Capital Gains Tax in Brazil 2026: Rates, Exemptions and Foreign Assets

Last reviewed: November 2026 · Reviewed by Stéphane Gombauld, tax expert, technologist and digital nomad

You hold shares, ETFs, a foreign brokerage account or a flat, and you live in Brazil or plan to. This guide shows what you pay when you sell in 2026. It also explains how residents and non-residents differ, and which legal choices lower the bill.

Brazil capital gains tax in 2026: the key figures

What changed for 2026

• The 2025 flat-rate overhaul died. Provisional Measure 1.303/2025 would have reshaped investment and crypto taxation. Congress let it lapse; its validity was declared closed in October 2025. The rules above stay in force.
• New minimum tax, mostly sparing capital gains. From tax year 2026, Law 15.270/2025 adds a minimum tax (IRPFM) on annual income above R$600,000, rising linearly to 10% at R$1.2 million (art. 16-A Law 9.250/1995). Capital gains are excluded from its base, except stock-exchange and organised over-the-counter gains.
• Dividends above R$50,000 a month now bear 10%. From 1 January 2026, a company paying one resident individual more than R$50,000 in a month withholds 10% on the whole amount. Dividends paid to non-residents bear 10%. Gains from selling shares are not affected.

Is this guide for you?

Read on if you…

• are, or will become, tax resident in Brazil and hold shares, funds or crypto;
• plan to sell property in Brazil, as a resident or from abroad;
• keep a brokerage account in the US or Europe and want to know how Brazil taxes it.

Probably not your case if you…

• hold everything through a Brazilian company; see corporate income taxes in Brazil;
• are a short-term visitor with no Brazilian assets and no Brazilian tax residency.

How does Brazil tax capital gains in 2026?

Brazil has no separate capital gains tax. A ganho de capital (capital gain) is the positive difference between sale price and cost. It is taxed under the personal income tax, with its own rules. Three features shape your bill.

Progressive rates, applied per asset

The Receita Federal rate table applies 15% to the first R$5 million of gain. The next slices pay 17.5% up to R$10 million and 20% up to R$30 million. Anything above pays 22.5%. Most freelancers and founders never leave the 15% band.

Here's the catch for large holdings. Sell one asset in parts, and gains from the second sale onwards are added to earlier ones. This runs until the end of the following year. Shares of the same company count as one asset. That stops you from slicing a big sale to stay at 15%.

Worldwide scope for residents

Once you are tax resident in Brazil, gains on assets anywhere are taxable. Non-residents pay only on assets located in Brazil.

Separate baskets and calendars

Stock-exchange trades, other Brazilian assets, foreign financial investments and property follow different forms and deadlines. Plan each basket on its own terms.

Who pays and when

For property, unlisted shares and other assets, you compute the tax in the Receita Federal's GCAP program. You pay by the last business day of the month after the sale. GCAP data then feeds into your annual return. The 2026 return, covering 2025, was due between 23 March and 29 May 2026.

How are shares, funds and crypto taxed?

Shares on B3

Law 11.033/2004 taxes net stock-exchange gains at 15%. Day trades, a buy and sell of the same share on the same day, pay 20%. Brokers withhold 0.005% on the sale value of normal trades, so the Receita Federal sees every sale.

Good news: if your spot share sales in a calendar month total R$20,000 or less, the gain is exempt. The limit applies to sales, not to gains, and it resets every month.

Financial investments abroad

Since 1 January 2024, Law 14.754/2023 taxes residents' foreign financial investments at a flat 15%. This covers foreign brokers, funds and bank deposits. Art. 3 includes virtual assets, so crypto held abroad sits here too.

• Reporting: gains go in the annual return, separately from other income, with no deductions.
• Losses (art. 9): they offset gains of the same period; unused losses carry forward, and each loss can be used once.
• Foreign tax credit (art. 4): tax paid abroad is creditable, subject to conditions and a cap.
• Currency effects (art. 2): exchange gains on non-interest-bearing foreign current accounts are exempt. Foreign cash sales are exempt up to US$5,000 a year.

Crypto bought and held in Brazil follows separate rules; see cryptocurrency taxes in Brazil.

Other assets bought in foreign currency

Assets that are not financial investments, such as a flat in Lisbon, stay in GCAP. Per the Receita Federal, you pay by the last business day of the month after the sale.

How is property taxed when you sell?

Property gains pay the progressive rates, but time shrinks the taxable gain. Art. 40 of Law 11.196/2005 applies two reduction factors:

• FR1 = 1 ÷ 1.0060^m1, for months owned before the law took effect in November 2005;
• FR2 = 1 ÷ 1.0035^m2, for months owned from then until the sale.

A home held for 120 months under FR2 keeps about 65.8% of its gain taxable.

The main exemptions

1. Reinvestment. Sell a residential property and buy another residential property in Brazil within 180 days of the sale contract. The reinvested share of the gain is exempt. Usable once every five years; land and garage spaces do not qualify.
2. Sole property. Sell your only property for R$440,000 or less, with no property sale in the previous five years: exempt.
3. Old property. Gains on property bought in 1969 or earlier are exempt.
4. Small sales. Assets of the same kind sold for up to R$35,000 in a month are exempt.

