Brazil Tax Treaties in 2026: the Country List, Why There Is No US Treaty, and Where the UK Treaty Stands

Published October 20, 2026. Also available in Portuguese.

Brazil tax treaties are a short list with a long tail of questions. People abroad ask three things, almost always in this order: does Brazil have a tax treaty with my country, is it actually in force, and if there is none, am I taxed twice? This article answers them from the official texts as I read them on October 20, 2026 — the Receita Federal's list of treaties, the promulgation decrees on the federal legislation portal, Itamaraty's treaty registry (Concórdia), the Receita's 2026 questions and answers, and the UK and US government pages. I am Luiz Barros, a Brazilian attorney (OAB/AL 7.530), and where a text leaves a question open, I say so.

What this article is not: a table of withholding rates by country (each one would require reading the relevant article of each treaty), or a guide to the American or British side of your return. It is the map of which double taxation treaty exists, how you check its status yourself, and what Brazilian law gives you where there is none. Where the firm has written a country or a type of income up in detail, I link to it.

Brazil tax treaties in one answer

Brazil tax treaties are in force with 38 countries: the Receita Federal's list, updated August 28, 2026, names 39 and marks Germany as having had no effect since January 1, 2006 — and the Czech Republic and Slovakia share a single 1991 decree. There is no US-Brazil tax treaty; for a Brazilian tax resident, the Receita recognizes reciprocity for US federal income tax, which allows a foreign tax credit in Brazil within the credit limit of Brazilian law but does not reach state or local taxes. The UK-Brazil tax treaty signed on November 29, 2022 is not in force: the United Kingdom notified its ratification in July 2023, Itamaraty's registry shows no message to Congress and no legislative decree, and on September 28, 2026 it recorded that Brazil's process is suspended because of the revenue the treaty would waive — a Brazilian tax resident with UK income credits the UK tax today by reciprocity, within the same limits. A treaty counts in Brazil once it is promulgated by decree, and the recent ones apply from the January 1 after they enter into force.

Each sentence of that answer has a source, and the sections below quote it. The order is the order in which I check a case: the list, the decree, the date; then the three countries people ask about most — the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany; then everyone else.

Brazil tax treaty countries: the country list, by decree

The authoritative country list is the Receita Federal's page “Acordos para evitar a dupla tributação e prevenir a evasão fiscal”, which I read on October 20, 2026; it shows “Atualizado em 28/08/2026 15h23”. It names 39 jurisdictions. One of them, Germany, carries the note “Acordo sem efeito desde 1º de janeiro de 2006” — agreement without effect since January 1, 2006. That leaves 38 tax treaty countries. One nuance most lists skip: the Czech Republic and Slovakia appear as two entries, but both sit under the same instrument, Decree 43/1991, which promulgated the convention with the former Czech and Slovak Federative Republic.

The Receita's questions and answers for 2026 print their own table of countries with an agreement in force (question 136); in the copy I read the table's layout did not survive extraction intact, so I use the list on the Receita's page as the reference, and the promulgation decree each entry cites as the proof.

A dash in the last column means the Receita's page lists no later amending decree for that country; it does not mean nothing else exists (the page also lists ministerial ordinances and interpretive acts, which I left out). The “in force externally” dates are those stated in the decrees I read; for the older decrees I did not transcribe them.

Not on the list. The United States, the United Kingdom and Germany are the three countries for which the Receita recognizes reciprocity without proof — each has its own section below. Australia, Ireland, Malta, Indonesia and New Zealand, among others people search for, are not on the list at all; what that means is in the section on countries with no treaty. Colombia, Paraguay and Iceland have signed conventions that are not in force — see signed but not in force.

Some readers will find other “double taxation” items under Brazil's name in Itamaraty's registry — agreements with Egypt, Angola, Qatar, Ethiopia and Morocco, and two with the United Kingdom (shipping and air transport, and aircrew, per the UK government's page). None of them is on the Receita's list of income tax treaties. For a person with a salary, a pension, rent or investments, the list above is the one that matters.

For several of these countries the firm has published a provision-by-provision reading in Portuguese: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and Argentina (all in Portuguese), and a general map of Brazil's treaties, also in Portuguese.

