Tax residence in Brazil for U.S. citizens and green card holders

Brazil has no single day test. You become resident from the day of arrival if you come to live permanently or on a temporary visa to work under an employment contract; on another temporary visa, from the day you reach 184 days (consecutive or not) within 12 months of arrival. Brazil splits the year: residence begins on a specific date and ends on the day of definitive departure, and anyone who leaves without the notice of definitive departure stays resident for the first 12 months abroad. There is no income tax treaty between the United States and Brazil, so dual residence is not resolved; Brazil credits U.S. income tax on the basis of reciprocity, and the U.S. side relies on the foreign tax credit or the foreign earned income exclusion.

Check your status: United States and Brazil

Free, no sign-up, about 3 minutes. Conclusion under U.S. law, compared with the law of Brazil and the tax treaty.

When Brazil treats you as a tax resident

Brazil has no single day threshold for everyone: residence depends on whether you live in Brazil permanently, on the visa you entered with and its purpose, and for temporary stays on 184 days within 12 months. Residence begins on a specific date (the day of arrival or the 184th day) and ends on the day of definitive departure, so the year is split into periods.

For temporary stays the threshold is 184 days (more than 183) of presence, consecutive or not, within 12 months from the day of arrival. If 184 days are not reached within 12 months, a new 12-month period starts with the next entry. You become resident from the day you reach 184 days — not from the start of the year.

Definitive departure with the notice (Comunicação de Saída Definitiva do País) makes you a non-resident from the day of departure. Without the notice, as with a temporary departure, you remain resident for the first 12 consecutive months abroad and become a non-resident from the following day.

You live in Brazil permanently — you are a Brazilian tax resident (art. 2 IN SRF nº 208/2002) and pay personal income tax (IRPF) on worldwide income. A foreigner with a permanent visa, or a Brazilian citizen who has come back to live for good, is resident from the day of arrival. Permanent residence is assessed on the facts: where you live and where your family, work and property are.
You entered with a temporary visa to work under an employment contract in Brazil (or signed such a contract during your stay) — you are a Brazilian tax resident from the day of arrival (from the day of signing the contract), whatever the number of days (art. 2 IN SRF nº 208/2002, art. 17 RIR/2018), and pay IRPF on worldwide income.
You stayed in Brazil for more than 183 days (consecutive or not) within 12 months — you are a Brazilian tax resident from the day you reached 184 days (art. 2 IN SRF nº 208/2002; under art. 17 II RIR/2018, taxation as a resident covers taxable events from the day after that period is completed); from that date Brazil taxes your worldwide income, and before it only income from Brazilian sources, as income of a non-resident.
You work abroad as an employee of a Brazilian government office — you remain a Brazilian tax resident whatever the number of days spent in Brazil (art. 2 IN SRF nº 208/2002, arts. 15, 37 RIR/2018). Employees of State-owned companies and locally hired embassy staff are not covered.
You left Brazil permanently in the selected year — until the day of departure you were a Brazilian tax resident, and from the day of departure you are a non-resident, provided you filed the notice of definitive departure by the end of February of the following year. A Declaração de Saída Definitiva do País is filed for the period of residence; Brazilian-source income after departure is taxed by withholding at source (art. 14 RIR/2018).
You left without the notice of definitive departure, or temporarily, and 12 consecutive months abroad have not yet passed — in the selected year you remain a Brazilian tax resident and pay IRPF on worldwide income (art. 2 IN SRF nº 208/2002, art. 14 § 3 RIR/2018). If you left for good, file the notice of definitive departure by the end of February of the following year — you will then be a non-resident from the day of departure.
You left without the notice of definitive departure, or temporarily, and 12 consecutive months abroad were completed in the selected year — until that day you were a Brazilian tax resident, and from the following day you are a non-resident (art. 3 IN SRF nº 208/2002, art. 14 § 3 RIR/2018). File the Comunicação de Saída Definitiva do País by the last day of February of the following year and, for the period of residence, the Declaração de Saída Definitiva do País (P&R IRPF 2026, question 117).

