Hire in Argentina: A Comprehensive Guide for 2026

Introduction

Hiring in Argentina means working within the Ley de Contrato de Trabajo (LCT) No. 20.744, Argentina's core labor law, which governs contracts, notice, severance, and working conditions for every employment relationship in the country.

Foreign companies without a registered local entity typically hire through an employer of record (EOR) that holds the legal employment relationship and registers each hire with the Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP).

A labor reform in force since March 2026 has already changed how severance is calculated and repeals Argentina's dedicated remote-work law from January 2027, with no replacement yet defined. Guidance written before the reform, or a contractor arrangement that looks like employment in practice, can leave a company exposed to back-dated contributions and miscalculated severance.

In this guide, we cover how to hire in Argentina with or without a local entity, what it costs, the country's core labor laws, the main compliance challenges, and how an EOR supports compliant hiring from day one.

How to Hire Remote Employees in Argentina?

Hiring remote employees in Argentina means working within the Ley de Contrato de Trabajo (LCT) No. 20.744, Argentina's core labor law, which governs contracts, working conditions, notice, and termination for every employment relationship in the country. Foreign companies cannot run local payroll directly. They need either a registered local entity or an employer of record (EOR) that holds the legal employment relationship and registers the hire with the Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP).

Registering a local entity in Argentina means reserving a company name and registering with the Inspección General de Justicia (IGJ) in Buenos Aires, or the relevant provincial registry elsewhere, then obtaining a CUIT tax ID from AFIP (Federal Administration of Public Income) before a single employee can be added to payroll.

Foreign corporate shareholders must additionally register under Article 123 of the General Companies Law No. 19,550 before the entity itself can be incorporated, a step that adds its own document and translation requirements on top of the standard registration process.

Hiring contractors looks lighter on paper, but the LCT (Employment Contract Law) presumes an employment relationship exists whenever someone performs work personally, under another party's direction, in exchange for pay, whether or not a written contract exists.

A contractor treated this way can be reclassified as an employee, which exposes the company to back-dated AFIP registration, unpaid statutory contributions, and severance liability under Article 245 of the LCT.

There are three main ways to hire remote employees in Argentina:

• Setting up a local entity
• Hiring employees via EOR
• Hiring contractors via AOR

Here's what each option involves:

Setting up a local entity

Registering a local entity in Argentina means reserving a company name with the IGJ (roughly 48 hours), drafting and notarizing bylaws, filing for registration (about 10 to 15 business days), obtaining a CUIT from AFIP (issued within about 24 hours of filing), enrolling in social security through ANSES (National Social Security Administration), and opening a corporate bank account.

Foreign shareholders face an additional step, registering the parent company itself under Article 123 before the local entity can be incorporated. This route is usually time-consuming and paperwork-heavy, and it tends to make sense for companies planning a large, long-term headcount in the country rather than a first hire.

Companies comparing routes to hire can review the reasons businesses use an employer of record before deciding whether projected headcount justifies entity setup.

How to hire employees through EOR in Argentina?

Setting up a local entity in Argentina means navigating IGJ (General Inspectorate of Justice) registration, a separate Article 123 filing for foreign shareholders, AFIP tax activation, and ANSES social security enrollment, a process that can take several weeks before your first hire is on payroll.

Skuad helps remove that dependency. Skuad acts as the legal employer in Argentina, so your company can hire, onboard, and pay employees without entity setup, local legal counsel, or in-house Argentina payroll infrastructure.

Here is what Skuad helps with:

• Employment contract generation across 160+ countries, aligned with local labor laws and statutory requirements
• Statutory contribution workflows across supported markets, covering applicable social insurance and pension obligations
• Payroll processing in 70+ currencies with accurate tax withholding and statutory deductions
• Statutory benefit administration, including paid leave and parental entitlements in line with local requirements
• Termination and offboarding support aligned with local labor requirements across supported markets
• Background verification covering identity, employment history, and criminal records before onboarding

Book a demo to see how quickly Skuad can onboard your first Argentina hire

How to hire contractors through AOR in Argentina?

Hiring independent contractors in Argentina carries classification risk. The LCT presumes an employment relationship exists once someone performs work personally, under direction, for pay, regardless of the contractor's title, which can expose the company to backdated AFIP registration and statutory contributions if a contractor is later found to be functioning as an employee.

