SaaS Exports: ISS, PIS and Cofins With Customers Abroad

A Brazilian company that sells SaaS to customers abroad does not pay ISS on that revenue when the sale is a service export (Complementary Law 116/2003, art. 2, I), unless the service's result occurs in Brazil. PIS and Cofins also do not apply, provided the customer resides abroad and the payment represents an inflow of foreign currency.

The table covers taxes on revenue. IRPJ and CSLL, which reach profit, are not part of these non-incidence rules. The treatment of exports under Simples Nacional follows LC 123/2006 and is not analyzed here.

This guide is for the Brazilian company that sells software abroad. If you want to open a US LLC for your SaaS, the path is different and is in the guide to LLC for SaaS for Brazilian founders.

When is a SaaS sale abroad a service export for ISS purposes?

It is an export when the customer is abroad and the service produces its result there. LC 116/2003 removes ISS on "exports of services to abroad" (art. 2, I). The sole paragraph of the same article excludes services "developed in Brazil whose result is verified here, even if payment is made by a resident abroad."

In practice, the test is where the customer uses the platform:

• •Customer headquartered and with users abroad: the result occurs abroad, and the case comes close to the rule in art. 2, I.
• •Foreign customer whose team uses the software in Brazil: the sole paragraph may reach the transaction.
• •Mixed customer, with users in both countries: the analysis needs to separate what is consumed in each place.

Outside exports, ISS is generally due at the place of the service provider's establishment (art. 3). The list attached to LC 116 includes IT items such as 1.03 (data processing, storage or hosting), 1.05 (licensing or assignment of the right to use computer programs) and 1.09 (making content available over the internet, without permanent assignment). Which item describes your SaaS is a question for your accountant and your municipality's legislation.

Do PIS and Cofins apply to SaaS sold abroad?

They do not apply when the law's two conditions are present. Law 10,637/2002 (art. 5, II) and Law 10,833/2003 (art. 6, II) remove PIS/Pasep and Cofins on revenue from the "provision of services to an individual or legal entity resident or domiciled abroad, whose payment represents an inflow of foreign currency" (wording given by Law 10,865/2004).

The conditions are:

1. •Customer resident or domiciled abroad.
2. •Payment that represents an inflow of foreign currency.

The second condition is the more fragile. If the foreign customer pays in reais through an intermediary in Brazil, or if the charge does not generate an inflow of foreign currency, the company needs to assess whether the requirement is still met before treating the revenue as untaxed.

These articles also address credits. Under § 1, the company can use the credit calculated under art. 3 to deduct the contribution due on domestic sales or offset it against its own debts administered by the Federal Revenue Service. Under § 2, if it cannot use the credit by the end of the quarter, it can request a cash refund. Both articles are part of the laws on the non-cumulative regime; companies under another regime should confirm their own rules with an accountant.

How do you prove the SaaS was exported?

Keep evidence that the customer is abroad and that the money came in. The law does not list documents, but the two conditions above define what must be shown. A minimum file per customer includes:

1. •Contract or accepted terms of use, with the identification and address of the customer abroad.
2. •Proof of the foreign exchange operation. Law 14,286/2021 (art. 3) requires that foreign exchange operations be carried out by institutions authorized by the Central Bank.
3. •Service invoice issued as required by the provider's municipality.
4. •Access or usage records showing where the service is consumed.

On the contract currency: art. 13, I, of Law 14,286/2021 allows payment to be stipulated in foreign currency in contracts relating to foreign trade in goods and services. Art. 5, IX, gives the Central Bank the power to regulate foreign-currency accounts in Brazil.

Does the tax reform change SaaS exports?

The non-incidence rule is kept in the form of an immunity, with one more condition. LC 214/2025 says that "exports of goods and services abroad are immune from IBS and CBS" (art. 79). Art. 80 considers an export of a service or intangible good to be "supply to a resident or domiciled abroad and consumption abroad."

For SaaS, the new point is consumption abroad. A foreign customer who uses the platform in Brazil may fall outside the concept. The consolidated text of LC 214 already records changes made by LC 227/2026, and the PIS/Cofins laws refer to LC 214 on when effects begin. Follow the transition schedule before finalizing long-term planning.

What changes if the Brazilian company opens a subsidiary abroad?

Selling directly remains the simplest path. A subsidiary abroad brings new obligations, and each rule targets a different taxpayer:

Law 14,754 applies to the individual shareholder, not to the Brazilian company. The rate is 15% on earnings in the annual adjustment (art. 2, § 1). For this test, royalties do not count as own active income (art. 5, § 6, I, "a"), which matters for anyone who licenses software to an entity abroad.

If the subsidiary buys or licenses the software from the Brazilian company, the price must pass the arm's length test of Law 14,596. The guides on transfer pricing and international compliance and on transfer pricing with an offshore company cover this point in detail.

There is also the declaration of capital abroad. The Brazilian Capital Abroad Census (CBE) is annual when, on December 31, the declarant's total assets and amounts abroad are equal to or greater than US$ 1 million or its equivalent in other currencies.

If the subsidiary has staff or an office in the country where it operates, also assess the permanent establishment risks.

When is it worth studying a structure abroad instead of exporting directly?

It is worth it when there is a concrete reason beyond tax. Compare the cost of maintaining two structures with what direct exporting already delivers, because the Brazilian company that exports services meets the rules above without creating a second entity.

Serious planning starts with the customer map, the current tax regime and the origin of the capital. Our team can help with international corporate structures and with the operation's tax planning.