When you are a nonresident

You left Brazil permanently before the selected year began and filed the notice of definitive departure — you are not a Brazilian tax resident (art. 3 IN SRF nº 208/2002). Brazil taxes only Brazilian-source income, by withholding at source (pay and services — 25%, most other income — 15%, dividends from 2026 — 10%). If you have come back intending to live in Brazil, you are resident again from the day of arrival.
You left without the notice, or temporarily, and 12 consecutive months abroad were completed before the selected year began — you are not a Brazilian tax resident (art. 3 IN SRF nº 208/2002). Brazil taxes only Brazilian-source income, by withholding at source. If you did not file the Declaração de Saída Definitiva do País for the year of departure, you can still do so later (within five years) — with a penalty.
You came to Brazil temporarily and did not reach 184 days within 12 months, and you have no employment contract in Brazil, permanent visa or residence permit — you are not a Brazilian tax resident (art. 3 IN SRF nº 208/2002). Brazil taxes only Brazilian-source income, by withholding at source (pay and services — 25%, most other income — 15%, dividends from 2026 — 10%).
You neither lived nor stayed in Brazil — you are not a Brazilian tax resident (art. 3 IN SRF nº 208/2002). Brazil may tax only Brazilian-source income, by withholding at source.

Where the rules of Brazil clash with U.S. tax rules

Collision: resident of both countries — no tie-breaker. Brazil treats you as resident — through permanent residence, a work visa, 184 days within 12 months or the first 12 months after leaving without the notice — and so does the United States. Without a treaty nothing resolves the conflict: both countries tax your worldwide income. Brazil credits U.S. federal income tax up to the Brazilian tax on that income (reciprocity, art. 115 RIR/2018) — but not state or local income tax (P&R IRPF 2026, question 142); for income under Lei nº 14.754/2023 an unused credit cannot be carried to other years. The United States credits Brazilian tax on foreign-source income (or you exclude foreign earned income under § 911); without a treaty there is no re-sourcing rule, so on U.S.-source income relief comes only from the Brazilian credit.

