Argentina Decree 315/2026: Government Implements the Labor Formalization Incentive Regime (RIFL) Under Law 27,802 on Labor Modernization
Reduced employer contributions for 48 months, one-year enrollment window, 80% payroll cap and four eligible worker profiles. What the decree provides, who qualifies and what employers must do to access the benefit.
The Official Gazette today publishes Decree 315/2026, signed by President Javier Milei, Chief of Cabinet Manuel Adorni, and Ministers Luis Caputo (Economy) and Sandra Pettovello (Human Capital). The decree implements Title XX of Labor Modernization Law No. 27,802 and launches the Labor Formalization Incentive Regime (Régimen de Incentivo a la Formalización Laboral, or RIFL), a mechanism that reduces employer social security contributions for four years for private-sector employers who hire workers previously outside the formal system.
The regulation comes after the Labor Court of Appeals lifted the preliminary injunction that had suspended part of the labor reform, and after the Federal Administrative Litigation Court declared itself competent to hear the CGT's challenge to Law 27,802. With the decree in force as of today, the window to enroll in RIFL opens on May 1, 2026 and closes on April 30, 2027.
What RIFL Is and What It Aims to Do
The Labor Formalization Incentive Regime has a specific purpose: to reduce the non-wage labor cost of bringing workers into the formal system. Employer contributions, depending on the sector and the size of the employer, can represent between 20% and 30% of gross wages. For many small and medium-sized enterprises, that burden is a concrete barrier when deciding whether to formally register a new employee. RIFL reduces those contributions during the first 48 months of each new employment relationship, with rates of 2% and 3% depending on the destination subsystem, replacing the general rates of Article 19 of Law 27,541.
Which Workers Can Be Incorporated
The decree defines four worker profiles that qualify the employer for the benefit. The first comprises workers who did not hold a registered employment relationship as of December 10, 2025. The second includes individuals who were unemployed for at least six months before the new hire. The third profile covers workers previously registered under the Simplified Regime for Small Taxpayers (monotributistas). The fourth covers workers whose last employment was as a salaried employee in the national, provincial, municipal, or City of Buenos Aires public sector.
A point the decree expressly clarifies: if the worker earns additional income from other economic activities after the hire, this does not modify or affect the benefit available to the employer. Eligibility is assessed at the moment the employment relationship begins, not on an ongoing basis.
Requirements for the Employer
Not every employer can enroll in RIFL. The decree sets three conditions. First, the employer must have acquired registered status with the Customs Collection and Control Agency (ARCA) on or after December 10, 2025. Second, the employment relationships eligible for the benefit are exclusively those initiated and registered with ARCA between May 1, 2026 and April 30, 2027. Outside that one-year window, the regime cannot be accessed. Third, hires under RIFL cannot exceed 80% of the employer's total payroll.
Exercising the option is critical. The employer must expressly declare adherence to RIFL through the mechanisms ARCA establishes. Without that formal declaration, there is no possibility of claiming the benefit retroactively for periods in which it was not applied. It is a burden that does not allow omission: if the employer does not exercise the option in time, the benefit is lost for those months.
How the Reduction Works
The benefit consists of paying employer contributions at reduced rates instead of the general regime rates during the first 48 months from the start of each new employment relationship. The decree establishes two tiers.
Contributions calculated at a 2% rate are distributed among the Argentine Integrated Pension System (SIPA), the National Employment Fund and the Family Allowances Regime. The internal distribution among those three subsystems mirrors the proportion that would have applied to that employment relationship under the general regime, considering only those destinations. Contributions calculated at a 3% rate are allocated entirely to INSSJP (PAMI), the subsystem governed by Law 19,032. ARCA is responsible for establishing the procedure for calculating and remitting these contributions.
The difference from the general regime is substantial. The combined RIFL rates (2% + 3%) represent 5% of the gross wage compared to contributions that, under the ordinary regime, can reach 26% or more depending on the activity and applicable collective agreements. It is a significant reduction designed so that the cost of formalizing a worker during the first four years is materially lower than the cost of keeping them informal.
Limitations and Non-Cumulation
The decree introduces two important restrictions. First, the reduction of employer contributions provided in Article 76 of Law 27,802 (which establishes a different general benefit) does not apply to employment relationships included in RIFL while the regime is applicable. The two benefits are not cumulative. The employer must choose: either RIFL or the general reduction under Article 76, but not both simultaneously for the same worker.
Second, the monthly contribution to the Labor Assistance Fund (FAL), created by Article 60 of Law 27,802, remains mandatory for employment relationships included in RIFL. The FAL is not part of the reduction package. This means that an employer enrolling in RIFL pays the reduced rates (2% + 3%) plus the FAL contribution (1% for large companies, 2.5% for MiPyMEs, under the law).
Loss of Benefit and Controls
Non-compliance with the obligations of Title XX of Law 27,802, as well as the occurrence of any of the exclusion grounds in Article 160 of the law, automatically terminates the benefit. In that case, the employer must regularize the contributions not paid as a result of the reduction, plus compensatory interest and any applicable penalties.
ARCA is empowered to implement systemic controls to detect exclusion situations and automatically execute the recomputation of contributions. It is a mechanism aimed at preventing the regime from being used as a permanent cost reduction without compliance with the underlying conditions.
Judicial Context: Labor Reform Between Injunctions and Jurisdiction
The publication of Decree 315/2026 occurs at a specific moment in the judicial conflict over the labor reform. The CGT had obtained a preliminary injunction from the labor courts suspending the application of several titles of Law 27,802. That injunction was lifted on appeal, and the Federal Administrative Litigation Court declared itself competent to hear the challenge to the law, displacing the labor jurisdiction. The government filed a per saltum petition before the Supreme Court of Justice to set aside the suspension of the reform. With the injunction lifted and jurisdiction defined in the federal administrative courts, the Executive proceeded with the implementation of RIFL.
The scenario is not closed. The CGT announced it will appeal the transfer of jurisdiction, and the constitutionality of several articles of Law 27,802 remains under litigation. For employers enrolling in RIFL, the judicial issue should not affect the operability of the regime in the immediate term (the decree is in force and no injunction currently suspends it), but the regulatory risk of a change in judicial criterion exists and should be considered in planning.
What Employers Should Do Now
The first step is to verify whether the employer meets the conditions of registration with ARCA since December 10, 2025 and whether the workers it plans to hire fit into one of the four eligible profiles. The second step is to wait for ARCA's operational regulation, which will define the concrete adhesion procedure (forms, systems, filing deadlines). The third step, and the most important, is to exercise the option formally as soon as ARCA enables the mechanism: omission prevents retroactive access to the benefit.
For those advising employers, the practical recommendation is to document from the outset the prior status of each worker hired (unregistered employment as of 12/10/2025, six months of unemployment, monotributista status, or former public-sector employee), as that information will be the evidentiary basis for eligibility. It is also worth noting that the 80% payroll cap limits the volume of hires under the regime, a relevant point for companies in rapid expansion.
JFC continues to closely monitor the implementation of Law 27,802 and its regulations. For companies with operations in Argentina considering hiring personnel under RIFL, early advice on the adhesion structure and eligibility documentation can avoid losing the benefit on formal grounds.
This note is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For a specific analysis, please contact our team at contact@jfcattorneys.com.