How to know if a Brazil tax treaty is in force: three checks

“Signed” is the word that misleads. A double tax treaty is signed by the two governments, approved by Brazil's Congress, ratified, and only then promulgated by a presidential decree. The Constitution gives the President the power to “celebrar tratados, convenções e atos internacionais, sujeitos a referendo do Congresso Nacional” (article 84, VIII) and gives Congress exclusive competence to “resolver definitivamente sobre tratados, acordos ou atos internacionais que acarretem encargos ou compromissos gravosos ao patrimônio nacional” (article 49, I). Once a treaty is part of Brazilian law, the National Tax Code gives it priority:

Art. 98. Os tratados e as convenções internacionais revogam ou modificam a legislação tributária interna, e serão observados pela que lhes sobrevenha.

Article 98. International treaties and conventions revoke or modify domestic tax legislation, and shall be observed by the legislation that follows them.

The Income Tax Regulation repeats the rule in its article 1,042. So the practical test has three steps, and I run them in this order for every file.

1. Is the country on the Receita's list? If it is not, there is no Brazil tax treaty in force for income tax, whatever a news story about a signing ceremony said. If it is, note the decree number.

2. What does the promulgation decree say about entry into force? Modern decrees state it in a recital, with the same formula. The Polish agreement, Decree 12,865 of March 2, 2026:

Considerando que o Acordo e seu Protocolo entraram em vigor para a República Federativa do Brasil, no plano jurídico externo, em 5 de novembro de 2025, nos termos de seu Artigo 30;

Whereas the Agreement and its Protocol entered into force for the Federative Republic of Brazil, at the external legal level, on November 5, 2025, under its Article 30;

“At the external legal level” is the date the treaty binds the two states. It is not yet the date its rules reach your income.

3. What does the treaty's own entry-into-force article say about when it applies? That is in the treaty text, usually in one of the last articles, and it is the date that matters for a tax return. The Swiss convention, promulgated by Decree 10,714/2021, article 29, paragraph 2:

2. Esta Convenção entrará em vigor na data do recebimento da segunda notificação, e suas disposições serão aplicáveis: a) no Brasil: i. no tocante aos tributos retidos na fonte, em relação às rendas pagas, remetidas ou creditadas no ou após o primeiro dia de janeiro imediatamente seguinte à data em que a Convenção entrar em vigor; ii. no tocante aos demais tributos, em relação à renda auferida nos anos fiscais que comecem no ou após o primeiro dia de janeiro imediatamente seguinte à data em que a Convenção entrar em vigor;

2. This Convention shall enter into force on the date of receipt of the second notification, and its provisions shall apply: a) in Brazil: i. with regard to taxes withheld at source, in relation to income paid, remitted or credited on or after the first day of January immediately following the date on which the Convention enters into force; ii. with regard to other taxes, in relation to income earned in fiscal years beginning on or after the first day of January immediately following the date on which the Convention enters into force;

Applied to the decree's date, the Swiss convention entered into force on March 16, 2021, and its rules reached Brazilian withholding and Brazilian tax years from January 1, 2022. The new Norwegian convention (article 30) and the Polish agreement (article 30) carry the same Brazilian rule — the first day of January immediately following entry into force — so Norway's applies in Brazil from January 1, 2025 and Poland's from January 1, 2026. The Polish agreement adds a step: under its article 30, paragraph 2, it “entrará em vigor ao término de um período de três meses após a data da última dessas notificações” — at the end of three months after the last notification.

I read those three entry-into-force articles for this article, and the UK one quoted below. For any other treaty, read its own article before you assume the same January 1 rule; older treaties use other wording, and the other country's side has its own dates (the Swiss text, for example, has a separate rule for Switzerland in the same paragraph).

What changed in 2025 and 2026: Poland, Norway and five protocols

The Brazil tax treaties list is not static: a summary written before 2025 would not show what follows. Here is what was promulgated in 2025 and 2026, as the decrees themselves describe it:

• Poland — a first treaty. Decree 12,865/2026 promulgated the agreement signed on September 20, 2022; in force externally on November 5, 2025.
• Norway — a new convention. Decree 12,406/2025 promulgated the convention signed in Brasília on November 4, 2022; in force externally on December 30, 2024. Its article 30, paragraph 3, retires the old one (quoted below).
• China — protocol. Decree 12,620/2025, the protocol signed on May 23, 2022; in force externally on June 14, 2025.
• India — protocol. Decree 12,667/2025, the protocol signed in Brasília on August 24, 2022; the decree states it would enter into force externally on October 18, 2025.
• Chile — protocol. Decree 12,863/2026, the protocol signed in Santiago on March 3, 2022; in force externally on October 30, 2025.
• Singapore — protocol. Decree 13,005/2026, the protocol signed in Brasília on April 17, 2023; in force externally on November 12, 2025.
• Sweden — protocol. Decree 13,006/2026, the protocol signed in São Paulo on March 19, 2019; in force externally on June 13, 2025.

