Remote Work for Another Country: Where to Pay Tax in 2026

People who work remotely for another country generally pay tax where they are tax residents. For Brazil, you remain a resident until you file the Final Exit Notice (Comunicação de Saída Definitiva) or complete 12 consecutive months abroad. While you are a resident, salary paid from abroad goes into the monthly carnê-leão.

And the company risks a permanent establishment if the professional closes contracts in its name.

This guide separates the three most common situations: the Brazilian who lives here and works for a foreign company, the Brazilian who moves away, and the foreigner who works remotely from Brazil.

Where do people who work remotely for another country pay tax?

In the country of tax residence, which is usually where the person lives, not where the employer is located. The employer's country may withhold tax under its own rules, but the income remains taxed in the country of residence. If there is a tax treaty to avoid double taxation between the two, it defines who taxes first and how tax paid on one side is credited on the other.

Living in Brazil and getting paid from abroad: how do you declare it?

Salary or fees paid by a foreign company go into the carnê-leão, the monthly payment of tax on income received from abroad, and then into the annual return. The tax must be paid by the last business day of the month following receipt (Receita Federal - Carnê-leão).

If the paying country withheld tax, the deduction in Brazil depends on a tax treaty to avoid double taxation or on reciprocity of treatment. The countries with a treaty are on the Receita Federal list, and the United States is not on it.

Many professionals prefer to be paid through a company opened in Brazil, issuing a service export invoice. That choice changes the tax regime and must be compared case by case with the carnê-leão. Anyone paid abroad must also declare the accounts and investments held there. See how to declare an offshore on your income tax return.

When do I stop being a tax resident in Brazil?

You stop being a resident on the date of departure, if it is permanent and you file the Final Exit Notice (Comunicação de Saída Definitiva do País). If you do not file, you remain a resident during the first 12 consecutive months of absence and become a non-resident the next day. The notice is due by the last day of February of the following year, and the Final Exit Return (Declaração de Saída Definitiva) is filed within the annual return deadline (gov.br - Report permanent departure).

The most common mistake is leaving without notifying and continuing to receive income from abroad. In the first 12 months, that income remains taxable in Brazil, and the new country may also tax it. The step-by-step of the move is in international tax residency.

Living abroad does not end everything: Brazilian-source income paid to a non-resident, such as rent from property in Brazil, remains subject to tax withheld at source here.

What about INSS and the other country's social security?

Social security contributions follow their own rules, separate from income tax. When there is a social security agreement between Brazil and the other country, the agreement defines which system you contribute to and allows contribution periods to be added together for benefit purposes. Brazil has agreements in force with countries such as the United States, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan and Canada (Ministry of Social Security). The United Kingdom is not on the list.

The question of whether to keep contributing to INSS from abroad has its own guide: INSS for people leaving Brazil.

Does the company risk a permanent establishment?

Yes, when remote work stops being mere execution and starts to represent the company in the country where the professional lives. Under treaties that follow the OECD model, a company may have a permanent establishment in a country when a fixed place of business is at its disposal or when someone there habitually concludes contracts in its name. In that case, part of the profit becomes taxable in that country.

In practice, the risk signs are:

• •the professional negotiates and signs contracts in the company's name;
• •the professional holds a management role, with decisions made in the country where they live;
• •the company pays for or requires the professional's workspace in the country;
• •the work in the country is permanent, not temporary.

A programmer or analyst who only carries out tasks, without power of representation, usually poses a lower risk. A director or salesperson who closes deals is the classic risk case. The detailed analysis is in permanent establishment: risks and how to avoid them. For those hiring teams abroad, see hiring an international remote team.

Foreigner working remotely from Brazil: which visa and which tax?

Brazil has a specific temporary visa for digital nomads, created by CNIg Resolution No. 45/2021 (Resolução CNIg nº 45/2021). It applies to people who work remotely for a foreign employer, with no ties to a company in Brazil, and requires proof of monthly income from foreign sources of at least USD 1,500 or USD 18,000 in an account. The initial term is up to one year, renewable for the same period.

The visa does not determine the tax. Under the Receita rule, someone who enters on a temporary visa becomes a tax resident on the day they complete 184 days in Brazil, consecutive or not, within 12 months (IN SRF 208/2002, art. 2). From then on, worldwide income becomes taxable in Brazil. A comparison with visas from other countries is in digital nomad visa ranking.

Does an offshore company solve the taxation of remote work?

No, and it often makes things worse. For someone who lives in Brazil, being paid through a company abroad does not take the income out of Brazilian taxation. Under Law No. 14,754/2023 (Lei 14.754/2023), the profit of a controlled company in a favored-taxation country, or with own active income below 60%, is taxed in Brazil every December 31. If the work is done from Brazil, the foreign company itself may be treated as having activity here.

A company abroad makes sense when there is a real operation there: customers, team and management in the company's country. The comparison is in digital nomad, offshore and tax residency, and the design for each case is in tax planning.

Checklist for people who work for another country

• • I know which country I am a tax resident of today.
• • If I left Brazil, I filed the Final Exit Notice.
• • I pay the carnê-leão on income received from abroad while I am a resident.
• • I checked whether there is a treaty between Brazil and the employer's country.
• • I know which social security system I contribute to and whether there is an agreement.
• • My contract does not give me the power to close deals in the company's name, or the company knows the risk.
• • I declare the accounts and investments I hold abroad.

Conclusion

In remote work between countries, what determines the tax is tax residence, not the employer's address. Anyone who lives in Brazil pays carnê-leão on what they receive from abroad. Anyone who leaves must notify the exit to stop being a resident on the right date. The company should avoid having a remote professional close deals in its name in another country. Before changing country or the way you are hired, confirm residence, treaty and social security. To review your case, book a consultation or see the compliance service.