An Agent of Record helps reduce that exposure. Through Skuad's AOR and contractor management solution, you can engage contractors in Argentina on compliant terms or move them into employment when the relationship requires it, without carrying the classification risk yourself.

Here is what Skuad helps with:

• Locally compliant contractor agreements that reduce misclassification exposure across supported markets
• Worker classification checks that flag risk before a contract is signed
• Invoice generation, approval workflows, and payment processing in local currency
• Multi-currency contractor payouts across 70+ currencies with no manual reconciliation
• Contractor records, contracts, and payment history in a single dashboard alongside full-time employees
• Support for converting a contractor to full-time employment through Skuad's EOR when the relationship changes

Compare AOR and contractor pricing for your Argentina hires

What is the Cost of Hiring Remote Employees in Argentina?

The cost of hiring remote employees in Argentina is rarely just the salary you agree on. Statutory contributions, the hiring method, and administrative setup can all increase the total cost. Here is how those costs break down:

• Statutory employer contributions: AFIP sets the base employer contribution rate (contribuciones patronales) at 20.4% of gross salary for larger private-sector employers in services or commerce, or 18% for other private employers and registered MiPyMEs. On top of that base rate, employers also pay into workplace accident insurance (ART, roughly 1% to 3.5% depending on sector risk) and mandatory life insurance (SVO), which together bring the total employer-side cost to somewhere between 27% and 28.5% of gross salary in most cases.
• Minimum wage: Employers must also budget against Argentina's Salario Mínimo, Vital y Móvil (SMVM), currently ARS 376,600 per month as of August 2026 under Resolución 9/2025. Unlike most countries, this figure has been adjusted on a near-monthly schedule through 2026 rather than set annually, so it needs to be reconfirmed close to any hiring decision.
• Aguinaldo (13th-month pay): Argentina requires a mandatory Sueldo Anual Complementario (SAC), commonly known as the aguinaldo, paid in two installments each year: one due by June 30 and one due by December 18, with each installment equal to 50% of the employee's highest gross monthly salary in that semester. This is a legal entitlement under Articles 121 to 123 of the LCT, not a discretionary bonus, and it's easy to underbudget if a company is costing roles off base salary alone.

Skuad's employee cost calculator helps estimate the total cost of employing someone in Argentina, including salary, employer contributions, benefits, and taxes.

Estimate the total cost of your Argentina hire

What are the employment laws in Argentina?

The Ley de Contrato de Trabajo (LCT) No. 20.744 is the primary legislation governing the employee-employer relationship in Argentina. It's worth noting upfront that Argentina passed a significant labor reform in 2026, Ley 27.802 (Ley de Modernización Laboral), in force since March 2026, which touches several of the provisions below, so figures here reflect the post-reform position rather than the older framework many older guides still describe.

Getting severance calculations right under the reformed Article 245, and correctly classifying every worker under the LCT's employment presumption, are two of the more common compliance risks foreign employers run into in Argentina, since both depend on recent legal changes rather than a fixed formula.

Book a demo to see how Skuad helps manage termination and classification compliance in Argentina.

What are the challenges of hiring in Argentina?

Argentina's labor framework is employer-protective, and several of its rules work differently from what companies are used to in the US, UK, or even other Latin American markets. These are the challenges worth understanding before making a hire in Argentina.

1. A labor law in active transition

Argentina's 2026 labor reform law has already changed how severance is calculated, excluding the year-end bonus from the standard severance calculation base. Guidance written before March 2026 may still describe the old formula, so severance figures need to be checked against current law rather than assumed. Skuad's Shield compliance platform tracks these regulatory changes as they happen, so severance calculations stay current without manual monitoring.

2. Contractor misclassification risk

Argentina's core labor law presumes an employment relationship whenever work is personal, directed, and paid, regardless of what the contract is titled. This flips the usual burden of proof and invokes misclassification situations rather than a worker having to prove they're really an employee; the company has to prove a contractor genuinely isn't one, and a signed agreement or invoices alone won't settle that if the actual working relationship looks like employment. That makes classification decisions in Argentina higher-stakes than in markets where the default assumption runs the other way.

Skuad’s tips to avoid employee misclassification checklist provides a more action-oriented next step than another employee-versus-contractor explainer.

