Regularizing Undeclared Offshore Assets in 2026: Step by Step

There is no open amnesty for assets abroad today. The last program, the RERCT-Geral under Law No. 14,973/2024 (Lei 14.973/2024), accepted applications for only 90 days from September 16, 2024, and that window has closed.

Anyone with an account, investment or company abroad that does not appear in their filings regularizes through the ordinary route: amend the income tax returns for the years the Receita can still assess, pay the tax with interest and a late-payment penalty, file or correct the Central Bank declaration, and do all of it before any notice. That "before" sets the price. With voluntary disclosure under art. 138 of the CTN (Brazil's National Tax Code), the late-payment penalty is capped at 20%. If an audit arrives first, the ex officio penalty runs from 75% to 150% of the tax.

This guide shows what stays exposed, how far back Brazil's Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal) can collect, and the right order for regularizing.

Before or after an audit: what changes

Art. 138 of the CTN says a disclosure stops being voluntary when it is made after the start of any audit procedure related to the infraction. A notice about the foreign account closes that window.

What stays exposed: three fronts

An undeclared asset abroad creates problems on three fronts at the same time. Each has its own rules.

1. Receita Federal: tax and penalty

The main problem is the tax on income that was never declared: interest, dividends, gains and company profits. On top of that, Law 9,430, art. 42 treats money that entered an account as omitted income when the holder, once notified, cannot prove its source with documents. In practice, if you cannot show where the balance came from, the Receita can tax it as income.

Since 2024, assets abroad follow Law No. 14,754/2023 (Lei 14.754/2023): financial investments pay 15% in the annual adjustment, and a controlled company that falls under the annual taxation regime pays 15% on all of its profit every December 31, even without distributing it. The details of each form are in how to report an offshore on your income tax return.

2. Central Bank: the CBE

Anyone holding assets abroad totaling US$ 1 million or more on December 31 had to file the Declaration of Brazilian Capital Abroad (CBE). It is an obligation separate from income tax, with its own penalty, set in art. 66 of BCB Resolution 131/2021:

Filing late costs less than not filing. The same resolution charges only 10% of the late penalty when the delay is up to 30 days and 50% of it when the delay is between 31 and 60 days. It also raises the penalties for the first three cases by 50% when the Central Bank requests a correction and the declarant does not comply.

3. Criminal exposure

Two laws matter here:

• •Tax evasion (Law 8,137/1990, art. 1): full payment of the tax, with its accessory charges, extinguishes criminal liability (Law 10,684/2003, art. 9, § 2).
• •Currency evasion (Law 7,492/1986, art. 22, sole paragraph): keeping deposits abroad that were not declared to the competent federal agency carries a prison sentence of 2 to 6 years and a fine. The payment rule cited above covers tax crimes and does not mention this article.

That is why the criminal side needs a criminal defense lawyer before you file any amendment. An amended return is a written confession, and the order of the steps matters. This guide deals with money of lawful origin. Money of unlawful origin is not solved by an amended return.

How far back the Receita can collect

Under art. 173 of the CTN, the Receita has 5 years to assess the tax, counted from the first day of the year after the one in which the assessment could have been made. The oldest years may already be outside that window for collecting the tax. Two caveats:

• •The criminal limitation period is different and runs under its own rules.
• •The balance that exists today still needs an explanation. If you cannot prove the source, the Receita can treat it as income (art. 42 of Law 9,430).

The review must therefore cover every year still open and the origin of the entire estate, not just the latest statements.

Why waiting has become riskier

Banks and brokerages in more than one hundred jurisdictions automatically report the accounts of residents of other countries under the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS), and Brazil takes part in that exchange. An account the holder did not declare may already be on the Receita's radar through information from the bank itself. Once the notice arrives, voluntary disclosure no longer exists.

Step-by-step regularization

1. •Map everything. Accounts, brokerages, companies, trusts, real estate and crypto abroad, with the balance on December 31 of each open year and the complete statements.
2. •Prove the source. Gather the documents showing where each amount came from: salary, sale of an asset, inheritance, declared remittance. Anything without proof risks being treated as omitted income.
3. •Talk to a criminal defense lawyer. Define the order of the steps before filing anything.
4. •Calculate the tax for each year. Income through 2023 under the old rule and, from 2024 onward, under Law 14,754 (15% in the annual adjustment; controlled companies, 15% on December 31).
5. •Amend the income tax returns. Include the assets on the Assets and Rights form and the income on the proper forms for each year.
6. •Pay before any notice. The DARF payment slip carries the tax, interest at the Selic rate and the late-payment penalty capped at 20%.
7. •Regularize the CBE. If the assets totaled US$ 1 million or more on December 31 of any year, file the late declarations. The penalty is lower than the one for not filing.
8. •Declare every year from now on. Organize the structure so the annual declaration becomes routine. The compliance service handles this.

Documents you will need

• •Bank and brokerage statements for every open year, with the balance on December 31.
• •Incorporation documents and registrations of companies, LLCs and trusts abroad.
• •Exchange contracts and proof of the remittances made abroad.
• •Proof of source: pay slips, sale deeds, probate or formal partition of an estate, old returns.
• •Proof of tax paid abroad, if any. It can be offset when the law allows.
• •Receipts for the income tax returns and CBEs already filed.

Common mistakes

• •Believing an amnesty still exists. The RERCT-Geral ended in 2024. Today the ordinary route applies.
• •Amending only the assets. Adding the asset to the Assets and Rights form without declaring each year's income leaves the tax open.
• •Believing repatriation solves it. Bringing the money to Brazil does not correct the omission of earlier years.
• •Waiting for the Receita's letter. After the notice, a late-payment penalty of up to 20% becomes an ex officio penalty of 75% or more.
• •Closing the account or moving the balance to third parties. The history the bank has already reported stays there, and the new movement becomes one more thing to explain.
• •Ignoring the CBE. The Receita and the Central Bank are different agencies. Regularizing with one does not resolve the other.

Conclusion

Regularizing assets abroad in 2026 follows an order: map everything, prove the source, align the criminal side with a lawyer, amend the returns, pay before any notice and bring the CBE up to date. The cost of voluntary regularization is known and limited. The cost of being found by an audit is not. To build the review and the structure that will be declared from here on, book a session or learn about the tax planning service. To choose the right structure after regularizing, see how to legally reduce taxes with an offshore.