Guide to Crypto Taxes in Brazil for 2026

This guide covers Brazilian federal tax rules from Receita Federal. It is not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Confirm your situation with a Brazilian accountant (contador) or tax lawyer.

Yes. Receita Federal treats crypto as an asset. Under the domestic regime, you owe capital gains tax when your total crypto sales in a month exceed R$35,000. You owe income tax when you receive crypto as compensation or as mining or staking rewards.

The R$35,000 figure is a sales threshold, not a profit threshold. If you sell R$40,000 of crypto in a month and make a R$5,000 gain, the R$40,000 decides whether the exemption applies, and the R$5,000 gain is taxable.

Crypto held or traded through institutions abroad follows a separate regime, covered below.

Note: Provisional Measure (MP) 1.303/2025 would have replaced the R$35,000 exemption with a flat 17.5% rate. Congress let it expire on October 8, 2025, without a vote, so the rules in this guide still apply.

• Domestic capital gains: When your crypto sales exceed R$35,000 in a month, gains are taxed at:

  • 15% on gains up to R$5 million

  • 17.5% on the portion from R$5 million to R$10 million

  • 20% from R$10 million to R$30 million

  • 22.5% above R$30 million

• Crypto custodied or traded through institutions abroad: qualifying virtual assets are generally taxed as foreign financial investments at 15% on realized annual income and gains, with no R$35,000 monthly exemption. Self-custodied crypto held directly by a Brazilian resident is not treated as located abroad merely because the blockchain or asset is international.

• Ordinary income from mining, staking, or salary: progressive rates from 0% to 27.5%.

• Company profits: 15% corporate income tax, plus a 10% surtax on profits above R$240,000, plus 9% CSLL.

Brazil's tax authority treats each type of crypto transaction differently. Knowing how Receita Federal treats each one helps you report accurately. Here's a breakdown:

Buying and holding cryptocurrency

Buying crypto with Brazilian reais and moving it between wallets you control is not a taxable event, because no gain is realized and no income is created.

You must still keep cost-basis records. At year-end, list your holdings under "Bens e Direitos," Group 08 (Criptoativos), at acquisition cost, for each type of crypto with an acquisition cost of R$5,000 or more. No DARF payment or GCAP entry is required unless you later dispose of the coins.

Selling cryptocurrency

Yes. When you sell coins for BRL, swap them for goods or services, or otherwise dispose of them, the difference between the sale proceeds and your cost basis is a capital gain.

If your total crypto sales for the month exceed R$35,000, follow these steps:

• Calculate the tax in GCAP.

• Pay it with a DARF by the last business day of the following month.

• Include the figures in your DIRPF.

Crypto held or traded through institutions abroad follows the separate 15% annual regime instead.

Mining and staking cryptocurrency

Mining and staking rewards can create taxable income, but Receita Federal has not published one income-tax rule that covers every mining or staking arrangement. The treatment depends on the activity, how the reward was earned, and whether it is connected with a business or an investment that falls under Brazil's foreign-investment rules.

DeCripto separately identifies staking income and mining income as reportable types of crypto transfers. Keep records of the receipt date, quantity, value in reais, platform or wallet, and how the reward was earned. A later sale or swap may create a separate taxable gain.

Crypto-to-crypto trades

Yes. Exchanging one token for another, such as BTC for ETH, counts as a disposal of the coin you give up. Receita Federal deems it sold at its BRL market value on the trade date. Any gain is taxable if your total sales for the month, counting swaps, exceed R$35,000. Record the transaction in GCAP and, if required, pay the tax with a DARF.

Receiving cryptocurrency as payment

Yes. Crypto received as salary, freelance income, or payment for goods is ordinary income on the receipt date. Declare the BRL value in your DIRPF. When you later dispose of those coins, calculate the capital gain or loss against that initial income value.

• Selling crypto for fiat

• Swapping one token for another

• Paying for goods or services with crypto

• Earning crypto through salary, mining, staking, or airdrops

Under the domestic regime, gains on the sale or swap of crypto follow Brazil's progressive capital gains scale:

• 15% on gains up to R$5,000,000

• 17.5% on the portion from R$5,000,001 to R$10,000,000

• 20% from R$10,000,001 to R$30,000,000

• 22.5% above R$30,000,000

The R$35,000 monthly test applies to your total sales, not to these brackets.

Calculate the gain on each unit sold from its acquisition cost. Use a consistent method, such as average cost, and keep the records to back it up. Enter the figures in GCAP and pay any tax using a DARF by the last business day of the month following the disposal. At year-end, export your GCAP totals and import them into your DIRPF return.

Under the domestic regime, Receita Federal's IRPF 2026 Q&A states that gains and losses from separate disposals in the same month cannot be netted because the law makes no provision for it. Each disposal is taxed separately, and a crypto capital loss does not carry forward to later months. It can't offset salary or other income either.

Losses on crypto held abroad work differently. Documented losses can offset gains on other foreign financial investments in the annual calculation, and unused foreign losses may carry forward to later years. Foreign losses can't offset gains on Brazilian exchanges.

Since January 1, 2024, crypto custodied or traded through institutions abroad generally falls under the foreign financial investment rules of Law 14.754/2023. Receita Federal treats it as a foreign financial investment:

• Realized gains are taxed at a flat 15%.

• The tax is calculated once a year in your DIRPF, not through monthly GCAP and DARF payments.

• The R$35,000 monthly exemption does not apply.

Keep foreign and domestic calculations separate.

DeCripto lists airdrops as a reportable type of crypto transfer, but Receita Federal has not published one income tax rule that covers every airdrop. The treatment can depend on why you received the tokens, whether you gave anything in return, and whether they had a clear market value.

