Sending Money Abroad from Brazil in 2026: FX, IOF and CBE

To send money abroad, a Brazilian must use an institution authorized to operate in the foreign exchange market, state the purpose and pay IOF (the tax on foreign exchange operations). Then, if assets abroad exceed US$ 1 million on December 31, the CBE applies. This guide explains these rules by the law, with no company ranking.

How does Brazilian law treat an international transfer?

Law No. 14,286/2021 (Lei 14.286/2021, the new foreign exchange framework) says, in art. 3, that operations in the foreign exchange market may only be carried out by institutions authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB). Art. 4 places on them the responsibility to identify and qualify the client and to ensure the operation is lawful, including against money laundering.

BCB Resolution 277/2022 regulates the law. Under art. 1, the foreign exchange market includes purchases and sales of foreign currency and international payments and transfers made by an international payment or transfer service provider, known as eFX. Under art. 9, that provider follows the same foreign exchange regulation.

In practice, a bank, an exchange broker and an eFX provider perform the same operation in the eyes of the law. What changes from one to another is the price and the service, which you can check on the spot, not the rule.

What do you need to report in the operation?

Under art. 4, § 2, of Law 14,286, classifying the purpose of the operation is the client's responsibility. BCB Resolution 277 (art. 4) requires the institution to present the purpose codes: Annex III applies to operations of up to US$ 50,000, and Annex IV to larger amounts or to operations tied to foreign capital registered with the Central Bank.

Art. 13 of the resolution requires the payment order abroad to carry the sender's and the beneficiary's information. Art. 8 requires the institution to keep proof of consent and the collected documents for ten years. For that reason, the institution asks for the beneficiary's details, the purpose and, in some cases, documents that support it.

Art. 22 prohibits splitting foreign exchange operations to use a prerogative the resolution grants. Dividing a large transfer into several small ones to avoid a requirement is the kind of practice that draws compliance attention.

How much does it cost: IOF and VET?

Two pieces of information define the cost of a remittance: IOF and the Total Effective Value (Valor Efetivo Total, VET).

The foreign exchange IOF is set out in Decree 6,306/2007, art. 15-B. In the consolidated text on the Planalto website (consulted on October 3, 2026), the rates relevant to anyone sending money are:

The same page records cross-references to Legislative Decree 176/2025 and to ADC 96 next to these items. For that reason, do not treat the table as a quote: ask the institution for the IOF applied and the legal basis for the rate before closing the exchange.

VET is defined in art. 18 of BCB Resolution 277: it combines the exchange rate, taxes and fees charged, in reais per unit of foreign currency. For spot settlement operations of up to US$ 100,000, the institution must tell the client the VET before the operation. Comparing proposals by VET, not by the advertised fee, shows the total cost.

Bank, exchange broker or eFX provider: what to compare without a ranking

Because the rule is the same, the useful comparison is about what each proposal delivers. This article does not list company fees because they change and depend on the amount, the country and the day. Compare by criteria you can check in the proposal:

• •VET stated before the operation, with the rate, IOF and fees shown separately;
• •an institution authorized by the Central Bank to operate in foreign exchange, or an eFX provider that complies with foreign exchange regulation;
• •the purpose code and the documents requested for your case;
• •the beneficiary information required in the payment order;
• •a receipt for the operation, which serves as the basis for the declaration to the Central Bank and for income tax.

If your case involves a bank account abroad, see the guide to offshore bank accounts for Brazilians and the offshore banking service.

Cash and the US$ 10,000 limit

Art. 14 of Law 14,286 says that the entry and exit of currency must go through an authorized institution. Paragraph 1 waives this rule for carrying cash of up to US$ 10,000 or the equivalent in other currencies. Above that, BCB Resolution 277 (art. 12) requires an authorized institution with a bank's participation, subject to the exceptions the rule provides.

Art. 19 of the law excludes from the law's rules only the occasional purchase or sale of up to US$ 500 in cash between individuals within Brazil.

Crypto assets and foreign exchange regulation

BCB Resolution 277, as worded by BCB Resolution 521/2025, began to include the provision of virtual asset services in the scope of the rule from February 2, 2026 (art. 1, VI). This means the subject falls within foreign exchange regulation and is subject to the resolution's rules. Because the text is recent and technical, read art. 1 and the provisions that mention virtual assets before using crypto to move funds, and consult a lawyer. For designing structures with crypto, see the article on cryptocurrencies and offshore structuring.

After the transfer: CBE and income tax

Sending the money is only the first obligation. If your assets abroad exceed US$ 1 million on December 31, the Declaration of Brazilian Capital Abroad (CBE) is mandatory. Under BCB Resolution 279/2022, the annual declaration is filed from February 15 to April 5 of the following year. Above US$ 100 million, there is also a quarterly declaration.

Law 14,286 (art. 10) gives the Central Bank the authority to regulate and monitor Brazilian capital abroad and to request information about it. The CBE is independent of the income tax return.

On the tax side, Law No. 14,754/2023 (Lei 14.754/2023, arts. 2 to 5) charges 15% in the annual adjustment on income from financial investments abroad, with a deduction for tax paid abroad and rules for controlled entities. The step-by-step is in the article how to report an offshore on your income tax return. For IOF, exchange and currency strategy, see the multi-currency strategy for Brazilians instead of repeating the comparison here.

If your case involves more than one obligation, OffshoreProz's compliance service can help organize the documentation before the transfer.