# Payotte Brazil > Independent guide to buying, renting, selling and owning a home in Brazil, for foreign buyers, expatriates and English-speaking residents, from official sources (city laws, state court fee tables, Banco Central do Brasil, IBGE, Receita Federal, federal laws), dated and cited. The same R$ 500 thousand home costs R$ 13,690 in transfer tax, deed and registration in Brasília and R$ 30,162 in Rio Branco: in Brazil, each city sets its ITBI and each state its notary fees, and Payotte computes both from the official texts. Free, ad-free, commission-free. Payotte's compilations are CC BY 4.0 (cite Payotte with a link); Banco Central values are ODbL. Payotte lists no Brazilian firm yet: one firm per trade and area will be selected on public data, and each profile will publish the register where the READER checks it (CRECI, CNAI, CAU, CREA). Payotte lists no lawyer (OAB advertising rules) and no lender in Brazil, and never says a professional is "verified". ## Calculators - [Purchase costs calculator: ITBI, notary deed, registration](https://payotte.com/brazil/purchase-costs-calculator): On a R$ 500 thousand home, transfer tax, deed and registration come to R$ 13,690 in Brasília and R$ 30,162 in Rio Branco, among the 7 cities where every part could be read. The ITBI transfer tax ranges from 1.5% to 4% of the price in the 41 cities whose law Payotte read (4% in Fortaleza); on top come the notary deed and the registration, set by each state's 2026 fee table. ITBI read for 41 cities, fee tables for 21 states (2026-10-15). - [Mortgage calculator, SAC or Price](https://payotte.com/brazil/mortgage-calculator): At 11.28% a year, the Banco Central average on new housing loans to individuals, a R$ 400,000 loan over 30 years costs R$ 3,730 a month with the Price system. - [Capital gains tax calculator](https://payotte.com/brazil/capital-gains-tax-calculator): non-residents pay 15% to 22.5% on the gain (25% in a listed low-tax jurisdiction), withheld by the buyer; residents' exemptions tested. ## Figures compared across the 27 federative units (tables, JSON with licence) - [Purchase costs in the state capitals](https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/purchase-costs-capitals) (data: https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/purchase-costs-capitals.json) - [ITBI rate in the state capitals](https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/itbi-state-capitals) (data: https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/itbi-state-capitals.json) - [Notary deed and registration fees, by state](https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/notary-and-registry-fees) (data: https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/notary-and-registry-fees.json) - [Median value of financed homes, by state](https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/median-value-financed-homes) (data: https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/median-value-financed-homes.json) - [Rented and owned homes, by state](https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/rented-homes-share) (data: https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/rented-homes-share.json) - [Construction cost per square metre, by state](https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/construction-cost-per-m2) (data: https://payotte.com/brazil/by-state/construction-cost-per-m2.json) ## Cities and states - [Angra dos Reis](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/angra-dos-reis), Rio de Janeiro: ITBI 2% - [Aracaju](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/aracaju), Sergipe - [Armação dos Búzios](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/armacao-dos-buzios), Rio de Janeiro: ITBI 2.5% - [Balneário Camboriú](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/balneario-camboriu), Santa Catarina - [Belém](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/belem), Pará: ITBI 3% - [Belo Horizonte](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/belo-horizonte), Minas Gerais: ITBI 3% - [Boa Vista](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/boa-vista), Roraima: ITBI 1.5% - [Bombinhas](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/bombinhas), Santa Catarina - [Brasília](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/brasilia), Distrito Federal: ITBI 2% - [Cabo Frio](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/cabo-frio), Rio de Janeiro: ITBI 2% - [Campinas](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/campinas), São Paulo - [Campo Grande](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/campo-grande), Mato Grosso do Sul: ITBI 2% - [Cuiabá](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/cuiaba), Mato Grosso: ITBI 2% - [Curitiba](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/curitiba), Paraná: ITBI 2.7% - [Florianópolis](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/florianopolis), Santa Catarina: ITBI 2% - [Fortaleza](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/fortaleza), Ceará: ITBI 4% - [Foz do Iguaçu](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/foz-do-iguacu), Paraná: ITBI 2% - [Goiânia](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/goiania), Goiás: ITBI 2% - [Gramado](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/gramado), Rio Grande do Sul - [Guarulhos](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/guarulhos), São Paulo - [Ilhabela](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/ilhabela), São Paulo: ITBI 2% - [Ipojuca](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/ipojuca), Pernambuco: ITBI 