Exempt gains still go in the annual return as exempt income.

What changes for non-residents?

Non-residents pay Brazilian tax only on Brazilian assets. PwC reports that residents of tax havens face 25% instead of the standard rate.

• Collection: under art. 26 of Law 10.833/2003, a Brazilian buyer, or the attorney of a foreign buyer, withholds and pays the tax.
• Timing: if your attorney sells for you, the tax is due on the sale date.
• Foreign assets: gains on assets outside Brazil are exempt for non-residents.

Leaving Brazil is not a sale, so moving away does not itself create a taxable gain. File the exit notice (Comunicação de Saída Definitiva do País) and the final exit return within the normal DIRPF deadline; see our guide to ceasing Brazilian tax residency. Without the notice, the gov.br exit service keeps you resident until the day after you complete 12 consecutive months abroad.

How can you legally pay less?

• Stay under the monthly limits. Spread B3 sales so each month stays at or below R$20,000.
• Use the 180-day window. Reinvesting a home sale in another Brazilian home removes the gain on the reinvested amount.
• Harvest foreign losses. Under Law 14.754 losses offset gains and carry forward, so realise losers before year end.
• Credit foreign tax. Brazil has 38 tax treaties in force and recognises reciprocity with the US, UK and Germany.
• Time a move. Sell foreign assets before you become resident, or after you leave, when Brazil has no claim.

Common mistakes (and what they cost)

• Treating R$20,000 as a yearly limit. It is monthly. Sell R$100,000 in one month and the whole gain pays 15%.
• Paying with the annual return. Tax on Brazilian assets is due the month after the sale. Late payment adds a 0.33% daily fine capped at 20%, plus SELIC-based interest (art. 61, Law 9.430/1996).
• Forgetting the foreign account. Omitted foreign gains found in an audit carry a 75% assessment fine under art. 44 of the same law.
• Splitting a sale to stay at 15%. Partial sales of the same asset are aggregated until the end of the following year.
• Missing the 180-day window. One day late and the full reinvested gain becomes taxable.

Frequently asked questions

What is the capital gains tax rate in Brazil in 2026?

Individuals pay 15% on gains up to R$5 million, 17.5% up to R$10 million, 20% up to R$30 million and 22.5% above. Stock-exchange gains pay 15%, or 20% for day trades. Foreign financial investments pay a flat 15% once a year. Non-residents in tax havens face 25% (PwC, secondary).

Is selling my home tax-free in Brazil?

It can be. Reinvest the proceeds in another residential property in Brazil within 180 days and the reinvested gain is exempt, once every five years. Your only property is also exempt if sold for up to R$440,000, with no property sale in the previous five years. Otherwise reduction factors shrink the taxable gain.

Do I pay Brazilian tax on gains from US or European brokers?

Yes, if you are tax resident in Brazil. Law 14.754/2023 taxes foreign financial investments, including crypto held abroad, at a flat 15%. You report them in the annual return. Losses offset gains and carry forward. Foreign tax can be credited, subject to the law's conditions and cap.

How are capital gains taxed for non-residents in Brazil?

Non-residents pay only on Brazilian assets. A Brazilian buyer, or a foreign buyer's attorney, withholds and pays the tax. Residents of tax havens face 25%. Sales of assets located abroad are exempt for non-residents. Treaties can change the outcome, so check the one with your country.

Does Brazil have an exit tax?

Brazilian capital gains tax applies when you dispose of an asset, and moving abroad is not a disposal. File the exit notice and the final exit return when you leave. Afterwards, only sales of Brazilian assets are taxed in Brazil. Check whether your new country taxes gains built up before you arrived.

Can I offset capital losses in Brazil?

For foreign financial investments, yes. Art. 9 of Law 14.754/2023 lets losses offset gains of the same period, and unused losses carry forward. Each loss can be used only once. Brazilian stock-exchange trades and GCAP assets follow their own computation, so check each basket separately before you harvest a loss.

Related guides

• Tax landscape overview of Brazil – every Brazilian tax on one page
• Cryptocurrency taxes in Brazil – domestic crypto rules and reporting
• Tax residency in Brazil – when worldwide taxation starts
• Practical guide to ceasing your tax residency in Brazil – the exit process step by step
• Corporate income taxes in Brazil – gains inside a company
• Capital gains tax in Paraguay – the neighbouring alternative
• Capital gains tax in Mexico – a Latin American comparison
• All country tax guides

Sources

• Capital gains rates – Receita Federal
• Operations subject to capital gains tax and deadlines – Receita Federal
• Exempt capital gains – Receita Federal
• Law 13.259/2016 – progressive rates – Câmara dos Deputados
• Law 14.754/2023 – foreign investments – Câmara dos Deputados
• Law 11.196/2005 – reduction factors and reinvestment – Câmara dos Deputados
• Law 15.270/2025 – minimum tax and dividends – Senado Federal
• Brazil, foreign tax relief and treaties – PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (secondary)

This guide is general information, not personalised tax advice. See how we research and review.