France-Argentina tax treaty: a 1979 text that the MLI will amend in 2026 and 2027

The convention between France and Argentina was signed in Buenos Aires on April 4, 1979. It covers taxes on income and capital, excluding inheritance and gift taxes. It caps withholding tax at 15% for dividends, 20% for interest, and 18% for certain royalties (copyright on literary, artistic, or scientific works, and payments under Article 12 § 3 b) and c)). Pensions are taxable only in the country of origin. The Multilateral Convention (MLI) amends this convention: its effects begin in 2026 for withholding taxes, and in 2026 or 2027 for other taxes.

A text from 1979, an amendment from 2001, the MLI in 2026

The convention entered into force on March 1, 1981 (Law of December 23, 1980, Decree of March 3, 1981). A protocol forms an integral part of it. An amendment signed on August 15, 2001, modifies Articles 2 and 24; it entered into force on October 1, 2007. An exchange of letters dated May 28, 2018, and January 29, 2019, extends to BPI Assurance Export (the name used by the BOFiP) the benefit of Article 11 § 3 b), which, for France, applies to the Banque de France, BFCE, and Coface.

The administrative list of agreements (BOI-ANNX-000306, version of April 29, 2026) gives: agreement of April 4, 1979, amendment of August 15, 2001, exchange of letters, taxes referred to as "IR" and "IF".

MLI: three dates not to be confused

The list of conventions amended by the MLI (BOI-ANNX-000511, same date) gives the following for Argentina:

Note 13 of the consolidated text specifies, for other taxes, the periods beginning on or after July 1, 2026, for France and January 1, 2027, for Argentina. As of the date of this page, the Argentine provisions for other taxes have therefore not yet taken effect. The consolidated text includes a preamble and a clause on the right to benefits: a benefit is not granted with respect to an item of income or capital if one of the principal purposes of an arrangement was to obtain it, unless the granting is consistent with the object and purpose of the convention.

The taxes in question: a reference to the wealth tax (ISF), not the real estate wealth tax (IFI).

Article 2, paragraph 3, addresses, for France, income tax, the CSG (General Social Contribution) and CRDS (Contribution to the Repayment of the Social Debt), corporation tax, and the "solidarity tax on wealth"; for Argentina, income tax, wealth tax, and the minimum tax on profits. The text does not mention the real estate wealth tax (IFI): this page provides no information on its application. It does not address inheritance or gifts.

Maximum deductions and key rules

Interest at 20 %: the ceiling of Article 11 § 2

This is the line a lender should read first. Article 11, paragraph 2, allows the source state to levy up to 20% of the gross interest amount if the beneficial owner is a resident of the other state. Two exceptions reserve taxation for the state of the beneficiary: interest paid by a state or public institution to the other state (paragraph 3(a)), and interest on a loan or credit guaranteed or insured by a public body of the beneficiary's state (paragraph 3(b)). For France, the text cites the Banque de France, BFCE, and Coface; the exchange of letters in 2018 and 2019 extends this benefit to BPI Assurance Export.

Argentine detentions: a numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. Luc, a resident of France, a fictitious profile, receives €40,000 in dividends, €30,000 in interest and €10,000 in royalties from Argentinian sources for a literary work.

Issue. He wants to know the maximum tax that Argentina can collect at source under the convention.

Strategy. It applies the ceiling for each article: 15 % for dividends, 20 % for interest, and 18 % for royalties. The ceiling of 18 % used is that of category a) of Article 12 § 2 (royalties on literary works), without any conditions on the Argentine side.

Result. The caps are €6,000, €6,000, and €1,800, totaling €13,800 on €80,000 of income, or 17.25% of the % tax bracket. On €30,000, the interest cap exceeds the dividend cap by €1,500. These amounts are treaty caps, not the actual Argentine tax levied, as the domestic law has not been reviewed.