I do not summarize what each protocol changes; that would require reading every amended article against the original treaty, which is a separate piece of work for each country. What matters for the map is that the instrument you read must be the consolidated one: a treaty with a recent protocol is not the text you may have printed five years ago.

Norway is the clearest example of why. The new convention says, in article 30, paragraph 3:

3. A Convenção entre o Governo do Reino da Noruega e o Governo da República Federativa do Brasil destinada a Evitar a Dupla Tributação e Prevenir a Evasão Fiscal em Matéria de Impostos sobre a Renda e o Capital, assinada em Brasília em 21 de agosto de 1980, o Protocolo assinado em Brasília em 12 de julho de 1994 e o Protocolo assinado em Brasília em 20 de fevereiro de 2014 serão extintos e deixarão de produzir efeitos para todos os impostos visados por essa Convenção a partir das datas em que a presente Convenção produza efeitos de acordo com o parágrafo 2 deste Artigo.

3. The Convention between the Government of the Kingdom of Norway and the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital, signed at Brasília on August 21, 1980, the Protocol signed at Brasília on July 12, 1994 and the Protocol signed at Brasília on February 20, 2014 shall terminate and cease to have effect for all taxes covered by that Convention from the dates on which this Convention has effect in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.

The Receita's page still lists the 1980 decree and the 2014 protocol under Norway, next to the new one. They are history: for income from 2025 onward, the Brazil–Norway treaty is the 2022 convention.

Signed but not in force: Colombia, Paraguay, Iceland, Slovakia and the MLI

Itamaraty's registry, Concórdia, records the phase of each international act. I read the entries for the conventions people expect to find on the list, on October 20, 2026. None of them is in force, and the phase is different for each.

Three points from that table. Colombia is the closest to the finish line, but the registry shows no Colombian notification, and no one can tell you when one will arrive; until the decree is published, income from Colombia is outside any Brazil–Colombia treaty. Paraguay has been in a “special situation” for more than two decades, so I treat it as a country without a treaty. The MLI — the OECD Multilateral Convention that modifies existing tax treaties, which Brazil signed on October 20, 2025 — is not in force for Brazil; the firm's piece on the MLI and Brazil (in Portuguese) explains what it would do.

Does the UK have a double tax treaty with Brazil? The UK-Brazil tax treaty is signed, not in force

No double tax treaty with the UK is in force for income tax. The UK and Brazil signed a comprehensive convention in Brasília on November 29, 2022, and it has not entered into force. The UK government's page on Brazil tax treaties lists it as “2022 UK-Brazil Double Taxation Convention — not in force” and says: “It has not yet entered into force.”

Where it stands on the Brazilian side is easy to misread. Itamaraty's registry entry for the convention, Concórdia 12641, shows it. On the UK side, it records a diplomatic note of ratification dated July 20, 2023. On the Brazilian side, the executive phase reads “Em tramitação no MRE – 16/01/2025” with “Em análise interna no MRE para tramitação”; the fields for the message to Congress and for the legislative decree are empty — Itamaraty's registry shows no message to Congress and no legislative decree. And the observations field carries this entry, dated September 28, 2026:

A tramitação do acordo encontra-se suspensa, tendo em vista o impacto fiscal para o Brasil decorrente da renúncia de receitas prevista em seu texto.

The processing of the agreement is suspended, in view of the fiscal impact for Brazil resulting from the waiver of revenue provided for in its text.

The registry's status fields say the same in one word each: “Suspenso” (Status de Vigência) and “Suspensa” (Status de Tramitação). So, for the question “is the UK-Brazil double tax treaty in force?”: no; the UK has ratified, Brazil's internal process is suspended within the executive branch according to Itamaraty's own registry, and the registry shows no message to Congress. It has not been rejected or canceled — the word in the registry is “suspended”. No text I read says when, or whether, the process will resume, and I make no forecast. For the same reason I do not discuss the withholding rates in the 2022 text: they are not law in Brazil.

