How the Receita Federal Audits Assets and Companies Abroad

Brazil's Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal) audits assets and companies abroad using data received from other countries (CRS), the taxpayer's own filings and requests from competent authorities. In case of omission, the ex officio penalty is 75% of the tax, rising to 100% for fraud and 150% for repeat offenses. The period to assess the tax is, as a rule, 5 years.

How does the Receita Federal find assets and companies abroad?

Through different sources that add up: agreements between countries, mandatory filings and specific rules for each type of asset.

The sections below explain each one, from the enforcement side only. To file, see how to report an offshore on your income tax return. To fix omissions, see regularizing undeclared offshore assets.

What is the CRS and what data reaches the Receita?

The CRS is the standard for automatic exchange of financial account information, applied through the OECD Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA). Brazil signed the agreement on October 6, 2016, with the first exchange scheduled for September 2018, according to the list of signatories (status as of March 13, 2025). The same list includes, for example, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Panama, Seychelles and Singapore.

Under the MCAA, each competent authority automatically exchanges every year the information obtained by the financial institutions of its country (section 2). For each reportable account, the data includes:

• •the holder's name, address, tax identification number, date and place of birth;
• •the account number and identification of the financial institution;
• •the account balance or value at year end;
• •gross amounts of interest, dividends and other income, and gross sale proceeds in the case of custodial accounts.

When the holder is a company with reportable controlling persons, the agreement also provides for sending those persons' data. In Brazil, IN RFB 1,680/2016 (RFB Normative Instruction 1.680/2016) regulates the standard. The topic is covered in more detail in CRS and automatic exchange of information.

The United States is not on the list of MCAA signatories, so American accounts and companies follow a different logic, that of FATCA.

Does FATCA reach Brazilians?

It reaches US taxpayers, not Brazilians simply for being Brazilian. The IRS states that certain US taxpayers with financial assets outside the US must report them, generally on Form 8938, when the aggregate value exceeds US$ 50,000. Foreign financial institutions may also report to the IRS data on the accounts they hold for American holders (IRS, FATCA for individuals).

In practical terms, FATCA matters if you are a US taxpayer. For everyone else, the reference is the CRS.

Does the Receita cross-check the income tax return against the CBE?

The law does not describe that cross-check as an automatic routine. What it establishes is the confidentiality of individual CBE information, used for statistics, with an exception for complying with requests from competent authorities investigating crimes and other irregularities (Law 14,286, art. 11, § 1).

The two declarations are separate obligations. The CBE goes to the Central Bank when Brazilian capital abroad totals US$ 1,000,000.00 or more on December 31 (BCB Resolution 279, art. 10). The DAA goes to the Receita and reports income and profits (Law 14,754, art. 2). Because the same asset reality feeds both, prepare them together and check that the amounts and dates are consistent with each other.

How does the Receita track crypto-assets held abroad?

Through DeCripto, created by IN RFB 2,291/2025. An individual or entity resident in Brazil that operates through a crypto-asset service provider resident abroad, through a decentralized platform or outside any provider is required to provide information (art. 5, II). In the case of item II, the information is due whenever the monthly value of the transactions, alone or combined, exceeds BRL 35,000.00 (art. 5, § 3).

The rule has different effective dates for each article (art. 19). Check the official text before setting your calendar. Law 14,754 itself already includes virtual assets and digital wallets among financial investments abroad, with the classification to be regulated by the Receita (art. 3, § 1, I, and § 3).

What penalties does the Receita apply for omitting assets and income abroad?

In an ex officio assessment, the penalty is 75% of the tax in cases of nonpayment, failure to declare and inaccurate declaration (Law 9,430, art. 44, I). In cases of tax evasion, fraud and collusion, defined in arts. 71, 72 and 73 of Law 4,502/1964, the rate rises to 100% (art. 44, § 1, VI), and to 150% when there is a repeat offense within 2 years (§ 1, VII, and § 1-A).

There are also consequences outside the Receita. The Central Bank applies penalties for violations of the rules on reporting capital abroad (Law 14,286, art. 10, sole paragraph). Law 7,492/1986 treats as a crime promoting, without legal authorization, the outflow of currency abroad or keeping deposits abroad not declared to the competent federal agency, with imprisonment of 2 to 6 years and a fine (art. 22 and sole paragraph).

How long can the Receita collect for undeclared assets and income?

As a rule, 5 years. The Treasury's right to establish the tax credit expires after 5 years, counted from the first day of the fiscal year after the one in which the assessment could have been made (CTN, art. 173, I).

Once the credit is established, the collection action lapses after 5 years, counted from the final establishment (art. 174). Which scenario applies to each calendar year depends on the facts. Ask a tax lawyer for an analysis before counting deadlines on your own.

Does voluntary disclosure still protect someone who is out of compliance?

It protects you if it comes before the audit. The CTN excludes liability for the infraction through voluntary disclosure, accompanied by payment of the tax due and default interest where applicable, but does not consider a disclosure voluntary if it is made after the start of an administrative procedure or audit measure related to the infraction (art. 138 and sole paragraph).

That is why the order matters: first understand what is pending, then act. The step-by-step is in regularizing undeclared offshore assets. To review your history of documents and filings, see the compliance service.

Which structures abroad have their own tax rule?

Controlled companies. Law 14,754 taxes on December 31 of each year the profit of a controlled company located in a favored-taxation country or regime, or one whose own active income is below 60% of total income (art. 5, § 5). The list of favored-taxation countries is in IN RFB 1,037/2010.

Each common mistake in these structures, with the rule behind it, is in 10 mistakes when setting up a company abroad. For planning within the law, see tax planning and how to legally reduce taxes with an offshore.