Dividends and royalties

For dividends, Article 10, paragraph 2, caps the tax of the source state at 15 % of the gross amount if the beneficial owner is a resident of the other state. For royalties, Article 12, paragraph 2, sets 18 % of the gross amount for copyright royalties on literary, artistic, or scientific works (a) and for payments referred to in paragraph 3, subparagraphs b and c (b): patents, trademarks, designs, secret formulas, industrial know-how, scientific or technical studies and research. On the Argentine side, the 18 % cap for payments in b) applies only if the contracts have been approved under the Technology Transfer Law. Payments in paragraph 3 a) (international information, film royalties, equipment) are not capped by paragraph 2.

Capital gains: real estate, then the domestic law of each State

Article 13, paragraph 1, taxes gains on immovable property where it is situated. The rule also applies to shares or rights whose value derives more than 50% from immovable property located in the other State, "at any time during the 365 days preceding the alienation." Paragraph 2 deals with movable property of a permanent establishment or fixed base; paragraph 3, ships and aircraft in international traffic, are taxable only in the State of effective management.

Paragraph 4 is unique: gains from the alienation of all other property "are taxable according to the domestic law of each State." The convention therefore does not attribute them to the State of residence. Both Argentine and French law apply, and Article 24 addresses double taxation.

Employees: 183 days in the calendar year

Article 15, paragraph 2, applies to the State of residence if the stay in the other State does not exceed 183 days in total during the relevant calendar year, if the employer is not a resident of the other State, and if the expense is not borne by a permanent establishment or fixed base. The relevant period is the calendar year, not a rolling twelve-month period. Our page on the 183-day rule explains the methodology.

Pensions: taxed at source

According to Article 18, pensions "are taxable only in the State from which they originate." Therefore, an Argentine pension paid to a resident of France is subject, according to the text, solely to Argentine law. Article 19, paragraph 1, in principle reserves public remuneration for the paying State.

Other income and wealth

Elements of income not treated elsewhere are taxable in the State of residence (Article 22 § 1). For capital, real estate is taxable where it is located (Article 23 § 1), ships and aircraft in the State of effective management (§ 3), and "all other elements of capital are taxable according to the legislation of each State" (§ 4).

Who is a resident?

Article 4, paragraph 1, defines a resident as any person liable to tax in the State by reason of their domicile, residence, place of management, or a similar criterion. For an individual resident in both States, paragraph 2 applies, in order, the following criteria: permanent home, center of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, and then mutual agreement of the authorities.

Eliminating double taxation: the tax credit under Article 24

On the French side, Argentine tax is not deductible. France grants a tax credit: for most income, equal to the corresponding French tax if the resident is subject to Argentine tax; for income covered by Articles 7, 13 § 2, 10, 11, 12, 13 § 1, 15 § 3, 16 and 17 §§ 1 and 2, equal to the Argentine tax paid, without exceeding the corresponding French tax. On the Argentine side, a resident deducts the tax paid in France, without exceeding the portion of Argentine tax corresponding to income or wealth taxable in France. The 2001 amendment modified Article 24; the relevant page does not detail its flat-rate credits.

Disputes and duration

The case of an incorrectly taxed taxpayer must be submitted "within three years of the first notification of the measure" (Article 26, paragraph 1). The authorities exchange the necessary information (Article 27, paragraph 1). The agreement has an indefinite term; termination requires a minimum notice period of six months, effective at the end of a calendar year (Article 31).

France-Argentina Convention: What changes depending on your situation

• The nature of the income: dividend, interest, royalty, pension, gain.
• The date on which the tax is due, with regard to the effective dates of the MLI (2026 and 2027).
• The nature of the asset transferred, and the domestic law of each State for gains other than real estate.
• The count of your days in the calendar year.
• Your residence as defined in Article 4, if you have links with both countries.

An article is read in light of the facts in your case; no result is guaranteed.

What this page does not cover

The application to the IFI, inheritances and gifts, the lump-sum credits of Article 24 § 1 b), the Argentine tax itself, the withholding tax of paragraph 5 of Article 10 and the branch of paragraph 7, the other conditions of Article 12 on the Argentine side, the payment regime of Article 12 § 3 a), and Articles 5, 7, 8, 9, 14, 16, 20, 21 and 25.