If the convention is ever brought into force, its own article 31 sets the dates. The clause, as transcribed in the registry:

2. Esta Convenção entrará em vigor na data de recebimento da última notificação, e suas disposições serão aplicáveis: a) no Brasil: (i) no tocante aos impostos retidos na fonte, em relação às rendas pagas, remetidas ou creditadas no ou após o primeiro dia de janeiro seguinte à data em que a Convenção entrar em vigor; e (ii) no tocante aos demais impostos, em relação à renda auferida nos anos fiscais que comecem no ou após o primeiro dia de janeiro seguinte à data em que a Convenção entrar em vigor.

2. This Convention shall enter into force on the date of receipt of the last notification, and its provisions shall apply: a) in Brazil: (i) with regard to taxes withheld at source, in relation to income paid, remitted or credited on or after the first day of January following the date on which the Convention enters into force; and (ii) with regard to other taxes, in relation to income earned in fiscal years beginning on or after the first day of January following the date on which the Convention enters into force.

Paragraph 3 of the same article adds that the two sectoral agreements already in force between the countries — on shipping and air transport (2005) and on aircrew pay (2010) — would be suspended while the convention has effect. The UK page lists both as in force today; neither covers an ordinary salary, pension, rent or investment income.

What applies today to UK income: reciprocity. Without a UK-Brazil tax treaty, a Brazilian resident with income taxed in the UK is not left with double taxation by default. The Receita recognizes that UK law grants reciprocity of treatment. Question 142 of its 2026 questions and answers:

Reino Unido: a legislação do Reino Unido permite a dedução do imposto sobre a renda comprovadamente pago no Brasil sobre rendimentos auferidos e tributados no Brasil, o que configura a reciprocidade de tratamento. O imposto pago no Reino Unido pode ser compensado com o imposto no Brasil, observados os limites a que se referem os arts. 15, § 1º, e 16, §§ 1º, 2º e 6º, da Instrução Normativa SRF nº 208, de 2002.

United Kingdom: UK legislation allows the deduction of income tax demonstrably paid in Brazil on income earned and taxed in Brazil, which constitutes reciprocity of treatment. Tax paid in the United Kingdom may be offset against the tax in Brazil, subject to the limits referred to in articles 15, § 1, and 16, §§ 1, 2 and 6, of Normative Instruction SRF 208 of 2002.

The answer cites Declaratory Act SRF 48/2000 among its sources, and the same publication's question 136 dispenses the UK, together with Germany and the United States, from proving reciprocity: “Não é necessária a prova de reciprocidade para a Alemanha, o Reino Unido e os Estados Unidos da América”. The note that closes question 142 applies to the UK as much as to the United States: reciprocity does not extend to taxes paid to “estados-membros e municípios” — states and municipalities. What the credit covers, and its ceiling, are in the next section, because the mechanics are the same.

What reciprocity does not give a UK resident is everything else a treaty would: no reduced Brazilian withholding on dividends, interest, royalties or rent paid from Brazil, no rule allocating a pension or a salary to one country, and no tie-breaker for someone who is resident in both. For the Brazilian withholding on income paid to a UK resident, the domestic rules apply in full — they are in non-resident taxation in Brazil.

Does Brazil have a tax treaty with the US? No — what reciprocity gives instead

There is no US-Brazil tax treaty on income. Three official sources agree, each from its own side. The Receita's list does not include the United States. The IRS's page “United States income tax treaties – A to Z”, which opens with “The United States has tax treaties with a number of foreign countries.”, does not list Brazil. And a search of Itamaraty's registry for “dupla tributação” returned 84 items on October 20, 2026, none with the United States as the other party. When a page headed “US-Brazil tax treaty” describes treaty benefits, check its own body text; the ones I read concede there is no comprehensive income tax treaty.

The absence of a tax treaty with the US is not the absence of relief. Brazilian law has allowed a credit for foreign income tax since 1965, on condition of reciprocity. Law 4,862/1965, in its original spelling:

Art 5º As pessoas físicas, residentes ou domiciliadas no território nacional, que declarem rendimentos provenientes de fontes situadas no estrangeiro, poderão deduzir do impôsto progressivo, calculado de acôrdo com o art. 1º importância em cruzeiros equivalente ao impôsto de renda cobrado pela nação de origem daqueles rendimentos, desde que haja reciprocidade de tratamento em relação aos rendimentos produzidos no Brasil.

