AOW, pension and tax in Argentina: two treaties, and the AOW goes with you in full

Anyone who goes to live in Argentina is lucky with the treaties. The Netherlands and Argentina signed a tax treaty in 1996, applied since 1 January 1999. A social security treaty followed in 2002. Because of it your AOW goes with you in full, also if you live alone. For tax, the treaty divides the work: the Netherlands taxes your AOW, Argentina your ordinary occupational pension.

In its overview Verdragsstaten IB niet-ingezetenen of January 2026, the Dutch Tax Administration shows per type of income in a column which country levies. For Argentina it says:

Income	Who levies	Treaty
AOW, Anw, WIA, Wajong and WW	the Netherlands	art. 19 para 3
Pension from a private employer or state company, and annuity	Argentina	art. 19 para 1
Government pension, such as the ABP	the Netherlands, unless you are Argentine and live there	art. 20 para 2
Lump sum for a pension or annuity	the Netherlands	art. 19 para 2
Alimony	Argentina	art. 19 para 5
Dividend from the Netherlands	the Netherlands at most 15%	art. 10 para 2

What does the treaty mean for your AOW?

Article 19 paragraph 3 says that benefits from a social security system "may" be taxed in the country they come from. So the Netherlands withholds wage tax on your AOW. Argentina, as the country of residence, taxes your worldwide income, but deducts the Dutch tax from the Argentine tax on the same income (article 25 paragraph 1).

As a non-resident taxpayer in a country like Argentina you are, according to the Tax Administration, not entitled to tax credits. Only the entrepreneur's deduction and the tax-free allowance in box 3 remain. Have the net amount calculated; see also where your pension is taxed.

Do you get the full AOW as a single person?

Yes. Argentina is among the 36 countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland with which the Netherlands has a social security treaty, the minister wrote in 2024. To those countries the Netherlands exports the full AOW. The treaty itself says in article 4 that a benefit is paid "in full and without any restriction" as long as you live in one of the two countries. A single person therefore keeps 70% of the minimum wage, and does not fall back to the 50% that applies outside treaty countries. More on the AOW when you leave is in AOW on emigration.

The treaty does allow the Netherlands to restrict child benefit for children outside the Netherlands. Argentina is also not on the SVB list for child benefit. So it stops when you emigrate.

What happens to your occupational pension?

A pension from a private employer or a pension fund is, under article 19 paragraph 1, taxable only in Argentina. You then apply to the Tax Administration for an exemption statement, so that your pension fund no longer withholds wage tax. For that you need a citizen service number and proof that you are tax resident in your country of residence.

A government pension, such as from the ABP, remains taxed by the Netherlands. So does a lump sum: if you choose to commute a small pension, the Netherlands may levy.

Argentina only treats a foreigner on a residencia temporaria as tax resident after twelve months, and then from the start of the following month (article 116 of the Ley de Ganancias). As long as you are not, it is hard to prove that you are resident in your country of residence. Expect your pension fund to keep withholding wage tax in your first year, and apply for the exemption as soon as you have the statement.