What else to know

No income tax treaty between the United States and Brazil. There is no income tax treaty between the United States and Brazil. Consequences: there is no tie-breaker, so you can be a full resident of both countries at once; no 183-day rule protects short work trips; Brazilian withholding rates are not reduced; there is no mutual agreement procedure. Double tax is relieved only unilaterally — in the United States by the foreign tax credit or the foreign earned income exclusion (§ 911), in Brazil by a credit for U.S. income tax, which Brazil allows because it accepts reciprocity with the United States (art. 115 RIR/2018), up to the Brazilian tax on that income. This covers U.S. federal income tax only: reciprocity does not extend to taxes paid to states and municipalities, so state and local income taxes cannot be credited in Brazil (P&R IRPF 2026, question 142).
Brazil counts 184 days within 12 months from arrival and splits the year. For temporary stays Brazil counts days (consecutive or not) within 12 months from the day of arrival, not in the calendar year; if 184 days are not reached, a new 12-month period starts with the next entry. You become resident from the 184th day — a stay from July to February can make you resident only in the following year; with a temporary visa to work under an employment contract — from the day of arrival. The U.S. substantial presence test counts calendar-year days with a weighted look-back over three years, so the two counts rarely match.
Year of moving: Brazil splits the year, the U.S. does not for citizens. Brazilian residence begins on a specific date (the day of arrival or the 184th day) and ends on the day of definitive departure; for the rest of the year Brazil taxes only Brazilian-source income. A U.S. citizen is taxed on worldwide income for the whole year; an alien may be a dual-status taxpayer in the year of arrival or departure. Without a treaty there is no mutual agreement procedure to reconcile the periods.
Leaving Brazil: the notice by the end of February. If you leave Brazil for good — for example to move to the United States — file the notice of definitive departure (Comunicação de Saída Definitiva do País) by the last day of February of the following year: you are then a non-resident from the day of departure, and you file the Declaração de Saída Definitiva do País for the period of residence. Without the notice Brazil treats you as resident for the first 12 months abroad and taxes your worldwide income for that time — with no treaty to resolve an overlap with U.S. residence. Tell Brazilian payers of income (bank, employer, pension fund) about your departure so that they withhold at non-resident rates.
Working in Brazil while not Brazilian-resident. Pay for work performed in Brazil is Brazilian-source income; for non-residents of Brazil 25% is withheld. Without a treaty there is no 183-day exemption for short work trips. A temporary visa to work under a Brazilian employment contract makes you resident from the day of arrival. A U.S. citizen or resident can credit the Brazilian tax in the United States or exclude the pay under § 911 if he or she qualifies (no credit on excluded income).
U.S. income of a Brazilian resident: monthly payment and 15% on investments. A Brazilian resident declares income from abroad even if it is not remitted to Brazil. Pay, pensions or rents from the United States are paid monthly (carnê-leão) at the progressive scale and included in the annual return. Interest, dividends and gains from financial investments in the United States are taxed at 15% in the annual return (Lei nº 14.754/2023); profits of a controlled foreign company in a favoured jurisdiction or with mainly passive income are taxed every year, even without a distribution. U.S. income tax is deducted only up to the Brazilian tax on that income (art. 115 RIR/2018). If you are a U.S. citizen, the United States taxes the same income as well.
The 2026 reform: no tax up to R$ 5,000 and a minimum tax on high incomes. From 2026 a resident's income tax is reduced so that it is zero for taxable income up to R$ 5,000 a month (the reduction phases out up to R$ 7,350). At the same time a minimum tax applies to total income above R$ 600,000 a year — up to 10% at R$ 1,200,000 or more, counting dividends and other exempt income; dividends above R$ 50,000 a month from one company are subject to 10% withholding. Dividends paid to non-residents are taxed at 10% from 2026.
Pensions and Social Security without a treaty. Without a treaty no rule assigns pensions to one country. Brazil taxes its residents on worldwide income, including pensions from abroad, and taxes Brazilian pensions paid to non-residents by withholding — at the progressive scale rather than at 25% since the Supreme Federal Court's ruling (Tema 1.174). The United States taxes a citizen or resident on worldwide income, including Brazilian pensions. Each country relieves double tax only through its own credit.
Social security: U.S.–Brazil totalization agreement. There is no income tax treaty, but the United States and Brazil have a social security (totalization) agreement in force since 1 October 2018. It stops you paying social security contributions to both countries for the same work: an employee sent abroad by an employer for five years or less generally stays in the home system, and a certificate of coverage proves the exemption from the other system.

How dual residence is resolved

There is no income tax treaty in force between the United States and this country.

Terms you will come across in Brazil

Receita Federal: Brazil's federal tax authority
IRPF: personal income tax; residents pay it on worldwide income
carnê-leão: monthly payment of tax on income from abroad on which no tax was withheld in Brazil
Comunicação de Saída Definitiva do País: notice of definitive departure: filed by the last day of February of the following year, it makes you a non-resident from the day of departure
Declaração de Saída Definitiva do País: return for the period of residence in the year of definitive departure
CPF: taxpayer number needed for dealings with Brazil's tax authority

Questions

Is there a tax treaty between the U.S. and Brazil?

No. There is no tie-breaker, no 183-day exemption for short work trips, no reduced withholding rates and no mutual agreement procedure. Brazil credits U.S. income tax up to the Brazilian tax on that income because it accepts reciprocity with the United States (art. 115 RIR/2018); the U.S.–Brazil social security agreement (in force since 1 October 2018) still applies.

How does Brazil count 184 days?

For temporary stays Brazil counts days (consecutive or not) within 12 months from the day of arrival, not in the calendar year; if 184 days are not reached, a new 12-month period starts with the next entry. You become resident from the 184th day; with a temporary visa to work under an employment contract, from the day of arrival.

What should I do when I leave Brazil for the United States?

File the notice of definitive departure (Comunicação de Saída Definitiva do País) by the last day of February of the following year and then the Declaração de Saída Definitiva do País for the period of residence. Without the notice Brazil treats you as resident for the first 12 months abroad and taxes your worldwide income for that time.