Article 5. Individuals resident or domiciled in the national territory who declare income from sources located abroad may deduct from the progressive tax, calculated in accordance with article 1, an amount in cruzeiros equivalent to the income tax charged by the nation of origin of that income, provided there is reciprocity of treatment in relation to income produced in Brazil.

The Income Tax Regulation carries the rule today in article 115, with two alternatives — “em conformidade com o previsto em acordo ou convenção internacional firmado com o país de origem dos rendimentos, quando não houver sido restituído ou compensado naquele país”, or “haja reciprocidade de tratamento em relação aos rendimentos produzidos no País”. The Receita's instruction on foreign income, Normative Instruction SRF 208/2002, puts it in one sentence:

§ 1º O imposto de renda pago em país com o qual o Brasil tenha firmado acordo, tratado ou convenção internacional prevendo a compensação, ou naquele em que haja reciprocidade de tratamento, pode ser considerado como redução do imposto devido no Brasil, desde que não seja compensado ou restituído no exterior.

§ 1. Income tax paid in a country with which Brazil has signed an international agreement, treaty or convention providing for the credit, or in a country where there is reciprocity of treatment, may be taken as a reduction of the tax due in Brazil, provided it is not credited or refunded abroad.

For the United States, the Receita has declared the reciprocity itself, so no proof is required. Question 142 of the 2026 questions and answers:

Estados Unidos da América: a legislação federal dos Estados Unidos da América permite a dedução do tributo reconhecidamente pago no Brasil sobre receitas e rendimentos auferidos e tributados no Brasil, o que configura a reciprocidade de tratamento. […] A reciprocidade de tratamento não se comunica aos tributos pagos aos estados-membros e municípios.

United States of America: the federal legislation of the United States of America allows the deduction of the tax acknowledged as paid in Brazil on receipts and income earned and taxed in Brazil, which constitutes reciprocity of treatment. […] Reciprocity of treatment does not extend to taxes paid to states and municipalities.

The omitted part says the US tax may be offset against the tax due in Brazil, within the limits of articles 15, § 1, and 16, §§ 1, 2 and 6, of Instruction 208, then gives the same rule for the United Kingdom; the last sentence is a note that closes the answer for all three countries. The answer's sources include Declaratory Acts SRF 28/2000 and 48/2000. Read together, the texts give the shape of the foreign tax credit a Brazilian resident can claim for US tax.

What reciprocity gives. A credit, in Brazil, for federal income tax paid in the United States on income that Brazil also taxes — the income of a Brazilian resident. The credit is capped: under article 16, § 6, of Instruction 208 it is limited to the difference between the Brazilian tax computed with the foreign income and without it, so it can reduce the Brazilian tax on that income to zero but never creates a refund of Brazilian tax on other income. For the income article 16 of Instruction 208 covers, it may be used in the monthly computation (carnê-leão) and in the annual return. For income and gains from financial investments abroad there is a separate rule since January 1, 2024 (Law 14,754/2023): question 140 of the Receita's 2026 questions and answers says the foreign tax is deducted from the individual income tax due, within the same with-and-without ceiling, and that tax not deducted in the calendar year cannot be deducted in later or earlier years. In both cases the credit requires that the US tax was actually paid and not credited or refunded on the US side.

What reciprocity does not give. Four things, each of which a treaty would normally address:

• State and local taxes. The Receita says it in so many words: reciprocity “não se comunica aos tributos pagos aos estados-membros e municípios”. A California or New York income tax is not credited in Brazil under this rule.
• Lower Brazilian withholding. The reciprocity provisions speak only of a resident deducting foreign tax from Brazilian tax. None of them reduces the Brazilian withholding on income paid from Brazil to a US resident; those rates are domestic, and they are in non-resident taxation in Brazil.
• A tie-breaker. No provision decides which country prevails for someone who is a resident of both; each country applies its own residence rules.
• An allocation of taxing rights. There is no article saying a pension or a salary is taxable only in one country. Both may tax; the credit is the only relief.

The American side — how the United States taxes its citizens wherever they live, and what credit or exclusion it allows for Brazilian tax — is a question of US law. I did not read US law for this article; that is a conversation for a US tax preparer, ideally coordinated with the Brazilian side so the same dollar is not credited twice. For the firm's longer treatments of the Brazilian credit, see the digital nomad visa and taxes (salaries) and retiring in Brazil (pensions), and, in Portuguese, Brazil and the US without a treaty.