3. A regulatory gap on remote work, right when it matters most for this page

Argentina's dedicated remote-work law is being repealed as part of the 2026 labor reform, effective January 1, 2027, with no replacement regime defined yet. That law set the clear rules for remote-specific protections: the right to disconnect, equipment cost reimbursement, and equal treatment with in-office staff. Once it lifts, remote relationships fall back on the general labor code with nothing remote-specific to fill the gap, so companies hiring remote workers in Argentina from 2027 onward will have less regulatory clarity than they do today, not more.

4. A heavier payroll stack than the base salary suggests

Employer contributions run 18% to 20.4% of gross salary before workplace accident insurance and mandatory life insurance are added, pushing total employer cost to roughly 27%–28.5% of gross salary in most cases. On top of that sits the mandatory 13th-month bonus, paid in two installments each year, which is easy to underbudget if a company is costing roles off monthly salary alone. Skuad's Argentina payroll guide breaks down the full contribution stack.

5. A minimum wage that moves faster than most

Argentina's national minimum wage is adjusted on a near-monthly schedule through 2026 rather than annually, which means payroll figures that were accurate a few months ago can already be out of date by the time a hire goes through.

6. Currency and inflation volatility

Year-end 2026 forecasts range from roughly 24% to 30% inflation, with the exchange rate projected anywhere from ARS 1,620 to ARS 1,805 per US dollar depending on the source. For companies budgeting in USD or EUR, this means any single peso figure should be treated as a short-lived reference point, not a fixed number.

7. Work permits for non-regional hires

Sponsoring a foreign national from outside the South American trade bloc requires registering the company with the national immigration authority's sponsor registry, then obtaining an entry permit before the employee can apply for a visa at an Argentine consulate. Citizens of neighboring bloc countries skip most of this process, but for everyone else, the sequencing and document requirements add lead time that's easy to underestimate.

Read the Argentina work permit guide to understand the full process.

How to hire in Argentina without setting up an entity?

Argentina offers access to one of Latin America's largest, most educated talent pools, especially in software and data roles. Getting there compliantly means navigating a labor code that presumes employment first, a payroll stack that runs close to 27%–28.5% of gross salary, and a currency environment where figures shift fast.

Skuad acts as the legal employer in Argentina, so your company can hire, onboard, and pay talent without registering with the IGJ, filing for a CUIT, or building AFIP compliance in-house. For contractors, Skuad's AOR solution helps manage classification risk directly. For foreign hires, Skuad supports the RENURE registration and entry permit process with the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, so a work visa doesn't become the reason a start date slips.

Companies across software, data, and professional services use Skuad to enter the Argentine market and scale their Argentina workforce without carrying that complexity themselves.

Book a demo to see how quickly Skuad can onboard your first Argentina hire

FAQs

1. What is an employer of record in Argentina?

An employer of record in Argentina is a licensed local entity that acts as the legal employer for your workers, registering the employment relationship with AFIP, remitting social security contributions, and administering statutory benefits like the aguinaldo, so foreign companies can hire without registering their own entity.

2. What is the minimum wage in Argentina?

Argentina's Salario Mínimo, Vital y Móvil (SMVM) is set by a tripartite national council and adjusted on a near-monthly schedule rather than annually. As of August 2026, it stands at ARS 376,600 per month under Resolución 9/2025, with no confirmed figure yet published beyond that date.

3. Can a foreign company hire in Argentina without a local entity?

Foreign companies can typically hire in Argentina through an EOR without registering a local entity, since the EOR holds the legal employment relationship, handles AFIP registration, and manages payroll and social security contributions on the company's behalf from the first hire.

4. What compliance risks should employers know about in Argentina?

Failing to register an employment relationship with AFIP, or registering it incorrectly, exposes employers to compounded severance liability under Argentine labor law, since courts have historically doubled the standard indemnización for unregistered or under-registered workers, though recent reforms under Ley 27.742 have narrowed some of these additional penalties.

5. Is an EOR or a local entity better for hiring in Argentina?

This usually depends on scale and timeline. An EOR generally suits smaller or early-stage teams in Argentina, since it avoids the administrative effort and cost of setting up a local entity and registering with AFIP. A local entity tends to make more sense once headcount justifies running payroll and compliance in-house.

6. How long does it take to onboard an employee in Argentina through an EOR?

Onboarding through an EOR in Argentina generally takes a few days to two weeks once the employment contract and AFIP registration are in place. Hiring a foreign national who needs a work visa, which starts with an entry permit from the National Directorate of Migration, usually extends that timeline considerably.