PAYE evidence may be needed. Deduction can continue while HMRC considers the claim.
A UK letting still has its own paperwork. Under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme, form NRL1 can seek approval for rent to be paid without agent or tenant withholding, but the landlord still calculates final UK tax. See the NRL1 process. Pension statements, the final UK tax assessment, conversion evidence and Argentine *Ganancias* records establish any credit more reliably than an agent's deduction alone. There was no standard charge for these HMRC departure and treaty forms or ARCA's certificate in September 2026, though HMRC processing depends on the file. A non-resident sale of UK residential property raises a separate UK 60-day capital-gains reporting and payment rule, even where an allowance covers the eventual gain.
Withholding limits, later changes and disputes
For a beneficial owner meeting the treaty conditions, Articles 10–12 cap source-country withholding. Dividends are capped at 10% for a company holding at least 25% of the payer's voting power and at 15% otherwise, including for individuals. Interest has a 12% cap; royalties have 3%, 5%, 10% or 15% caps depending on the right or work. Domestic law may impose less, and UK company dividends generally carry no UK withholding. A 15% treaty dividend ceiling therefore does not mean every UK dividend has tax deducted.
Article 23(2) caps an Argentine resident's credit for UK tax at the Argentine tax attributable to the same income; UK residents claiming credit for Argentine tax also face domestic and treaty limits. Excess withholding above a treaty ceiling is recovered from the country that withheld it, rather than through an unlimited credit in the residence country. A UK resident seeking lower Argentine withholding can obtain an HMRC Certificate of Residence and follow the payer's or ARCA's process. An Argentine resident seeking UK treaty relief instead uses Argentine residence proof and the relevant UK claim.
The convention took effect for Argentine tax on 1 January 1998 and for UK income and capital gains tax on 6 April 1998. Multilateral Instrument (MLI) amendments apply to withholding taxes in both countries from 1 January 2026, to other Argentine taxes from 1 January 2027 and to UK income and capital gains tax from 6 April 2027. Their principal-purpose test can deny a benefit where obtaining it was one of an arrangement's principal purposes. The official treaty and MLI text matters particularly for a company restructuring or large distribution.
If an authority taxes a person contrary to the convention, Article 25 allows a mutual agreement procedure (MAP). The case must reach a competent authority within three years of the first notification of treaty-inconsistent taxation; assessments, payments and residence evidence support it. Ordinary payment and appeal deadlines still run. A British citizen seeking immigration permission, rather than a tax-residence answer, needs the Argentina visa guide. The treaty is most useful when each receipt has its own classification and the same year's actual tax is traced through both returns.
If you become an Argentine citizen
British readers considering Argentina's citizenship by investment programme should take UK and Argentine tax advice before moving or committing funds. Our citizenship by investment guide for UK citizens sets out the announced costs and questions to ask.
Questions
- Does the UK have a double tax treaty with Argentina?
- Yes. The 1996 convention entered into force on 1 August 1997 and allocates taxing rights according to treaty residence and the type of income. Some payments remain taxable in both countries with credit relief.
- Will Argentina tax my UK State Pension?
- An Argentine tax resident generally reports it as worldwide income. Article 21 also lets the UK tax UK-source other income; Argentine credit for eligible UK tax is capped at Argentine tax attributable to that income. A zero UK bill produces no UK credit.
- Do I pay UK tax on a SIPP or workplace pension in Argentina?
- Article 18 normally gives Argentina sole taxing rights over qualifying past-employment pension income for an Argentine treaty resident. HMRC's DT-Individual form is the UK relief route, but the SIPP scheme and the particular withdrawal must first be classified; Argentina applies its own domestic tax rules.
- Does form P85 claim the UK-Argentina pension exemption?
- P85 reports departure in eligible cases, while Self Assessment filers normally report residence on SA109. DT-Individual is the HMRC route for source relief or repayment on qualifying pension income.
- Can UK tax on rent be credited against Argentine income tax?
- Article 23 allows an Argentine resident a credit for eligible UK tax on rent taxed in both countries, up to the Argentine tax attributable to that same rental income. A final UK tax assessment is more useful than the letting agent's withholding statement alone.