US citizens living in Brazil. A US citizen who becomes a Brazilian tax resident is taxed by Brazil on worldwide income, like any resident, with the federal-tax credit described above. Whether and when you become a resident is the next question; see residence decides the side.

Germany: a treaty that ended in 2006, and reciprocity since

Brazil and Germany had a treaty from 1975, promulgated by Decree 76,988/1976. Germany terminated it. Decree 5,654/2005, which revoked the promulgation decree, records why:

Considerando que o Acordo entre a República Federativa do Brasil e a República Federal da Alemanha para Evitar a Dupla Tributação em Matéria de Impostos sobre a Renda e o Capital, celebrado em Bonn, em 27 de junho de 1975, foi denunciado pela Alemanha, em 5 de abril de 2005, e deixará de vigorar em 1º de janeiro de 2006, nos termos de seu Artigo 31;

Whereas the Agreement between the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Federal Republic of Germany for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital, concluded at Bonn on June 27, 1975, was terminated by Germany on April 5, 2005, and shall cease to be in force on January 1, 2006, under its Article 31;

Since then, German income tax has been credited in Brazil by reciprocity. Question 142 of the Receita's 2026 questions and answers says the agreement ceased to apply to income from January 1, 2006, and that Interpretive Declaratory Act SRF 16 of December 22, 2005 declares German tax creditable against Brazilian tax, within the same limits that apply to the United States and the United Kingdom. Germany is also one of the three countries for which no proof of reciprocity is required (question 136). As with the US and the UK, the credit does not reduce Brazilian withholding on income paid to a German resident and gives no tie-breaker.

No treaty and no recognized reciprocity: Australia, Ireland and the proof

For every other country that is not on the list — Australia, Ireland, Malta, Indonesia, New Zealand, and many more — the starting point is the Receita's question 132:

Não havendo acordo ou convenção internacional para evitar a dupla tributação sobre a renda que preveja a compensação de imposto pago no exterior ou a isenção do rendimento recebido do exterior nem reciprocidade de tratamento sobre os rendimentos produzidos no Brasil, os rendimentos do exterior recebidos por residente no Brasil, transferidos ou não para o País, submetem-se às disposições da legislação tributária brasileira vigente, não podendo ser compensado o valor do imposto porventura pago no país de origem.

Where there is no international agreement or convention to avoid double taxation on income providing for the credit of tax paid abroad or the exemption of income received from abroad, nor reciprocity of treatment for income produced in Brazil, income from abroad received by a resident of Brazil, whether or not transferred to the Country, is subject to the Brazilian tax legislation in force, and the tax that may have been paid in the country of origin may not be credited.

That is the real double taxation case: no treaty, no reciprocity, no credit. But “no recognized reciprocity” is not the same as “no reciprocity”. Brazilian law allows the credit wherever the other country's law would give a Brazilian-source taxpayer the mirror credit — it is just that, outside Germany, the UK and the US, the taxpayer must prove it. Instruction 208, article 1:

§ 2º A prova de reciprocidade de tratamento far-se-á com cópia da lei publicada em órgão de imprensa oficial do país de origem do rendimento, traduzida por tradutor juramentado e autenticada pela representação diplomática do Brasil naquele país, ou mediante declaração desse órgão atestando a reciprocidade de tratamento tributário. § 3º Ato da Secretaria da Receita Federal (SRF) reconhecendo a reciprocidade de tratamento dispensa a prova de que trata o § 2º.

§ 2. Proof of reciprocity of treatment shall be made with a copy of the law published in an official gazette of the country of origin of the income, translated by a sworn translator and authenticated by Brazil's diplomatic representation in that country, or by a declaration of that representation attesting the reciprocity of tax treatment. § 3. An act of the Federal Revenue Secretariat (SRF) recognizing reciprocity of treatment dispenses with the proof referred to in § 2.

Question 136 of the 2026 questions and answers repeats the requirement and adds that the taxpayer must prove “O teor e a vigência da lei estrangeira concessiva de reciprocidade” — the content and the validity of the foreign law granting reciprocity. So, for a country outside the list and outside the three, the checklist is:

1. Identify the foreign provision that would let a resident of that country credit tax paid in Brazil on Brazilian-source income — the mirror of the credit you want here.
2. Obtain it as published in that country's official gazette, in the version in force for the year of your income.
3. Have it translated by a Brazilian sworn translator.
4. Have it authenticated by Brazil's embassy or consulate in that country — or obtain instead a declaration from that diplomatic representation attesting the reciprocity.
5. Keep the file with the proof of the foreign tax actually paid and not refunded, because the credit is still subject to the with-and-without ceiling (article 16 of Instruction 208; for financial investments abroad, question 140).