2% - [Itajaí](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/itajai), Santa Catarina: ITBI 2% - [Jijoca de Jericoacoara](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/jijoca-de-jericoacoara), Ceará - [João Pessoa](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/joao-pessoa), Paraíba: ITBI 3% - [Joinville](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/joinville), Santa Catarina: ITBI 2% - [Londrina](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/londrina), Paraná: ITBI 2% - [Macapá](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/macapa), Amapá: ITBI 2% - [Maceió](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/maceio), Alagoas: ITBI 2% - [Manaus](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/manaus), Amazonas - [Mata de São João](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/mata-de-sao-joao), Bahia: ITBI 3% - [Natal](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/natal), Rio Grande do Norte: ITBI 3% - [Niterói](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/niteroi), Rio de Janeiro: ITBI 2% - [Osasco](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/osasco), São Paulo - [Palmas](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/palmas), Tocantins: ITBI 2% - [Paraty](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/paraty), Rio de Janeiro: ITBI 2% - [Porto Alegre](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/porto-alegre), Rio Grande do Sul: ITBI 3% - [Porto Seguro](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/porto-seguro), Bahia - [Porto Velho](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/porto-velho), Rondônia: ITBI 2% - [Recife](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/recife), Pernambuco: ITBI 3% - [Ribeirão Preto](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/ribeirao-preto), São Paulo: ITBI 2% - [Rio Branco](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/rio-branco), Acre: ITBI 2% - [Rio de Janeiro](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/rio-de-janeiro), Rio de Janeiro - [Salvador](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/salvador), Bahia: ITBI 3% - [Santo André](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/santo-andre), São Paulo: ITBI 2% - [Santos](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/santos), São Paulo: ITBI 2% - [São Bernardo do Campo](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/sao-bernardo-do-campo), São Paulo - [São José dos Campos](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/sao-jose-dos-campos), São Paulo: ITBI 2% - [São Luís](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/sao-luis), Maranhão - [São Paulo](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/sao-paulo), São Paulo: ITBI 3% - [Teresina](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/teresina), Piauí: ITBI 2% - [Tibau do Sul](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/tibau-do-sul), Rio Grande do Norte: ITBI 3% - [Ubatuba](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/ubatuba), São Paulo: ITBI 2% - [Uberlândia](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/uberlandia), Minas Gerais - [Vitória](https://payotte.com/brazil/cities/vitoria), Espírito Santo: ITBI 2% - [Acre](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/acre) - [Alagoas](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/alagoas) - [Amapá](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/amapa) - [Amazonas](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/amazonas) - [Bahia](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/bahia) - [Ceará](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/ceara) - [Distrito Federal](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/distrito-federal) - [Espírito Santo](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/espirito-santo) - [Goiás](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/goias) - [Maranhão](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/maranhao) - [Mato Grosso](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/mato-grosso) - [Mato Grosso do Sul](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/mato-grosso-do-sul) - [Minas Gerais](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/minas-gerais) - [Pará](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/para) - [Paraíba](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/paraiba) - [Paraná](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/parana) - [Pernambuco](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/pernambuco) - [Piauí](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/piaui) - [Rio de Janeiro](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/rio-de-janeiro) - [Rio Grande do Norte](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/rio-grande-do-norte) - [Rio Grande do Sul](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/rio-grande-do-sul) - [Rondônia](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/rondonia) - [Roraima](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/roraima) - [Santa Catarina](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/santa-catarina) - [São Paulo](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/sao-paulo) - [Sergipe](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/sergipe) - [Tocantins](https://payotte.com/brazil/states/tocantins) ## Guides ### Foreign buyers - [Buying property in Brazil as a foreigner](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-property-in-brazil-as-a-foreigner): A foreigner, whether living in Brazil or abroad, may buy an urban home in Brazil: none of the federal texts Payotte read prohibits it or