Knowledge Economy: the tax benefits your AI company can use today

Short answer: while the automated company remains a bill in Senate committee, the Knowledge Economy Promotion Regime (Law 27.506, of 2019, as amended by Law 27.570, of 2020) is in force and is the real fiscal package for an Argentine software or AI company: a 60/40/20% income-tax reduction depending on size, a tax-credit bond of 70% of employer social-security contributions and specific benefits for exporters, with a term running until December 31, 2029. This guide covers what qualifies, what you get, what is required and the registration step by step. Percentages and deadlines are those of the law as known at the publication date (2026-08-31): when you file, always verify them at argentina.gob.ar.

1. What it is and which activities qualify

The regime promotes "economic activities that apply the use of knowledge and digitization" (art. 1, Law 27.506). Among the promoted activities of art. 2, the ones that matter here:

• Software and computing and digital services: development of software products and services, SaaS, computing services, custom development — the core of the regime (successor to the old software promotion regime of Law 25.922).
• Artificial intelligence, expressly: the law mentions AI alongside robotics, the internet of things, augmented/virtual reality and industry 4.0. A company that develops or operates AI agents does not need to stretch the classification: it is named.
• Also: biotechnology, aerospace and satellite industry, nuclear engineering, nanotechnology, audiovisual production and professional export services, among others.

The structural condition: the promoted activity must be your main activity — as a rule, at least 70% of last year's revenue must come from promoted activities (art. 4). The fine detail of what fits and what does not lives in the nomenclature of the regulations (Decree 1034/2020 and the implementing authority's supplementary rules).

2. The concrete benefits

• Income-tax reduction by segment (art. 9, as amended by Law 27.570), on the profits of promoted activities:
  • Micro companies: 60% reduction.
  • Small and medium: 40%.
  • Large companies: 20%.
  The segment is evidenced by the MiPyME certificate (Law 24.467 and SEPYME rules) — get it first, because it determines how much you take home.
• A tax-credit bond of 70% of employer social-security contributions actually paid for employees assigned to promoted activities (art. 8, as amended by Law 27.570). It rises to 80% for new hires of women, travesti/transsexual/transgender people, professionals with postgraduate degrees in engineering or exact or natural sciences, people with disabilities, residents of disadvantaged areas and beneficiaries of social programs, per the statutory list. The bond is non-transferable, is used to pay national taxes (typically VAT and its advance payments) and against income tax only exporters may apply it, in proportion to their exports.
• Service exporters: no VAT withholdings or collections (art. 8 bis, added by Law 27.570) for beneficiaries that evidence exports. In addition, the regulations set 0% export duties on exports of promoted services by registered companies (Decree 1034/2020) — check the rate in force when you file.
• Stability of benefits for the term of the regime (art. 16, as amended by Law 27.570): the benefits granted cannot be cut while you remain registered and compliant. This is not the full "fiscal stability" of the original Law 27.506 — Law 27.570 narrowed it to the regime's own benefits.

The fine print almost nobody mentions: beneficiaries pay a contribution of up to 4% on the benefits obtained, allocated to FONPEC (the trust fund for the promotion of the knowledge economy), graduated by company size in the regulations. Even with that cost, the maths comes out comfortably ahead.

3. Requirements: the 70% and the "2 out of 3"

To register you must be an Argentine legal entity (an S.A.S. works — see the guide to incorporating one today), have the promoted activity as your main activity (≥70% of revenue) and evidence at least 2 of these 3 requirements (art. 4, as amended by Law 27.570), with thresholds rising by segment (micro / SME / large):

1. Quality: evidence continuous improvement in the quality of services, products or processes, or a recognized quality certification applicable to the promoted activity.
2. Investment: in employee training (at least 1% / 2% / 5% of payroll, by segment) or in research and development (at least 1% / 2% / 3% of revenue).
3. Exports: of goods or services from promoted activities for at least 4% / 10% / 13% of revenue, by segment.

Relief for new companies: micro companies less than 3 years old register by evidencing only that they carry out a promoted activity — the 70% and the "2 out of 3" come later, within the deadlines set by the regulations. It is the natural entry door for a newly incorporated AI startup.

4. Registration, step by step

1. MiPyME certificate first: it defines your segment (micro/SME/large) and with it the income-tax reduction percentage and the "2 out of 3" thresholds. It is filed online with the SME authority using tax credentials.
2. Check your activity classification: your activity code before ARCA (formerly AFIP) must correspond to a promoted activity under the regulations' nomenclature. If you invoice several things, compute what percentage of last year's revenue is promoted activity: you need ≥70%.
3. Choose and document your "2 out of 3": quality certification, evidence of investment in training or R&D, or export invoices and customs records. Accounting documentation must be certified by a public accountant.
4. File the application through TAD (Trámites a Distancia, with the company's tax credentials) before the National Registry of Beneficiaries of the Knowledge Economy Promotion Regime — the operating procedure was set by Resolution 4/2021 of the then Secretariat of Industry, Knowledge Economy and External Trade Management and its amendments; the agency in charge has been renamed in successive reorganizations, so follow the procedure from the official page.
5. Assessment and admission: the implementing authority assesses, issues the registration act and adds you to the registry; benefits apply from registration, and ARCA flags your tax profile so the income-tax reduction, the bond and the VAT non-withholding take effect.
6. Obligations to stay in: annual information filings, revalidation every 2 years before the registry, payment of the FONPEC contribution and general tax compliance. Losing the requirements means losing the benefits, under the law's penalty regime.

5. What it means for a future automated company

This is where the site's two stories cross. If the new General Companies Law is enacted, an automated company that develops software or operates AI agents is, by definition, a promoted-activity company: nothing in Law 27.506 requires human employees operating the business in order to register. But the fit has nuances worth facing head-on:

• The 70% bond is calculated on payroll. A company with no employees — the extreme case of the automated one — has no employer contributions to compute the bond on. That benefit rewards employment, not automation.
• The income-tax reduction and export benefits apply all the same. For an AI-run company exporting software or services, the combination of an income-tax reduction (60% if you are micro) + no VAT withholdings + 0% export duties is basically the bulk of the regime.
• The "2 out of 3" can be met without payroll: quality certification + exports, or certification + R&D investment. The "employee training" option obviously requires employees.
• The practical sequence today: incorporate the S.A.S. (with the clauses that prepare the conversion), register it in the Knowledge Economy regime as soon as revenue allows — or right away, if you are a micro company under 3 years old — and follow the bill tracker for the moment to adapt to the new form. The regime runs until the end of 2029: if the automated company arrives in 2027, the two coexist for a good two years.

Verified on August 31, 2026. Sources: Law 27.506 (2019) and its amendment Law 27.570 (2020), implementing Decree 1034/2020 and Resolution 4/2021 (former SIECyGCE) — texts at InfoLeg; procedure guide at argentina.gob.ar. Percentages, thresholds and procedures in force at the publication date (2026-08-31) may have changed through later rules — always verify at the official source before filing. This is not legal, tax or accounting advice: your specific classification depends on your case — consult a licensed professional.