How to Change Your Tax Residency From Brazil Legally in 2026

To stop being a tax resident of Brazil, an individual notifies the Receita Federal of the departure by the last day of February of the following year and files the Permanent Departure Tax Return within the annual adjustment return deadline. Without the notice, they remain a resident during the first 12 months of absence.

When does a person stop being a tax resident of Brazil?

It depends on how they leave. According to the Receita Federal, a person who leaves Brazil permanently is a non-resident on the departure date. A person who leaves temporarily becomes a non-resident from the day after completing 12 consecutive months of absence. Normative Instruction SRF No. 208/2002 (IN SRF 208/2002), art. 2, V, states the other side: anyone who leaves without filing the Notice of Permanent Departure from Brazil remains a resident during the first 12 consecutive months of absence.

For that reason, changing your address is not enough. The departure must be formalized with the Receita Federal. The guides Permanent Departure from Brazil and the DSDP and Exit Tax for business owners go deeper into the topic.

What are the steps to leave Brazil with no loose ends?

1. •Regularize prior returns. The departure notice does not excuse filing returns for prior years or paying the taxes assessed.
2. •File the Notice of Permanent Departure from Brazil (CSDP) on the gov.br service. It is free and handled immediately. It asks for the CPF number, the receipt of the last income tax return and the voter registration number.
3. •Include dependents registered under the CPF who leave on the same date as the primary taxpayer (IN SRF 208/2002, art. 11-A, § 2).
4. •Tell the paying sources in Brazil the date of permanent departure, so that the taxation of the income changes (art. 10, § 1).
5. •File the Permanent Departure Tax Return (DSDP) in the year after the departure, within the same deadline as the annual adjustment return.
6. •Pay the assessed tax in a single installment, by the date set for filing the return.

Anyone who left the country more than 6 years ago without notifying should send the documentation to the email [email protected], according to the Receita Federal page.

What are the deadlines for the departure notice and the departure return?

The notice is due by the last day of February of the following year, and the return follows the annual adjustment return deadline for the year after departure.

Sources: IN SRF 208/2002, art. 11-A, and Receita Federal and gov.br pages. The text of the IN keeps old versions of the deadlines, so use the official pages for the filing date of the year.

How is the tax on the Permanent Departure Tax Return calculated?

Using the monthly progressive table of the year of departure, multiplied by the number of months the person was a resident in that year. That is what art. 9, § 3, of IN SRF 208/2002 says. The base may have deductions, within the limits of the law, such as court-ordered alimony and dependents (art. 9, § 4).

The return reports income, assets, rights and debts for the period in which the person was a resident, under the same rules as the annual adjustment return. The amount depends on each case's income, and this guide does not estimate a figure. Run a simulation in the Receita Federal's program.

What changes for income that keeps coming from Brazil?

It becomes subject to non-resident taxation from the departure date. Income received from sources in Brazil by someone who leaves permanently is subject to exclusive withholding tax or final taxation, under arts. 26 to 45 of IN SRF 208/2002 (art. 10). That is why the paying source needs to know the departure date.

For a temporary departure, the rule is different. During the first 12 consecutive months of absence, income from Brazilian sources is taxed like that of other residents. From the 13th month, non-resident taxation applies (art. 11, §§ 1 and 2).

What happens if I leave without formalizing the departure?

You are still treated as a resident during the first 12 months of absence (art. 2, V), and your income remains under the rules of art. 11, § 1. Only from the 13th month do the non-resident rules apply (art. 10, § 2).

Filing late also costs. Art. 13 of the IN provides, when tax is due, a penalty of 1% per month or fraction, capped at 20% of the tax, with a minimum of BRL 165.74. With no tax due, the penalty is BRL 165.74, according to the text of the rule.

Can I become a resident again if I return to Brazil?

Yes. The Receita Federal states that a person becomes a resident again on the date they arrive in the country intending to live here, or if they stay more than 183 days, consecutive or not, within 12 months. IN SRF 208/2002 also treats as a resident a non-resident Brazilian who returns intending to stay, on the arrival date (art. 2, IV).

Law 9,718/1998, art. 12, I, "b", uses the same 183-day cutoff for anyone entering Brazil on a temporary visa. If you plan to return, it is worth talking beforehand about tax planning.

What if I remain a Brazilian tax resident with assets abroad?

Then the departure rule does not apply and the resident rules do. Law No. 14,754/2023 (Lei 14.754/2023) requires a resident individual to declare, on the annual adjustment return, income from financial investments and profits and dividends of controlled entities abroad, at a 15% rate (art. 2, § 1). Profits of controlled entities in a favored-taxation country, or with own active income below 60% of total income, are taxed on December 31 of each year (art. 5, caput and § 5).

Anyone with US$ 1,000,000.00 or more in assets abroad on December 31 also files the CBE (Brazilian Capital Abroad report) with the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB Resolution 279/2022, art. 10). The step-by-step for the declaration is in How to declare an offshore company on your income tax return. To live abroad and still keep ties, also see the guide to the offshore digital nomad.

How does IN RFB 1,037 factor into choosing the destination country?

IN RFB 1,037/2010 lists the jurisdictions Brazil considers favored-taxation: those that do not tax income or tax it at less than 17%, or whose law does not allow access to ownership composition and the beneficial owner (art. 1, as worded by IN RFB 2,265/2025). The list changes. The item on the United Arab Emirates, for example, was repealed by IN RFB 2,265/2025, so always check the text in force.

Being on the list does not prevent the move. It matters for those who remain residents in Brazil and keep companies or assets in those countries, as Law 14,754 shows.

Residency at the destination is defined by that country itself. Each country has its own rules, and this guide does not describe those of Portugal, Dubai or any other destination for lack of an official source from each country. Consult the destination's tax authority and the applicable treaty. The pages for Portugal and Dubai bring together OffshoreProz's view of each jurisdiction.