requires a general permit. - [CPF for foreigners buying property in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/cpf-for-foreigners): The CPF (Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas, the Brazilian taxpayer number) is mandatory for a foreigner who carries out property transactions in Brazil or owns property there, even if he or she lives abroad. - [Sending money to Brazil to buy property](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/sending-money-to-brazil-to-buy-property): Foreign money buying a Brazilian home must travel through an institution authorised to operate in the exchange market; the law (Lei 14.286/2021, art. 14) allows physical cash only up to US$ 10,000 per person. - [Power of attorney from abroad to buy in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/power-of-attorney-from-abroad): If you cannot be at the notary's office in Brazil, you can sign through an attorney-in-fact (procurador) holding a procuração (power of attorney). - [Sworn translation and interpreter at the deed](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/sworn-translation-and-interpreter-at-the-deed): In Brazil the deed is written in Portuguese (Civil Code, art. 215, § 3). - [Rural land in Brazil: restrictions for foreigners](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/rural-land-restrictions-for-foreigners): Brazil limits what foreigners may buy or lease as rural land (imóvel rural), under Lei 5.709/1971 and its 1974 decree. The law only provides for foreigners resident in Brazil and for foreign companies authorised to operate there. - [Border strip (faixa de fronteira): property rules](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/border-strip-property-rules): Brazil treats a 150 km band along its land borders, the faixa de fronteira, as essential to national defence (Constitution, art. 20, § 2). - [Beachfront property and terrenos de marinha](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/beachfront-property-terrenos-de-marinha): Land within 33 metres of the 1831 mean high-tide line along the Brazilian coast (and on tidal rivers, lagoons and islands) is a terreno de marinha and belongs to the Union, not to the private owner of the building: Constitution, art. - [Laudêmio and the SPU transfer certificate (CAT)](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/laudemio-and-spu-transfer-certificate): When a property stands on federal land (typically a terreno de marinha, see beachfront property), a sale cannot be deeded until the seller has paid the laudêmio, 5% of the updated value of the land, improvements excluded, and the SPU has issued the CAT (Certidão de Autorização para Transferência), valid 90 days. - [Brazil's real-estate investor residence: R$ 1 million](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/brazil-investor-visa-real-estate): Buying a home in Brazil does not by itself give a foreigner the right to a visa or residence (Lei 13.445/2017, art. 35). - [Buying in Brazil with a foreign spouse or partner](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-with-a-foreign-spouse): Which marital property regime applies to a couple who marry abroad is decided by the law of the country where the spouses were domiciled when they married (LINDB, art. 7, § 4), not by Brazilian rules. - [Non-resident capital gains tax on Brazilian property](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/non-resident-capital-gains-tax): A person who is not a tax resident of Brazil and sells a home or other property there pays Brazilian income tax on the gain: 15% on the part of the gain up to R$ 5,000,000, then 17.5%, 20% and 22.5% on higher slices, or a flat 25% if the seller lives in a jurisdiction on the Receita Federal's low-tax list. - [Selling a property in Brazil from abroad](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/non-resident-selling-property-in-brazil): A non-resident can sell a Brazilian property without travelling, through an attorney (procurador) holding a power of attorney, but the sale still ends in a public deed (escritura pública) signed before a Brazilian notary (tabelião) and registered in the property record (matrícula). - [Sending the proceeds of a Brazilian sale abroad](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/repatriating-sale-proceeds): A non-resident who has sold a property in Brazil can send the proceeds abroad through a bank or other institution authorised to deal in foreign exchange (câmbio). - [Tax on rent from a Brazilian property owned from abroad](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/non-resident-rental-income-tax): Rent paid by a tenant in Brazil to an owner who is not a tax resident of Brazil is taxed at source, at 15%, as a final tax, unless a tax treaty provides otherwise. - [Tax residency in Brazil for property owners and expats](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/tax-residency-in-brazil-for-property-owners): For Brazilian income tax, residence is a matter of status and days, not of owning a home. A foreigner who arrives with a permanent visa becomes resident on the day of arrival. - [Brazil tax treaties and property: Canada, UK, US](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/brazil-tax-treaties-and-property): Canada has an income tax convention with Brazil, in force since 23 December 1985. - [Inheriting Brazilian property from abroad](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/inheriting-brazilian-property-from-abroad): When someone dies leaving a property in Brazil, Brazilian courts have exclusive jurisdiction over the inventory and division of that property, even if the deceased was