For a non-resident seller, the buyer withholds, the tax is due on the day of payment, and the exemptions Brazilian residents rely on do not apply. From October 1, 2026, the route the money takes out of Brazil no longer tolerates improvisation.
The hook
On 1 October 2026, Brazilian Central Bank Resolution No. 561, issued on 30 April 2026, takes effect and rewrites the rules for international transfers (eFX). From that date, the service is restricted to institutions authorised by the Central Bank, and settlement through stablecoins or other virtual assets is expressly prohibited. If you sell a property in Brazil and intend to move the proceeds out, paperwork has stopped being a formality.
Three things about the Brazilian system worth knowing first
Brazilian real estate law works differently from what most US readers expect. Title is the registry. There is no title insurance and no closing agent: ownership passes only when the deed is recorded at the Cartório de Registro de Imóveis for the district where the property sits. A signed deed that never reaches the registry transfers nothing.
A power of attorney to sell must be a public instrument, not a form you sign before a notary public in the ordinary US sense. Executed abroad, it must carry a Hague Apostille, be translated by a sworn public translator registered in Brazil, and be recorded in the Registry of Titles and Deeds before it can be used.
And money leaves Brazil only through a formal foreign-exchange transaction, documented end to end. There is no informal route, and after 1 October there is one less semi-formal one.
What applies
- Law No. 9,249/1995, art. 18 — capital gains earned by persons resident or domiciled abroad are assessed and taxed under the rules applicable to Brazilian residents.
- Normative Instruction SRF No. 208/2002, art. 26 — the buyer resident in Brazil, or the attorney-in-fact where the buyer is also a non-resident, is responsible for withholding and remitting the capital gains tax. Not the seller.
- Law No. 13,259/2016, art. 21 — progressive rates: 15% on gains up to BRL 5 million; 17.5% from 5 to 10 million; 20% from 10 to 30 million; 22.5% above 30 million.
- Payment is made by DARF under code 0473 and falls due on the date of the taxable event — the day the seller is paid — not on the last business day of the following month, as it would for a resident.
- Exemptions do not carry over. The Brazilian tax authority holds that the BRL 440,000 single-property exemption (Law No. 9,250/1995, art. 23), the 180-day residential reinvestment exemption (Law No. 11,196/2005, art. 39) and the holding-period reduction factors (Law No. 11,196/2005, art. 40) are unavailable to non-residents. The position is contested by commentators, but it is the position applied at the counter.
- Apostille: the Hague Convention was promulgated in Brazil by Decree No. 8,660/2016; registration of foreign documents follows Law No. 6,015/1973, arts. 129 and 148. A deed of power of attorney executed at a Brazilian consulate is an alternative.
- Resolution BCB No. 561/2026, in force from 1 October 2026, amending Resolution BCB No. 277/2022.
Background only, not US legal advice: a 1% US excise tax on cash remittances abroad has applied since 1 January 2026 under the 2025 budget legislation, with proposed regulations published in the Federal Register on 13 April 2026. It changes nothing on the Brazilian side, but it is one more reason to structure the transaction properly here.
Why it goes wrong
Three structural differences catch sellers out.
Who pays. Brazilian law puts withholding in the hands of the buyer, or of the seller's own attorney-in-fact where the buyer is also abroad. A Brazilian buyer therefore assumes tax liability for someone else's tax, and a family member holding the power of attorney can end up personally liable for a payment nobody discussed. Deeds are signed every day without a word about this in the contract.
When it falls due. A resident pays the month after. A non-resident pays the day of. A seller paid on a Friday who calls the accountant the following week is already in default.
How much. Strip out the exemptions and the holding-period reductions and the taxable base for a non-resident is materially larger than for a resident on the identical sale. A property bought thirty years ago carries a historical cost that is now trivial, so the gain approaches the full sale price. The gap between what sellers expect and what they owe routinely runs into six figures.
Then comes the currency funnel. The bank will ask for the recorded deed, proof of tax payment, the seller's Brazilian tax identification and evidence of lawful origin. From 1 October, with eFX confined to authorised institutions and the stablecoin route closed, the improvised arrangements many people relied on simply stop working. Sellers who prepared remit; sellers who did not are left with money sitting in a Brazilian account they may struggle to operate from abroad.