Sources

Legislation and official guidance

art. 2 IN SRF nº 208/2002 (residente no Brasil) — A Brazilian resident is a person who: lives permanently in Brazil; left to work as an employee of Brazilian government offices abroad; entered with a permanent visa — from the day of arrival; entered with a temporary visa to work under an employment contract (or as a scholarship doctor of the Mais Médicos programme) — from the day of arrival; entered with another temporary visa — from the day 184 days of stay (consecutive or not) are reached within 12 months, or from the day of obtaining a permanent visa or an employment contract if that happens earlier; a Brazilian citizen who had non-resident status and returned intending to stay — from the day of arrival; a person who left temporarily or permanently without filing the notice of definitive departure — during the first 12 consecutive months of absence.
art. 3 IN SRF nº 208/2002 (não residente) — A non-resident is a person who does not live permanently in Brazil and does not fall within art. 2; a person leaving permanently — from the day of departure (the notice of definitive departure is mandatory); a person who left temporarily — from the day after completing 12 consecutive months abroad; a person who entered with a temporary visa and stays up to 183 days (consecutive or not) within a 12-month period; an employee of a foreign government office in Brazil. If 184 days are not reached within 12 months, a new 12-month period is counted from the next entry.
arts. 16–17 RIR/2018 (Decreto nº 9.580/2018); art. 12 Lei nº 9.718/1998 — A person with a permanent visa is taxed as a resident from the day of arrival (art. 16). A person with a temporary visa — as a resident from the day of arrival if he or she came to work under an employment contract, or from the day after completing a stay of more than 183 days (consecutive or not) within a 12-month period; until then his or her income is taxed as income of a non-resident (art. 17).
art. 14 RIR/2018 (Lei nº 3.470/1958, art. 17) — A resident who leaves permanently during a calendar year files the Declaração de Saída Definitiva do País for income from 1 January to the day before departure; income after departure is taxed by withholding at source as income of a non-resident. Anyone who left without this return is taxed as a resident for the first 12 months of absence, and as a non-resident from the 13th month.
arts. 9, 11, 11-A IN SRF nº 208/2002; art. 16 IN RFB nº 2.312/2026 (Perguntas e Respostas IRPF 2026, questions 114–126) — The notice of definitive departure (Comunicação de Saída Definitiva do País) is filed by the last day of February of the following year — it cannot be filed after that deadline; the Declaração de Saída Definitiva do País — by the annual return deadline (for 2025 departures — by 29 May 2026), and the tax is paid in a single instalment by the same date. The penalty for a late return is R$ 165.74 or 1% of the tax per month, up to 20%. A former resident must inform all Brazilian payers of income of the date of departure.
art. 47 (VII), arts. 118–120 RIR/2018; arts. 2–6 Lei nº 14.754/2023 — A resident is taxed on income received abroad whether or not it is remitted to Brazil. Pay, pensions and rents from abroad — a monthly mandatory payment (carnê-leão) at the progressive scale, taken into account in the annual return. Income from financial investments abroad and dividends of foreign companies — 15% in the annual return (since 2024); profits of a controlled foreign company in a favoured tax jurisdiction or with active income below 60% — each year on 31 December.
arts. 15, 37 RIR/2018 — Residents who work abroad for Brazilian government offices and are paid in foreign currency are taxed as residents; 25% of the amount received is included in the tax base.
arts. 741, 744–746, 760, 763, 765, 767 RIR/2018; art. 7 Lei nº 9.779/1999 — Non-residents' Brazilian-source income is taxed at source: 25% — pay and other income from work and services (art. 746); 15% — the general rate (art. 744), interest (art. 760), rent from real property in Brazil net of documented expenses (art. 763), technical and administrative services (art. 765), royalties (art. 767); 25% — for residents of favoured tax jurisdictions; capital gains on property in Brazil — at the rates for residents, 15–22.5% (art. 745).