I do not tell you here whether Australian, Irish or any other foreign law grants that mirror credit; I did not read those laws for this article, and the answer has to be proved document by document, not assumed. What I can say is that, without that proof, question 132 applies and the Receita may refuse the credit.

What a double taxation treaty does when there is one

For the 38 countries on the list, the treaty comes before the domestic rules (National Tax Code, article 98). Whether it is called a convention, an agreement or a double taxation agreement, it typically does four things for an individual, and each is in a specific article of the specific treaty:

• It allocates the right to tax, income type by income type. Salaries, pensions, rent, dividends, interest, capital gains — each has its own article, which may give the right to one country only, or to both.
• It caps withholding in the country of source. Where both countries may tax, the treaty often limits the rate the source country may withhold. Brazil's domestic rates still apply where the treaty sets no cap; the treaty cap is the ceiling, not the default.
• It sets the method to eliminate double taxation. Credit for the other country's tax, or exemption — and some treaties also provide for tax sparing (the firm wrote about tax sparing and matching credit in Portuguese).
• It breaks ties of dual residence. A person who is resident under both countries' laws is assigned to one of them by an ordered test.

One example, to show what reading the article means. The convention with Portugal (Decree 4,012/2001), article 4, paragraph 2, starts the tie-breaker this way:

a) será considerada como residente apenas no Estado em que tenha uma habitação permanente à sua disposição. Se tiver uma habitação permanente à sua disposição em ambos os Estados, será considerada residente do Estado com o qual sejam mais estreitas as suas relações pessoais e econômicas (centro de interesses vitais);

a) the individual shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which a permanent home is available to them. If a permanent home is available in both States, they shall be deemed a resident of the State with which their personal and economic relations are closer (center of vital interests);

The following subparagraphs go on to habitual abode, nationality and, finally, agreement between the two tax authorities. That test exists only where there is a treaty. Without one — the US, the UK and Germany included — there is no such test, and both countries may treat the same person as resident at once.

Treaties differ, and old treaties differ most. Do not carry a rate or a rule from one treaty to another, and do not read the 2022 UK text as if it applied. For a reading of a specific treaty applied to your income, the article to read is the one for that income in that treaty, consolidated with its protocols.

Residence decides which side of the treaty you are on

Every question above assumes you know whether Brazil treats you as a resident or a non-resident, because the two are taxed differently: a resident on worldwide income, with a foreign tax credit under a treaty or reciprocity; a non-resident only on Brazilian-source income, at source. A treaty does not replace that first step; its residence article starts from each country's domestic definition.

The rule I apply, from the Receita's Instruction 208 and the firm's practice: a person who comes to Brazil and stays for more than 183 days within twelve months is treated as a Brazilian tax resident; and a person who leaves Brazil becomes a non-resident only from the date formalized by the exit declaration — the Communication of Definitive Departure (CSDP) or the Declaration of Definitive Departure (DSDP). Without the exit declaration there is no tax exit. Someone who moved to London or Lisbon and filed nothing may still be, for Brazil, a resident taxed on the foreign salary, with the credit as the only relief. The exit filings and their deadlines are in leaving Brazil: the exit filings.

Social security agreements are not tax treaties

Brazil also has social security agreements — with the United States, for example, the agreement promulgated by Decree 9,422/2018. A Social Security Agreement coordinates contributions and benefits between the two countries' pension systems; it is not an income tax treaty and does not answer who taxes your pension or salary. How a foreign pension is taxed in Brazil is in retiring in Brazil.

Common mistakes

1. Counting a signed treaty as in force. The UK, Colombia, Paraguay and Iceland conventions are all signed and none is in force. Check the Receita's list and the decree.
2. Saying the UK treaty is “in Congress”. Itamaraty's registry shows no message to Congress and records that Brazil's process is suspended (September 28, 2026).
3. Assuming no treaty means no credit. For the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, the Receita recognizes reciprocity without proof; for other countries, reciprocity can be proved.
4. Crediting US state or city tax. The reciprocity does not extend to state and municipal taxes (question 142).
5. Expecting reciprocity to lower Brazilian withholding. It does not; only a treaty article can cap Brazilian withholding on income paid abroad.
6. Reading an old treaty text. Norway has a new convention; China, India, Chile, Singapore and Sweden have recent protocols.
7. Applying a treaty from the date it entered into force. Recent treaties apply in Brazil from the following January 1; read the entry-into-force article.
8. Ignoring residence. Without the exit declaration, a Brazilian abroad may still be a resident for Brazil — and the treaty, or the reciprocity, is read from that side.

