IPTU in Brazil: the municipal property tax explained

What the federal law fixes

• Who levies: the municipality (Constitution, article 156, I).
• The taxable event: ownership, beneficial ownership (domínio útil) or possession of real estate located in the municipality’s urban zone (Tax Code, article 32). The urban zone is defined by municipal law and must have at least two of five improvements listed in the Code, such as kerbs and drainage, water supply, sewers, street lighting, or a primary school or health post within three kilometres.
• The base: the property’s valor venal (article 33). Movables kept in the property do not count.
• The taxpayer: the owner, the holder of beneficial ownership or the possessor “in any capacity” (article 34).
• What cities may do: under article 156, paragraph 1, the IPTU may be progressive by value and have different rates by location and use. Since Constitutional Amendment 132/2023, the city’s executive may also update the tax base by the criteria set in municipal law (paragraph 1, III).

Everything else, including the rate, is local. Rural land pays a different federal tax, the ITR, not the IPTU.

What São Paulo’s city hall publishes (2026)

Payotte could read only São Paulo’s city pages; the Rio de Janeiro finance site did not respond from this machine, so no Rio figure is given.

Formula. São Paulo writes it as IPTU = (valor venal × alíquota) − benefits. It describes the valor venal as an estimate from location, size and construction features that “may not correspond to the actual sale price”. It distinguishes the predial tax on built property from the territorial tax on land that is vacant or barely built. The page does not publish the rates; the tax notice (Notificação de Lançamento) shows the calculation.

Exemption from the predial tax: a built property with a valor venal up to R$ 150,000; and a home used mainly as a residence, in the categories the city names, up to R$ 260,000. It is limited to one property per taxpayer, and does not apply to commercial garages or parking.

Reduction of the base if you do not qualify for the exemption: for a simple or medium-standard home with a valor venal from R$ 260,000 to under R$ 390,000, a reduction of R$ 780,000 − 2 × valor venal; for other built property from R$ 150,000 to under R$ 225,000, R$ 450,000 − 2 × valor venal. The city’s example: a home valued at R$ 270,000 gets a R$ 240,000 reduction and is taxed on R$ 30,000.

Annual cap. The city states a maximum rise of 10 percent a year for residential property, and, from 2026, also for non-residential property and land. It warns that vacant or underbuilt land over 500 m² may face larger rises.

Payment. The city says that from 2026 instalment slips are not mailed: taxpayers who do not use direct debit must print them from the city website. It also says that if you do not receive the notice and do not ask for a copy, you are considered notified, and the official due dates apply with fines and interest on late payment. The detailed dates are in the city’s 2026 notice, which the page cites but which Payotte did not open. The city’s discounts page lists only specific benefits (tree cover, protected-area land, restored or heritage buildings); it mentions no lump-sum discount.

Valuation disputes. The city has a “review of assessed value” service and a procedure to object to the tax notice (pages linked from the São Paulo IPTU index).

Who bears the IPTU in a rental or a sale

Under Lei 8.245, article 22, VIII, the landlord pays the taxes on the property unless the contract says otherwise, and where the tenant is made responsible for the taxes the landlord may collect them with the rent (article 25). In a sale, taxes on the property are checked in the tax certificates required for the deed; see due diligence certificates. The IPTU is also one of the debts for which the family-home protection does not apply (Lei 8.009, article 3, IV); see bem de família. In São Paulo state, the IPTU value is a floor for the inheritance and gift tax base on urban property; see ITCMD.

What to do as a buyer or owner

1. Ask the seller for the municipal registration number and the current tax notice.
2. Request the city’s tax clearance certificate for the property.
3. Compare the city’s valor venal with the price: the valor venal feeds the IPTU, and a separate figure, the ITBI base, feeds the transfer tax (see ITBI tax base).
4. Keep your address and registration data current with the city; the city treats you as notified.
5. If you live abroad, appoint someone in Brazil to receive the notice; see power of attorney from abroad.

Which professional to consult

For a dispute about the valor venal, a lawyer registered with the OAB can prepare an objection to the city; see the property lawyer page. A property appraiser can give an independent valuation; see the property appraiser page.