Who this affects
- Brazilians living in the United States or elsewhere who own property in Brazil, whether purchased or inherited
- Heirs abroad who received Brazilian property in a partition and now want to sell
- Foreign nationals of any nationality who own property in Brazil
- Buyers resident in Brazil negotiating with a non-resident seller — the withholding duty is theirs
- Anyone who filed a Brazilian definitive departure declaration and kept property here
- Attorneys-in-fact in Brazil signing deeds for someone abroad
What to do, and by when
- Settle the seller's tax residence status before the property is listed — resident or non-resident before the Brazilian tax authority, including whether the definitive departure declaration was filed. That status drives the rate, the deadline and who is liable.
- Rebuild the documented acquisition cost, including provable improvements, before agreeing a price. Run the tax calculation during negotiation, not after the deed.
- Address withholding expressly in the contract — who calculates, who pays, by when, and against what proof. Contractual silence does not displace the buyer's or the attorney-in-fact's statutory liability.
- Obtain the public power of attorney with specific powers, apostilled and sworn-translated, and record it in the Registry of Titles and Deeds ahead of the closing date. This is the single most common source of delay and the easiest to solve early.
- Agree the remittance documentation with the financial institution in advance — recorded deed, paid DARF, tax identification, evidence of origin — under the regime that takes effect on 1 October 2026.
The cost of doing nothing
The property sells in a day; the money can sit in Brazil for years, unable to leave, for want of a document that would have taken three weeks to obtain beforehand.
Scope note. This content addresses Brazilian law only. Matters governed by foreign law are handled in partnership with lawyers licensed in the relevant jurisdiction.
Editorial record
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Pillar: 6 — Ties to Brazil
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Related service (performed in Brazil): apostilled public power of attorney and its registration, capital gains assessment and DARF payment, deed and land registry support, documentary support for the foreign-exchange transaction
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Editorial tier: Ruby
Sources: Resolução BCB nº 561, de 30/4/2026 — texto · Banco Central altera regras do eFX — Machado Meyer · Banco Central publica novas regras para eFX com vigência a partir de outubro de 2026 — ABRACAM · Instrução Normativa SRF nº 208/2002 — Receita Federal · Lei nº 9.249/1995 — Planalto · Lei nº 13.259/2016, art. 21 — Planalto · Decreto nº 8.660/2016 (Convenção da Apostila) — Planalto · Imposto de renda sobre ganho em imóveis auferidos por não residentes — ConJur, 27/2/2021 · Operações não sujeitas ao imposto sobre ganho de capital — Receita Federal · Treasury, IRS issue proposed regulations on the remittance transfer tax — IRS, IR-2026-48 · Excise Tax on Remittance Transfers — Federal Register, 13/4/2026
Notice
This content is strictly informational, produced under Provimento No. 205/2021 of the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), with no commercial or client-solicitation purpose. The practical guidance is general and does not substitute for analysis of a specific matter. Artificial intelligence assisted in research and drafting, under the full professional review and responsibility of the signing attorney, in accordance with Recommendation No. 001/2024 of the Federal Council of the OAB.
Scope
This content addresses Brazilian law only. Matters governed by foreign law are handled in partnership with lawyers licensed in the relevant jurisdiction.
Verification record
Every provision was checked against primary sources on September 7, 2026: Central Bank Resolution No. 561 of April 30, 2026, amending Resolution No. 277/2022, effective October 1, 2026; Law No. 9,249/1995, art. 18; Normative Instruction SRF No. 208/2002, art. 26; Law No. 13,259/2016, art. 21; Law No. 9,250/1995, art. 23; Law No. 11,196/2005, arts. 39 and 40; Decree No. 8,660/2016 (Hague Apostille Convention); Law No. 6,015/1973, arts. 129 and 148; and Civil Code, arts. 108 and 657.
The exclusion of non-residents from the capital gains exemptions and holding-period reductions is the position of the Brazilian federal tax authority; consistent scholarly argument to the contrary exists, but the authority's position is what applies at the counter. The 1% U.S. excise tax on remittance transfers appears here as factual background only and is not advice on United States law.
A note on the English edition. This piece is an adaptation, not a translation. Legal citations keep their Portuguese designations, because those are what a Brazilian notary, registry office or court will recognize.
About the firm
Andrade & Cintra Advogados is a boutique law firm dedicated to Civil, Corporate and Real Estate Law, with a focus on Family and Succession Law, concentrated on estate and succession planning, the structuring of family and asset-holding companies, corporate governance and the organization of wealth for succession purposes — always with business purpose, substance and legal compliance. International practice in cooperation with Sintra Legal & Partners.
About the author
Dr. J. Guilherme de Andrade Cintra — Founding Partner · OAB/SP nº 220.915. Editorial co-authorship assisted by artificial intelligence (Anthropic Claude) as editor, under the review and responsibility of the signing attorney.
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