How will the money from the mattress be used for payments at the supermarket, car purchases, and other purposes?

Recent measures by Javier Milei 's government have opened the door for Argentines with undeclared savings—the famous "mattress dollars"—to use them to purchase registered goods, invest, or consume without their movements being automatically reported to the Customs Collection and Control Agency ( ARCA ).

The official plan has two fundamental pillars : on the one hand, the repeal of various reporting regimes that required businesses, notaries, banks, real estate agencies, and service companies to report transactions. On the other, the increase in the minimum amounts at which automatic monitoring by the agency is activated.

From now on, bank transfers and deposits under $50 million per month per person will not be reported to ARCA. The same applies to cash withdrawals of up to $10 million, deposits in virtual accounts and wallets of up to $50 million, fixed-term deposits of up to $100 million, and purchases with credit cards or in supermarkets of up to $10 million. These amounts, calculated at the official exchange rate, even allow for the purchase of a used vehicle or moderate investments without triggering tax alerts.

The goal is clear: to formalize part of the informal savings accumulated over decades due to distrust in the system, without penalizing those who choose to join the economic system now.

The second pillar is a new Simplified Income Tax Regime, which will go into effect in June and apply to the 2025 fiscal year. It will be voluntary and will apply to those who earn income within the country. Those who join the regime will no longer have to declare their consumption or assets: they will pay taxes only on their income.

This means they will be able to purchase an apartment, a piece of land, a car, or carry out any other large-scale transaction without needing to justify the origin of the funds to ARCA, as long as they are within the regime and meet the other conditions. The tax authorities will not be able to monitor these expenditures or require declarations, except in specific cases.

The new provisions do not mean a relaxation of the fiscal control system. This was stated by tax expert César Litvin , who explained that the Financial Information Unit (UIF) will maintain its powers intact and will be able to act on unusual transactions or inconsistent amounts. Furthermore, the partial laundering of funds does not constitute immunity against major crimes such as money laundering.

In practical terms, a person will be able to purchase a studio apartment for USD 45,000 or a Toyota Corolla for $30 million without having to declare the source of the money, provided the monthly thresholds are not exceeded and the buyer is enrolled in the regime. Otherwise, the transaction would be reviewed by the agency.

According to the government, this fiscal strategy seeks to rebuild a relationship of trust between the state and citizens, promoting the reintroduction of funds that currently remain outside the banking system for fear of retaliation or excessive oversight.

"The cultural change will be gradual, but it aims to formalize billions of dollars that are currently frozen due to fear or mistrust," the Ministry of Economy asserts. The incentive lies in facilitating the recirculation of this capital in the real economy, reducing bureaucratic pressure and the automatic presumption of guilt that prevailed for years.