What I do in your case

I start with three facts: where you are resident for Brazil on each date that matters (and whether an exit declaration was filed); which country the income comes from, and what kind of income it is; and whether that country is on the Receita's list, among the three with recognized reciprocity, or neither. Those three facts decide whether we read a treaty article, apply the reciprocity credit within its limits, or assemble the proof of reciprocity — and they decide it before anyone files anything.

For clients abroad, the work is the Brazilian side: the residence analysis and, where it applies, the exit filings; the Brazilian withholding on income paid to you; the carnê-leão and the annual return with the foreign tax credit computed within the ceiling; and the coordination with your preparer abroad, so each country's credit is claimed once and in the right place.

What I do not do is promise outcomes or forecast when a pending treaty will enter into force. My job is to make sure your file follows the texts in force on the dates that matter.

Carvalho Barros Advocacia Internacional handles these files for Brazilians abroad and foreigners with ties to Brazil — a Brazilian practice serving clients in more than 30 countries, with non-resident tax representation as one of its areas. Written communication with the firm is in English; meetings are conducted with an interpreter at no cost to the client. No promise of outcome is made or implied anywhere in this article.

Frequently asked questions

About the author

Luiz Alberto de Carvalho Barros Filho

Attorney at Law — Brazilian Bar (OAB/AL 7.530)

Brazilian attorney dedicated to private international law and cross-border taxation. Published author in the International Law Deskbook 2.0 (The Florida Bar) and contributor to the International Law Quarterly, also of The Florida Bar.

More about the firm

Legal note. This article is informational and does not replace individual legal advice, and it makes no promise of outcome or timing (Brazilian Bar Provision OAB No. 205/2021). The sources supporting it were read on October 20, 2026: the Receita Federal's page of treaties for the avoidance of double taxation (updated August 28, 2026); the promulgation decrees on the federal legislation portal, in particular Decrees 43/1991, 4,012/2001, 5,654/2005, 10,705/2021, 10,714/2021, 11,109/2022, 11,747/2023, 12,406/2025, 12,620/2025, 12,667/2025, 12,863/2026, 12,865/2026, 13,005/2026, 13,006/2026 and 9,422/2018; the Constitution (articles 49, I, and 84, VIII); the National Tax Code (article 98); Law 4,862/1965 (article 5); the Income Tax Regulation, Decree 9,580/2018 (articles 115 and 1,042); Normative Instruction SRF 208/2002 in its multi-version text (articles 1, 2, 3 and 16); the Receita Federal's IRPF 2026 questions and answers (questions 132, 136, 140, 141 and 142 — Law 14,754/2023 is cited as those answers cite it; its text was not read separately); Itamaraty's treaty registry, Concórdia (entries 12641, 12594, 4668, 12911, 2274, 12934 and 13143, transcribed on October 20, 2026); the UK government page “Brazil: tax treaties” (last updated November 29, 2022); and the IRS page “United States income tax treaties – A to Z”. Portuguese passages are reproduced from the official texts and English passages from official English pages are reproduced from them; other English renderings are the author's working translation, and the Portuguese is the only authoritative version of Brazilian texts. Declared limits. (i) No withholding rate of any treaty is stated; the relevant article of each treaty must be read for each income. (ii) The entry-into-force articles of the Swiss, Norwegian, Polish and UK texts were read; for other treaties the application date was not checked. (iii) The content of the 2025-2026 protocols was not summarized. (iv) No forecast is made about the UK, Colombian, Icelandic or Paraguayan conventions or the MLI. (v) US, UK, Australian, Irish and other foreign tax laws were not read; the article does not say whether any of them grants the mirror credit beyond what the Receita recognizes. (vi) The residence rule stated is the rule the author applies, read from Normative Instruction SRF 208/2002 and the exit filings, not a statement of every case. To review your specific case, contact attorney Luiz Barros — Brazilian Bar, OAB/AL 7.530.