Keep records of the receipt date, the number of tokens, the reason for the airdrop, and the value in reais. A later sale or swap is a separate disposal for capital gains purposes, taxed if your monthly sales exceed R$35,000.

Rewards from lending, staking, yield farming, or crypto mining count as ordinary income when they hit your wallet. Declare the BRL value in your annual return. When you later trade or withdraw those reward tokens, each disposal is a capital gains event. Enter it in GCAP, and pay tax if that month's total sales exceed R$35,000.

Brazilian companies engaged in mining, trading, or other crypto activities pay:

• 15% corporate income tax on profit

• a 10% surtax on annual profit above R$240,000

• 9% CSLL

• PIS and COFINS on gross revenue, at 3.65% under the cumulative regime or 9.25% under the non-cumulative regime

Hardware, software, and other business costs follow normal depreciation and deduction rules. Companies don't get the R$35,000 monthly exemption.

Normative Instruction RFB 2.291/2025 created the DeCripto declaration and replaced IN 1.888/2019 starting July 1, 2026. Brazilian crypto service providers file DeCripto for their customers. You file it yourself for any month in which your operations exceed R$35,000 on any of these:

• foreign exchanges

• decentralized platforms

• peer-to-peer trades

It covers purchases, sales, swaps, and transfers such as airdrops, staking income, and mining income. For January through June 2026, the old IN 1.888 rules applied, with a R$30,000 threshold.

DeCripto is due by the last business day of the month after the operations. Penalties for an individual are:

• Late filing: R$100 per month or fraction of delay, cut in half if you file before Receita opens an audit procedure

• Omitted or wrong information: 1.5% of the operation value

• Ignoring a Receita notice: R$500 per month

Deducting crypto losses in Brazil

Losses on crypto sold through Brazilian exchanges can't offset gains on other disposals or carry forward to future months. Add exchange fees and brokerage commissions to your cost basis, so each disposal is taxed only on its net gain.

Crypto as payment for goods and services

When you accept crypto for a sale, record revenue at the asset's BRL market value at the moment of receipt, and issue an electronic invoice (NF-e) for that amount. If you later convert or spend the coins, any price change is a separate capital gain or loss.

• Export all trades, swaps, earnings, and fees.

• Separate crypto on the domestic regime from crypto held abroad.

• For domestic crypto, total your sales by month and flag any month over R$35,000.

• Determine cost basis from the acquisition cost of the units sold, using a consistent method.

• Compute the gain for each taxable disposal in GCAP.

• Calculate foreign gains and losses separately for the annual 15% regime.

• Import GCAP totals into the annual DIRPF return.

• Track your total domestic sales each month. Gains are exempt in months when those sales stay at or below R$35,000.

• Keep complete acquisition cost records so you don't overstate gains.

• Document losses on foreign holdings, which can offset foreign gains in your annual return.

• Ask a Brazilian accountant before counting a crypto donation as deductible.

• Consider professional advice on residency changes or business structures.

The R$35,000 exemption does not apply to crypto held through institutions abroad.

Receiving crypto can create taxable income, but the reporting method depends on why you received it and who paid you. Salary paid in crypto is generally treated as employment income based on its value in reais. Crypto received for freelance work, goods, or services may be taxable as compensation or business income.

Mining, staking, airdrops, and other crypto rewards require a closer look at the facts. Receita Federal's reporting rules recognize these as distinct types of crypto transfers, but that does not mean every reward automatically receives the same income-tax treatment.

When taxable income is received from an individual or a source abroad, Carnê-Leão may apply. Payments from Brazilian companies generally follow the rules applicable to income received from a Brazilian legal entity instead. Keep records showing the date, amount, reason for the payment, payer or platform, and fair value in reais when received. If you later sell or swap the crypto, that transaction may create a separate gain.

Receita Federal receives transaction information from crypto service providers through DeCripto. Brazilian taxpayers may also have to self-report transactions conducted through foreign providers, decentralized platforms, or without a crypto service provider when monthly activity exceeds the applicable threshold.

DeCripto is aligned with the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, or CARF. Brazil began collecting CARF-aligned information in 2026, with automatic exchanges of qualifying crypto information between participating jurisdictions scheduled to begin from 2027.

Underreporting tax can lead to penalties and interest, while late, incomplete, or inaccurate DeCripto filings carry separate penalties.

• Domestic months in which your total crypto sales are R$35,000 or less

• Wallet-to-wallet transfers you control

• Gifts within your state's exemption limit for ITCMD, the state gift tax (limits differ by state)

Keep supporting documents for at least five years after filing the DIRPF. Preserve:

• exchange CSVs

• wallet address histories

• transaction hashes

• smart contract receipts

• DeCripto submissions

• DARF payment proofs

• invoices or fee statements showing acquisition cost

Keep matching bank statements or PIX confirmations for fiat transfers to prove cash movements. Organized records back up your cost basis and income values if you're audited, and they make future GCAP calculations faster.

Brazil's tax year runs from January 1 to December 31. Keep these deadlines in mind:

• Annual return (DIRPF): Receita Federal sets the window each year. For 2025 income, it ran from March 23 to May 29, 2026.

• Monthly capital gains payment: When your domestic sales exceed R$35,000 in a month, pay the tax on those gains by the last business day of the following month.

• DeCripto: If your foreign exchange, decentralized platform, or peer-to-peer activity tops R$35,000 in a month, file by the last business day of the next month.

• Crypto held abroad: Gains are calculated in your annual DIRPF, not monthly.

• Calculate each domestic taxable disposal in GCAP.

• Import GCAP into DIRPF.

• Report foreign crypto gains and losses under Law 14.754/2023.

• List year-end holdings under "Bens e Direitos."

• Submit through the Receita Federal portal or the Meu Imposto de Renda app.

• Pay any tax due with a DARF.