Countries › Brazil › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Selling property in Brazil: capital gains tax rates, reduction factors, home sale exemptions and withholding for non resident sellers

Selling property in Brazil: capital gains tax rates, reduction factors, home sale exemptions and withholding for non resident sellers

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Individuals pay capital gains tax on property sales at 15 percent on the first R$5 million of gain, rising to 22.5 percent above R$30 million, computed separately from other income and paid by the last business day of the following month. Resident sellers can cut the taxable gain with statutory reduction factors that grow with holding time, and are exempt when they sell their only property for up to R$440,000 or reinvest the proceeds in Brazilian homes within 180 days. Non residents are taxed under the same rules, but the resident buyer, or the seller's attorney when the buyer is abroad, must withhold the tax, at 25 percent if the seller sits in a favored tax jurisdiction.

USD figures use the Banco Central do Brasil PTAX selling rate of R$5.3346 per US dollar for 27 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Capital gains tax rate for individuals, first R$5,000,000 of gain	15 %Lei nº 8.981/1995 art. 21 I, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Capital gains tax rate for individuals, gain above R$30,000,000	22.5 %Lei nº 8.981/1995 art. 21 IV, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Capital gains tax on property sold by a non resident (lowest to highest bracket)	15 to 22.5 %Lei nº 9.249/1995 art. 18; Lei nº 8.981/1995 art. 21, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Withholding on gains of sellers in favored tax jurisdictions	25 %Lei nº 10.833/2003 art. 47, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Exempt sale price for a resident's only property (no sale in prior 5 years)	440000 BRLLei nº 9.250/1995 art. 23, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Window to reinvest home sale proceeds in Brazilian homes for exemption	180 daysLei nº 11.196/2005 art. 39, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Capital gains tax payment deadline	Last business day of the month after receipt Lei nº 8.981/1995 art. 21 § 1, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Rates for individuals. The capital gain on the sale of property is taxed at 15 percent on the portion up to R$5,000,000, 17.5 percent from R$5,000,000 to R$10,000,000, 20 percent from R$10,000,000 to R$30,000,000 and 22.5 percent above R$30,000,000. The tax is due by the last business day of the month after the gain is received, is computed separately and is not included in, or credited against, the annual return. Sales of parts of the same asset up to the end of the following calendar year are aggregated to find the bracket.
Cost to do it: 15 percent on most gains; the brackets matter only above R$5,000,000 (about US$937,277).Lei nº 8.981 of 20 January 1995, art. 21 as worded by Lei nº 13.259 of 16 March 2016, Art. 21 caput, items I to IV and §§ 1 to 3, 2016-03-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. Reduction factors for residents. For property sold by an individual resident in Brazil, the gain is multiplied by two reduction factors: FR1 = 1/1.0060^m1, where m1 is the months from acquisition to November 2005, and FR2 = 1/1.0035^m2, where m2 is the months from December 2005, or from acquisition if later, to the sale. For property acquired up to 1988, a further percentage reduction by year of acquisition applies, from 100 percent for acquisitions up to 1969 down to 5 percent for 1988; no such reduction applies to acquisitions from 1 January 1989.
Cost to do it: The factors reduce the tax; no filing cost beyond the GCAP calculation.
Example: Resident bought in January 2010 for R$800,000 and sells in October 2026 for R$2,000,000: gain R$1,200,000; m2 = 201 months, FR2 = 0.4955; taxable gain R$594,550; tax at 15 percent R$89,183. / Gain of about US$224,947, tax of about US$16,718 instead of about US$33,742 without the factor.Lei nº 11.196 of 21 November 2005 art. 40; Lei nº 7.713 of 22 December 1988 art. 18, Lei nº 11.196 art. 40 §§ 1 and 2; Lei nº 7.713 art. 18 and sole paragraph, 2005-11-21 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Exemptions for residents. A resident individual is exempt on the gain from selling residential property if, within 180 days of signing the sale contract, the proceeds are applied to buy residential property in Brazil; partial reinvestment exempts only the reinvested share, and the benefit is available once every 5 years. Also exempt is the gain on the sale of the only property the owner has, for up to R$440,000, if no other sale took place in the last 5 years, and gains on assets of small value sold for up to R$35,000 in the month.
Cost to do it: Missing the 180 day window makes the tax due with interest and penalty from the second month after receipt (art. 39 § 4).
Example: Resident sells a flat for R$1,500,000 and buys another home for R$1,200,000 within 180 days: 80 percent of the gain is exempt and 20 percent is taxed (art. 39 § 2). / Sale of about US$281,183, reinvestment of about US$224,947.Lei nº 11.196 of 2005 art. 39; Lei nº 9.250 of 26 December 1995 arts. 22 and 23 (art. 22 as worded by Lei nº 11.196), Lei nº 11.196 art. 39 caput and §§ 1 to 5; Lei nº 9.250 art. 22 II and art. 23, 2005-11-21 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Non resident sellers. Gains of individuals or companies resident abroad are computed and taxed under the rules for residents. The buyer, if resident in Brazil, or the seller's attorney in Brazil, if the buyer is abroad, must withhold and pay the tax. If the seller resides in a favored tax jurisdiction, withholding is 25 percent.
Cost to do it: 15 to 22.5 percent of the gain, or 25 percent for favored tax jurisdictions, withheld from the price.
Example: Non resident sells for R$3,000,000 property bought for R$2,000,000: the resident buyer withholds 15 percent of R$1,000,000, that is R$150,000. / Gain of about US$187,455, withholding of about US$28,118.Lei nº 9.249 of 26 December 1995 art. 18; Lei nº 10.833 of 29 December 2003 arts. 26 and 47, Lei nº 9.249 art. 18; Lei nº 10.833 art. 26 and art. 47, 2003-12-29 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Portion of gain	Rate
Up to R$5,000,000 (about US$937,277)	15%
R$5,000,000 to R$10,000,000	17.5%
R$10,000,000 to R$30,000,000 (about US$5,623,664)	20%
Above R$30,000,000	22.5%
Seller in a favored tax jurisdiction (non resident)	25%

