Brazilian Federal Revenue Service Publishes New Guidelines for the 2026 Individual Income Tax Return (IRPF)

The Brazilian Federal Revenue Service has published Normative Instruction RFB No. 2,312/2026, establishing the rules applicable to the 2026 Individual Income Tax Return (IRPF) and introducing relevant updates, including new filing thresholds and enhancements to the pre-filled tax return.

This year, the pre-filled tax return will include expanded information, such as eSocial data relating to domestic employees, information on income from variable-income investments, and payments made through DARF. In addition, the online filing system will issue alerts to assist taxpayers in promptly correcting potentially inconsistent information, such as unusually high medical expenses or the absence of a CPF-linked Pix key for refund purposes.

A notable innovation in this year’s return is the inclusion of income earned through betting platforms (bets), as well as any balances maintained on such platforms by taxpayers, which must be properly reported. A specific code has been created for the identification of this type of income.

With respect to filing requirements, taxpayers must submit a return if, during 2025, they fall within at least one of the following categories:

Mandatory Filing Criteria

1. Receipt of taxable income exceeding BRL 35,584.00;
2.  Receipt of exempt, non-taxable, or exclusively source-taxed income exceeding BRL 200,000.00;
3. Realization of capital gains from the disposal of assets or rights;
4. Execution of stock exchange transactions: (a) in an amount exceeding BRL 40,000.00; or (b) resulting in net gains subject to taxation;
5. Engagement in rural activities: (a) with gross revenue exceeding BRL 177,920.00; or (b) with the intention of offsetting losses incurred in previous years or in 2025;
6. Ownership or possession, as of December 31, 2025, of assets or rights exceeding BRL 800,000.00;
7. Acquisition of Brazilian tax residency in any month of 2025;
8. Election of the capital gains tax exemption applicable to the sale of residential real estate with reinvestment of the proceeds;
9. Election of the tax transparency regime for foreign entities;
10. Ownership of trusts or similar structures abroad;
11. Ownership of foreign financial investments: (a) generating income; or (b) with the intention of offsetting losses;
12. Receipt of profits or dividends from foreign entities.

The filing period will begin on March 23 and end on May 29, 2026. Returns may be submitted through the Tax Return Preparation Program (PGD) or the “Meu Imposto de Renda” system. The PGD will be available for download starting March 20; however, submission of returns will only be enabled as of March 23, when the pre-filled return data will also become available.

Our partners Daniel Zugman (dzugman@bvzadvogados.com.br) and Frederico Bastos (fbastos@bvzadvogados.com.br) are available to discuss this matter.

BVZ Team