Brazilian Digital Nomad: Tax Residency With No Fixed Address

A Brazilian digital nomad remains a Brazilian tax resident until qualifying as a non-resident under IN SRF 208/2002. Anyone who leaves temporarily is a resident during the first 12 consecutive months of absence; after that, or on reporting a permanent departure, they become a non-resident. While a resident, income received from abroad is taxed in Brazil.

When does a Brazilian digital nomad remain a Brazilian tax resident?

As long as they do not meet one of the non-residency cases in Normative Instruction SRF No. 208/2002 (IN SRF 208/2002). For a Brazilian who leaves, the rule does not use a fixed address or a visa as a criterion. It uses the "permanent nature" of the residence, the length of absence and the departure notice.

The government page on the departure notice adds a rule for those who return: a former resident is again considered a resident on the date they arrive in the country if they return intending to live here, or if they stay in Brazil for more than 183 days, consecutive or not, within 12 months.

The IN speaks of "12 consecutive months of absence". The text does not detail how short visits to Brazil count toward that period. Confirm this point with the Receita Federal or an accountant before planning your travel around it.

What tax does a resident nomad pay in Brazil?

Income received from sources abroad by a resident individual is subject to income tax (IN SRF 208/2002, art. 1). Other income received from sources abroad, whether transferred to Brazil or not, goes into the mandatory monthly payment (carnê-leão), in the month of receipt, and into the annual adjustment return (art. 16).

Three practical points for those who work while traveling:

1. •Tax paid abroad. Art. 16, § 1, allows it to be treated as a reduction of the tax due in Brazil when there is an agreement, treaty or convention providing for compensation, or reciprocity of treatment, and provided it is not offset or refunded abroad. The offset is limited by § 6.
2. •Conversion to reais. Law 9,250/1995, art. 6, requires income from sources abroad and the tax paid abroad to be converted at the dollar rate set by the Central Bank, in the manner the article describes.
3. •Assets abroad. Art. 25 of Law 9,250 requires the return to list the assets and rights that, in Brazil or abroad, make up the taxpayer's estate on December 31.

Financial investments abroad have their own rule. Under Law 14,754/2023, art. 2, § 1, income from capital invested abroad is taxed on the annual adjustment at a 15% rate, with no deduction from the tax base. To build your plan, see the tax planning service.

Does having a company abroad change the nomad's tax residency?

No. An individual's tax residency follows IN SRF 208/2002, not the existence of a company. What changes is the taxation of what the company earns.

Law No. 14,754/2023 (Lei 14.754/2023) calls an entity "controlled" when the individual has the upper hand in decisions or more than 50% of the capital or profits (art. 5, § 1). The profits of these controlled entities are taxed on December 31 of each year when the entity is in a favored-taxation country, has a privileged tax regime, or has own active income below 60% of total income (art. 5, § 5). For the others, the profit is taxed when it is made available to the owner (art. 6, II).

Anyone selling digital products through an LLC will find the complete design in LLC for infoproduct creators. For company models, see corporate structures.

If assets abroad total US$ 1,000,000.00 or more on December 31, the resident must also file the Brazilian Capital Abroad (CBE) declaration with the Central Bank of Brazil, between February 15 and April 5 of the following year, according to the Declarant's Manual.

How do you stop being a resident: what are the CSDP and the DSDP?

For a nomad who decides to live abroad for good, there are two separate obligations, according to the government's service page:

• •CSDP (Notice of Permanent Departure from Brazil). It can be sent from the departure date, if the departure was permanent, or from the date the person is considered a non-resident, if it was temporary, until the last day of February of the following year.
• •DSDP (Permanent Departure Tax Return). It is filed the following year, within the regular income tax return deadline. The page states that the obligation applies regardless of whether the CSDP was sent.

The notice also does not excuse filing returns for prior years or paying the taxes assessed. The tax balance on the DSDP is paid in a single installment, by the date set for filing the return.

Late filing of the DSDP carries a penalty of 1% per month or fraction on the tax due, with a floor and a cap set in art. 13 of IN SRF 208/2002. For the step-by-step of changing residency, read International Tax Residency: how to change it legally.

Does a digital nomad visa change tax residency in Brazil?

No. The visa is a migration authorization from the destination country. Brazilian tax residency depends on arts. 2 and 3 of IN SRF 208/2002, and the rule does not mention a digital nomad visa as a criterion for a Brazilian who leaves the country. Tax residency in the destination country follows that country's law, and each country defines its own. Because each country applies its own law, the treatment may overlap in more than one country; check the applicable treaty, where one exists, with a local specialist.

The requirements of each visa are in Digital nomad visas for Brazilians. To open accounts in the nomad's or the company's name, see the offshore banking service, and for the calendar of obligations, the compliance service.