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MarkLia

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I just sold a stake in an apartment and I wanted to take the dollars out. It is over 10K. On the US side i will just declare exactly how much I have. I was wondering if anyone knows if they check how much money you have when you are leaving on the Argentine side. Thanks.
 
Wny is this not a good idea? I checked with a bank manager and an American Airlines reservations agent. Both confirmed that the law has NOT changed in this respect - that you can take out USD $10,000. If you already have that in cash and don't have to ask the AFIP for permission to buy the dollars, there is apparently no restriction. If someone has factual information and not speculation, please let me know. Has anyone been stopped at EZEIZA and not allowed to depat for having $10,000 dollars? Did they take your money from you? If I am wrong on this, please tell me as I have been trying to get FACTS. A lot of people are intimidated by all the laws and regulations which of course is the intent.
 
Well, I think that it's not a good idea to carry huge of sums of cash (like from an apartment sale) on your person. $10,000 or under is fine... over $10,000? I would be scared.

It is not speculation that people have been arrested recently at EZE for carrying over the $10,000 limit... the ones I have read about in the paper were carrying in the hundreds of thousands, but still... it's a risk. I'd keep it at $10,000... though I'm sure there are people who have gotten more through. ;)

I have never heard of them actually counting people's cash... but they are looking for it perhaps on the xray machines and possibly dogs too, though I haven't heard any confirmation of that at EZE.
 
Not a good idea at all, I would find a place that would wire that money out for a fee ( around 5% ) for my peace of mind.
 
According to the papers, the people who have been caught trying to take undeclared cash out of EZE were stopped at the security checkpoint (because the masses in their bags looked suspicious enough on the X-ray screen for security flunkies to rifle through their bags.) If you are carrying it on your person, like in a money belt, I suppose the biggest risk would be either a very thorough pat-down or the presence of dollar-sniffing dogs. Like others have said, you might get away with it, but they are on high enough alert that it's probably not worth the risk (especially if the sum is large enough to create noticeable bulk.)
 
My concern was IS IT LEGAL to carry $10,000 USD or LESS out of the country without dealing with the AFIP. My understanding is that it IS legal. If I am wrong, please correct me.
 
The people that are getting arrested are people that have never paid taxes or declared these assets/income.

I've carried well over $10,000 several times out of Argentina including a few months ago. I've never had any issues or problems.

But this money was all "white" and received when I sold assets in Argentina. (Car, apartment, etc). I was paying all taxes the entire time I owned these assets and also paid the correct taxes when I sold the assets (stamp taxes, transfer taxes, etc).

If I ever was stopped, I would have just showed the paperwork on this money. Keep in mind you DO have to legally declare any amounts over $10,000 US when you enter the USA. On the USA side as long as the funds are legal you can enter with it.

HOWEVER keep in mind that carrying over $10,000 and declaring it at customs is an almost red flag to get audited by the IRS. So it's not worth the hassle. I agree to just pay the 5%/6% to one of these reputable firms to wire it out.

I will say that it doesn't take up much room to carry up to around $80,000 US. A $10,000 "brick" of $100 bills doesn't take up much room. I never put it in a bag. I just carried it on me. You can have a good pair of socks and put 2 $10,000 bricks on each side of your socks on each leg. This is $40,000. Then you can fit another $10,000 in each of your pants pockets and if you have a long jacket to cover your pockets you wouldn't have problems. I've NEVER had problems with this or set off any metal detectors carrying this much cash.

But I have been audited 3 times in 6 years so keep that in mind. It's a major hassle to get audited by the IRS.
 
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