Argentina: Hiring a Domestic Employee and Handling ARCA's Recibo Asistido

If you live in Argentina and someone works in your home, for a few hours or full time, you, as the employer, are the one who must register them with ARCA, Argentina's tax authority. This article explains what the "recibo asistido" changes, how to issue the electronic pay slip, how to pay contributions every month, and which pitfalls to avoid.

What ARCA's Recibo Asistido Changes

ARCA has regulated an "Recibo Asistido" within the "Personal de Casas Particulares" service. Its purpose: make pay slips easier to prepare and issue by automatically calculating certain salary components^[1].

In practice, the employer sees the amounts calculated by the system, accepts or modifies them, then adds the supplements and deductions that apply. You remain responsible for checking and correctly completing the salary calculation^[1]. The tool assists with payroll without replacing it.

Both employer and employee keep digital access to payment records, using their tax key^[1].

Who Is Concerned and What You Must Declare

The "casas particulares" scheme covers cleaning, gardening, childcare, and other domestic tasks^[2]. If you hire a housekeeper, a gardener, or someone who looks after a family member, you are concerned.

The rule leaves no room for ambiguity: all workers must be registered with ARCA, regardless of the number of hours or how they were hired^[3].

Registration gives the employee access to social benefits: pension contributions, workplace accident insurance, health coverage, among others^[3].

A foreign employee has exactly the same rights as an Argentine employee^[3].

Access Steps: Tax Key, Registration, and Electronic Pay Slip

• Have a level 2 tax key to use the system^[3].
• Enter the employee's CUIL (their worker identification number) and click "Buscar": ARCA automatically retrieves the data it associates with that number^[3].
• Describe the characteristics of the employment relationship, then review and confirm all the information entered^[3].
• Download the registration certificate, print it, and give a signed copy to the employee^[3].

Once registration is complete, the ART (workplace accident insurance) contribution is among the monthly sums to pay; check with ARCA for the terms of the first payment due.

The pay slip must now be issued electronically, through the "Registro Especial del Personal de Casas Particulares" service^[4]. The employee can view it with their own tax key, under "Detalle del Trabajo" then "Recibos de Sueldo"^[1].

Paying Contributions: Payment Methods and Automatic Debit

Payments can be made through virtual wallets (for obligations with preset amounts), by QR code, through home banking, or by credit card, the latter after generating a Volante Electrónico de Pago (VEP)^[5]. With these payment methods, you must log in every month to settle the amounts due^[5].

The alternative is automatic debit: a single enrollment, then payment is deducted every month without you having to manage it^[5]. It covers employer contributions, the health coverage contribution, and the ART contribution^[5].

To enroll, go through the special registry and choose a bank account (CBU) in your name^[5]. For enrollment by credit card, the process is handled with the card issuer^[5].

Before enrolling, check that the registry is up to date: the employee's status, weekly hours, and the CBU of the account to be debited^[5].

For your peso budget, this item becomes a monthly amount to plan for: wages and contributions, with the ART and health coverage included in the direct debit if you automate it.

Minimum Wages and Contributions: Where to Find Up-to-Date Amounts

The National Labor Commission for casas particulares sets minimum hourly and monthly wages. Up-to-date tables can be checked on the Casas Particulares portal^[6]. A wage scale, with or without housing provided by the employer, has been in place since September 2026 under Resolution 6/2026^[7].

The regulated monthly amounts correspond to 48 hours of work per week. For fewer than 24 hours per week, multiply the category's hourly value by the number of hours worked; for between 24 and 48 hours, calculate proportionally from the monthly value^[7].

Employers must also pay a supplement of 1% for each year of seniority on monthly wages. It appears as a separate line item on the pay slip^[7].

As for the ART contribution, the Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo publishes its new values^[6].

The pay slip and the payment are two separate things: when you pay electronically, keep the proof of the transaction and its transaction number, because issuing the pay slip does not prove that the money was paid^[1].

Pitfalls, Scams, and Points to Watch

• There is no exception for "just a few hours": all workers must be registered with ARCA, regardless of how many hours they work or how they were hired^[3].
• Registration is always the employer's responsibility, never the employee's^[3].
• You must download, print, and give the employee a signed copy of the registration certificate^[3].
• You can cancel the registration of the employment relationship until 11:59 pm on the same day it was registered^[3]; after that deadline, check the procedure with ARCA.
• If ARCA detects outdated data, it may modify it on its own initiative. It will notify you, but this does not exempt you from meeting your obligations on time^[8].
• An automatic debit can be rejected, for example due to insufficient funds or a closed account: the registry shows whether the payment went through^[5].
• Wage and ART values valid for a past period are not the current amounts: ARCA published values for September 2024 to January 2025, for example^[6]. Always use the table currently in force.

Monthly Checklist

• Level 2 tax key active and employee registered, with signed certificate provided.
• Registry up to date: employee status, weekly hours, CBU.
• Electronic pay slip generated in the special registry, including the seniority supplement.
• Contributions paid (or automatic debit verified) and proof of payment kept.
• Monthly amount set aside in your peso budget.

This article covers the essentials. The exact minimum wage and ART amounts, as well as the details of each screen, require checking ARCA's Casas Particulares portal when the time comes. Also, if you are not an Argentine resident, it is worth looking into your situation before hiring.