Paid Traffic Taxes in 2026: What Changed and What an Offshore Changes

Since January 1, 2026, Meta passes the PIS/Cofins (9.25%) and ISS (2.9%) taxes it used to absorb on to advertisers billed in Brazil, which raises the invoice by about 12.15%, according to the company. A company abroad does not remove that cost on its own: it depends on who contracts, where the service is consumed and the real operation.

What changed in Meta ad billing in 2026?

Meta began including indirect taxes in the amount charged to Brazilian customers billed by Facebook Serviços Online do Brasil Ltda. The source is the notice the company sent to advertisers (LATAM Meta Finance Team). Before, Meta absorbed these taxes.

The points in the notice that matter for your budget:

• •The electronic invoice (nota fiscal), the bill and the boleto now show the budget amount plus the taxes.
• •In Ads Manager, total spend stays equal to the campaign budget and does not show the taxes.
• •On postpaid (card), Meta gives this example: for campaigns that add up to BRL 1,000, the internal budget should be BRL 1,138.30.
• •Also on postpaid, if the maximum budget is BRL 1,000, the spending limit in Ads Manager cannot exceed BRL 878.50.
• •On prepaid (PIX, prepaid boleto and Mercado Pago), whoever prepays BRL 1,000 gets delivery limited to BRL 878.50, and the rest covers the taxes.

A calculation that explains the "12.15%": the BRL 138.30 of tax in the example equals 12.15% of the invoice amount (BRL 1,138.30). On the BRL 1,000 of media, the increase is 13.83%. That calculation is ours, based on Meta's numbers.

Meta also maintains a help page on taxes in ads. Check it for the treatment applied to your account.

Where do the 9.25% PIS/Cofins and the 2.9% ISS come from?

The 9.25% is the sum of two rates set by law. Law 10,637/2002 (Lei 10.637/2002) sets PIS/Pasep at 1.65% (art. 2). Law 10,833/2003 (Lei 10.833/2003) sets Cofins at 7.6% (art. 2). Added together, they give 9.25%, the number Meta reported.

ISS is a municipal tax. Complementary Law 116/2003 (Lei Complementar 116/2003) lists "advertising and publicity" under item 17.06 of the service list. Art. 8 caps the rate at 5% and art. 8-A sets the minimum at 2%. That is why the 2.9% ISS cited by Meta is not the same number for all services and municipalities.

These two laws deal with the non-cumulative regime. For the advertiser, what changes is the pass-through on the invoice.

Do CBS and IBS raise ad costs in 2026?

Not in 2026, according to Meta. The notice says that CBS (0.9%) and IBS (0.1%) appear on invoices for testing purposes only, that this 1% does not change the total invoice amount and that it will not be passed on to customers in 2026.

Complementary Law 214/2025 (Lei Complementar 214/2025) confirms the test rates:

• •art. 346: CBS of 0.9% for taxable events from January 1 to December 31, 2026;
• •art. 343: IBS of 0.1% in the same period;
• •art. 348, I: whatever is collected as IBS and CBS in 2026 is offset against the PIS/Cofins due in the same assessment period.

From 2027 onward, the rates change. Do not use the 2026 1% as a basis for long-term planning.

Can you recover part of the tax that is passed on?

In some cases, yes. Meta's notice says the amount "may be partially recoverable by some customers, as a tax credit, according to their tax planning."

The key word is "some." Whether a credit is possible depends on your company's tax regime and the nature of the expense. Companies under Simples Nacional, presumed profit (lucro presumido) and actual profit (lucro real) treat the topic differently. The right question for your accountant is: "does this expense generate a PIS/Cofins credit in my regime?"

Before thinking about a structure abroad, it is worth checking whether the credit calculation already solves part of the problem. Tax planning starts with this kind of review.

Does a company abroad paying for ads eliminate Brazilian tax?

Not automatically. Changing who pays Meta does not change where the service is consumed or who the beneficiary is in Brazil.

Three points of Brazilian legislation show why:

1. •ISS: LC 116/2003 says the tax also applies to services coming from abroad (art. 1, § 1) and assigns responsibility to the service taker or intermediary of a service coming from abroad (art. 6, § 2, I), according to each municipality's law.
2. •PIS/Cofins-Importação: Law 10,865/2004 (Lei 10.865/2004) provides for the contributions on services coming from abroad provided by a resident or domiciliary outside the country, when performed in the country or when the result occurs here (art. 1, § 1). LC 214/2025 affects when that law takes effect, so check the version in force.
3. •IBS and CBS on imports: art. 64 of LC 214/2025 treats as a service import the supply by a resident or domiciliary abroad whose consumption occurs in the country.

This does not mean every international structure generates Brazilian tax on ads. It means the calculation has to be done case by case, with the real contracts and the real operation on the table.

When does an international structure make sense for advertisers?

It makes sense when the operation is genuinely international: customers outside Brazil, and contracts, team, receipts and expenses that exist abroad for business reasons, and not only to move the invoice somewhere else.

To see how this design works in practice, read the guide on US LLCs for advertisers. It covers the US structure, the ad account and compliance. To receive payments from customers abroad, also see US LLC for international payments.

If your question is about jurisdiction, the Delaware page summarizes what the site covers about it. For the overall design, see corporate structures.

What obligations does a company abroad bring for someone living in Brazil?

Whoever controls a company outside Brazil must declare it and pay tax on it under Brazilian law, even if the company pays for the ads.

• •Individuals: Law 14,754/2023 (Lei 14.754/2023) requires reporting in the DAA (annual income tax return) the income from investments and the profits of controlled entities abroad, with 15% income tax at the annual adjustment (art. 2 and § 1). Art. 5 taxes on December 31 the profits of controlled entities located in a favored-taxation country or privileged tax regime, or that have own active income below 60% of total income (§ 5).
• •Legal entities: Law 12,973/2014 (Lei 12.973/2014) requires including in actual profit and in the CSLL base the portion of the investment adjustment in a foreign controlled company that corresponds to its profits (art. 77, subject to art. 76).
• •Central Bank: whoever resides in Brazil and has assets abroad totaling USD 1,000,000.00 on December 31 must file the Declaration of Brazilian Capital Abroad (CBE). The legal basis is Law 14,286/2021 (Lei 14.286/2021).

Each of these obligations has its own deadline and routine, and compliance must be part of the calculation from the start. See also what changes for people sending money abroad in international transfers.

What mistakes should you avoid when reorganizing ad payments?

• •Opening a company abroad only to change the invoice's tax ID (CNPJ), with no real operation.
• •Forgetting that the CBE, the DAA and the controlled-entity rules still apply.
• •Basing the budget on a blog number instead of reading the platform's notice and the law.
• •Treating the 1% of CBS and IBS in 2026 as a permanent cost or as no cost at all.
• •Doing the calculation without an accountant and without looking at your company's tax regime.