The Central Bank of Argentina (Banco Central de la República Argentina, or BCRA) has recently completed a series of regulatory amendments allowing salaries denominated in U.S. dollars to be credited to Argentine payroll accounts.
The measure forms part of a broader process initiated by Law No. 27,802, the Labor Modernization Law, which amended Argentina's Labor Contract Law No. 20,744 (Ley de Contrato de Trabajo, or LCT) and expressly authorized salaries to be paid in either Argentine or foreign currency. The BCRA regulations now provide the banking infrastructure required to implement U.S. dollar salary payments through the statutory payroll account system.
The labor law framework
Law No. 27,802, published on March 6, 2026, amended Section 105 of the LCT. The new provision states that salaries must be paid in money, "whether in domestic or foreign currency."
The amendment therefore expressly allows employers and employees to agree on remuneration denominated in U.S. dollars or other foreign currencies.
The same law amended Section 124 of the LCT, which now requires monetary remuneration to be paid by crediting an account held in the employee's name with a bank or official savings institution. The account remains subject to the statutory payroll account regime, including its no-fee status and unrestricted withdrawals.
A practical issue remained, however. The banking rules governing payroll accounts had been designed around Argentine peso-denominated accounts. Although the Labor Contract Law authorized foreign-currency salaries, the financial regulations still had to be adapted to allow those payments to be received through a statutory payroll account.
The BCRA regulations
The BCRA first addressed this issue through Communication "A" 8460, dated July 24, 2026, which added the U.S. dollar as an authorized currency for deposits into payroll accounts.
The Communication also provides that cash deposits and withdrawals in U.S. dollars must be available at the branch where the account is maintained. Availability at other branches, ATMs and self-service terminals depends on the bank's operational availability of U.S. dollar banknotes.
The BCRA also confirmed that the no-fee treatment applicable to payroll accounts extends to U.S. dollar funds credited as a result of the employment relationship, including salary amounts that remain in the account and accumulate over time.
Communications "A" 8465 and 8466, published in the Official Gazette on August 21, 2026, completed the accounting and reporting framework. Among other changes, the BCRA introduced a specific accounting item for U.S. dollar payroll accounts and a new reporting code for "Payment of remuneration in U.S. dollars", allowing financial institutions to identify these credits specifically as salary payments.
The distinction is relevant. Communications "A" 8465 and 8466 do not themselves create the substantive right to pay salaries in U.S. dollars. That possibility derives from Law No. 27,802. The BCRA regulations complete the banking framework required for those payments to be made through the mechanism mandated by Section 124 of the LCT.
Implications for employers
The new framework makes it possible to structure compensation packages wholly or partially denominated in U.S. dollars. This may be particularly relevant for technology companies, businesses with foreign-currency revenues and employers competing for talent in international markets. The broader compensation framework is covered in our guide to hiring employees in Argentina.
Implementation nevertheless requires attention to several issues.
First, the currency of the employee's compensation should be properly documented. For existing employment relationships, changing a peso-denominated salary into a U.S. dollar-denominated salary should generally be implemented by agreement with the employee. The statutory authorization to pay salaries in foreign currency does not, by itself, give employers a general right to change an essential compensation term unilaterally. Section 66 of the LCT continues to restrict unilateral changes that alter essential terms of employment or cause material prejudice to the employee.
Second, payment in U.S. dollars does not change the legal character of the remuneration. Applicable statutory and collective bargaining salary floors must continue to be observed, together with the rules governing vacation pay, the statutory thirteenth salary, social security contributions and severance calculations.
Third, employers must address peso conversion for payroll compliance purposes. Law No. 27,802 and the BCRA Communications regulate the currency and banking mechanism for salary payments, but they do not establish a specific foreign-currency valuation regime for tax and social security purposes. Payroll procedures should therefore be coordinated with the generally applicable tax and social security rules, with particular attention to the exchange rate and valuation methodology used for withholdings and contributions.
There is also an important distinction between the labor statute and the banking regulations. Section 105 of the LCT refers broadly to remuneration in foreign currency, whereas the BCRA regulations issued to date specifically address the U.S. dollar. Accordingly, the legal ability to agree on a salary denominated in euros or another currency does not necessarily mean that an equivalent statutory payroll account is currently available for that currency.
Taken together, Law No. 27,802 and the recent BCRA regulations establish a labor and banking framework under which Argentine employers may expressly agree on and credit U.S. dollar salaries through the formal payroll account system.
Jarsun, Ferreira & Calvo advises local and international companies on employment and compensation structures in Argentina, including their labor, corporate and regulatory aspects.