art. 10 §§ 4–5, art. 10-A Lei nº 9.249/1995 (as amended by Lei nº 15.270/2025) — From 1 Jan 2026, profits and dividends paid abroad are subject to 10% withholding at source (except profits for periods up to and including 2025 whose distribution was approved by 31 Dec 2025); at the recipient's option a credit is possible if the company's effective tax rate plus these 10% exceeds the nominal rate (as a rule 34%).
Receita Federal — Acordos para evitar a dupla tributação e prevenir a evasão fiscal (list of agreements; page updated 28 Aug 2026) — Receita Federal's list of Brazil's agreements to avoid double taxation shows the agreements in force (and Germany as terminated); the United States is not on it.
art. 115 RIR/2018; art. 4 Lei nº 14.754/2023 — Foreign income tax is deducted from Brazilian tax only if an international agreement with the source State so provides or that State grants reciprocity for income from Brazil; no more than the increase in Brazilian tax caused by including that income; for income under Lei 14.754/2023 an unused credit cannot be carried to other years.
Perguntas e Respostas IRPF 2026, questions 136 and 142 (reciprocity for the foreign tax credit) — Receita treats Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States as granting reciprocity for income from Brazil, so Brazilian residents may deduct the income tax paid there without further proof (AD SRF 28/2000, AD SRF 48/2000, ADE SRF 72/2005, ADI SRF 16/2005); for other countries the taxpayer must prove reciprocity. Reciprocity does not extend to taxes paid to states and municipalities (question 142).
26 U.S.C. § 901(b)(1) — A U.S. citizen may credit income taxes paid or accrued to a foreign country (subject to the limitations of § 904).
26 U.S.C. § 911(a), (d)(1), (d)(6) — A qualified individual (tax home abroad and bona fide residence for an entire taxable year, or 330 full days abroad in 12 consecutive months) may elect to exclude foreign earned income and a housing amount; no foreign tax credit is allowed for taxes allocable to the excluded income.
§ 7701(b)(3)(A); Treas. Reg. § 301.7701(b)-1(c) — Substantial presence test: at least 31 days in the current year and at least 183 days counting all current-year days, 1/3 of the days in the first preceding year and 1/6 of the days in the second preceding year. Fractions are not rounded.
Treas. Reg. § 1.1-1(b) — U.S. citizens, wherever resident, are liable to income tax on income from all sources.
Lei nº 15.191/2025 (monthly scale); arts. 3-A, 11-A Lei nº 9.250/1995 (as amended by Lei nº 15.270/2025) — Monthly scale from 2026: up to R$ 2,428.80 — no tax; then 7.5%, 15%, 22.5%; above R$ 4,664.68 — 27.5%. From 2026 the tax is reduced so that it is zero for taxable income up to R$ 5,000 a month; the reduction phases out up to R$ 7,350 a month (annual figures — R$ 60,000 and R$ 88,200).
arts. 6-A, 16-A, 16-B Lei nº 9.250/1995 (as amended by Lei nº 15.270/2025) — From 2026 — a minimum tax for people with total income above R$ 600,000 a year: the rate rises linearly to 10% at income of R$ 1,200,000 or more; the base includes exempt income and dividends (excluding capital gains, savings-account interest and certain tax-favoured securities); income tax paid and corporate tax (through a «reducer») are deducted from it. Dividends above R$ 50,000 a month from one company to one resident — 10% withholding.
SSA POMS GN 01701.005 — International Social Security (Totalization) Agreements — U.S.–Brazil agreement effective 1 October 2018.
SSA — U.S. International Social Security Agreements (list of agreements and entry-into-force dates) — SSA lists 31 agreements with their entry-into-force dates, from Italy (1 November 1978) to Romania (1 September 2026). Agreements eliminate dual social security coverage; employees sent abroad by their employer for five years or fewer generally stay covered by their home country; a certificate of coverage proves the exemption. Ukraine is not on the list.

Updated 2026-11-10. The result is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. Tax authorities and courts may interpret the rules differently, including because of circumstances not covered here, and the law changes. Consult a qualified adviser before making decisions.

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