Progressive capital gains brackets for individuals (Lei nº 8.981 art. 21). USD at PTAX R$5.3346.

Worked example

Resident with reduction factor: see the January 2010 purchase example above, where FR2 cuts the taxable gain by about half.
Non resident with a resident buyer: the buyer withholds at closing and pays the tax (Lei nº 10.833 art. 26); the seller's net is the price less the withheld tax.
Argentine seller, high level. Under the Brazil and Argentina income tax convention as originally promulgated (Decreto nº 87.976 of 1982, art. XIII), gains on the sale of property are taxable in each country under its domestic law, so Brazil taxes the gain as described here; see The Argentine Thread guide for the Argentine side.

Step by step

1. Gather the acquisition cost and improvement records (deed, ITBI receipt, construction invoices).
2. Compute the gain and, for residents, apply FR1, FR2 and any pre 1989 reduction.
3. Check exemptions: single property up to R$440,000, reinvestment within 180 days, once every 5 years.
4. Pay by the last business day of the following month; if the seller is non resident, the buyer or the seller's attorney withholds and pays.
5. Keep the calculation for the annual return, where the gain is reported separately.

Common traps

Applying resident reduction factors to a non resident. Art. 40 of Lei nº 11.196 refers to individuals resident in Brazil.
Reinvesting late or abroad. The 180 day exemption requires residential property located in Brazil (Lei nº 11.196 art. 39).
Buyer forgetting to withhold. The resident buyer is responsible for the non resident seller's tax (Lei nº 10.833 art. 26).

Sources

← ITR, Brazil's federal rural land tax: bare land value, utilization degree and rates from 0.03 to 20 percentTax on rental income in Brazil: monthly carnê-leão for resident landlords, company withholding and 15 percent for non residents →