a foreigner living abroad. - [Renting a home in Brazil as a foreigner](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/renting-a-home-in-brazil-as-a-foreigner): The Brazilian tenancy law (Lei do Inquilinato, Lei 8.245/1991) is federal and applies to a foreign tenant exactly as to a Brazilian. ### Buying - [Buying a home in Brazil step by step: the process](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-a-home-in-brazil-step-by-step): A home purchase in Brazil runs in a fixed order: an offer and a deposit, a search of the property's papers, payment of the ITBI transfer tax to the city, a signed escritura pública (public deed) at a notary, and finally registration of that deed at the property registry. - [ITBI in Brazil: the property transfer tax by city](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/itbi-property-transfer-tax): The ITBI (imposto sobre a transmissão de bens imóveis, the property transfer tax) is a tax of each Brazilian city, not of the state or the federal government, so there is no single national rate. - [ITBI tax base: price, valor venal and reference value](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/itbi-tax-base-and-reference-value): The ITBI is charged on a tax base, and in Brazil that base is not always the price written in the deed. Since Complementary Law 227 of 13 January 2026 rewrote art. - [Escritura pública: the notarial deed in a Brazilian sale](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/escritura-publica-the-deed): The escritura pública (public deed) is the notarial act that records a Brazilian property sale. - [Registering a property purchase at the Brazilian registry](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/registering-the-purchase): In Brazil you become the owner when the deed is registered at the Registro de Imóveis (property registry) of the district where the property stands, not when you sign it. Código Civil art. - [The matrícula: the Brazilian property record explained](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/matricula-property-record): The matrícula (property record) is the file the property registry keeps for a single property. Under the registry law, "cada imóvel terá matrícula própria" (each property has its own matrícula), opened at the first registration or annotation. - [Due diligence in Brazil: which certificates to collect](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/due-diligence-certificates): Brazilian law asks for a short, fixed set of documents before a notary may draw a property deed: proof of the ITBI payment, the property's tax certificates, and the registry's certificates of real actions and encumbrances, the last of which are valid for 30 days for this purpose. - [Purchase agreement and deposit (sinal, arras) in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/purchase-agreement-and-deposit): Most Brazilian purchases start with a private contract, a promessa de compra e venda (promise of sale), signed before the deed, and a deposit called sinal or arras. - [Spousal consent (outorga conjugal) when buying in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/spousal-consent-outorga-conjugal): Under art. 1.647 of the Brazilian Civil Code, a married person cannot sell or put a real-estate lien on a property without the spouse's authorisation, the outorga conjugal, unless the couple is under the regime of absolute separation of property. - [Notary and registry fees in Brazil, state by state](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/notary-and-registry-fees): The notary's fee for the deed and the registry's fee for registering it are emolumentos (official fees) set by each Brazilian state, usually through a table by property value published by the state court. - [Closing costs when buying a home in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/closing-costs-in-brazil): The closing costs of a Brazilian purchase are three public charges that every buyer meets: the ITBI transfer tax (set by the city), the deed fee and the registration fee (set by the state). - [First-home registry fee discount (Lei 6.015, art. 290)](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/first-home-registry-fee-discount): Article 290 of the federal registry law (Lei 6.015/1973) reduces by 50% the emolumentos (notary and registry fees) for acts tied to the first residential purchase financed by the Sistema Financeiro da Habitação (SFH). ### New builds and condominiums - [Buying off-plan in Brazil: incorporação rules](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-off-plan-in-brazil): Buying "off plan" (na planta) in Brazil means buying a unit in an incorporação imobiliária (a development sold before or during construction), governed by federal Lei 4.591/1964: the developer may sell only after registering the incorporation memorial, and since Lei 13.786/2018 the contract must open with a summary box (quadro-resumo). - [Cancelling an off-plan purchase in Brazil: refund rules](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/cancelling-an-off-plan-purchase): If you cancel an off-plan purchase (distrato), or the developer terminates it for your default, article 67-A of Lei 4.591/1964 returns what you paid directly to the developer, corrected by the contract index, minus the full broker's commission and a contractual penalty capped at 25% of the amount paid. - [Patrimônio de afetação: protecting off-plan buyers](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/patrimonio-de-afetacao): The patrimônio de afetação (ring-fenced estate) keeps the land and building of a development apart from the developer's other assets, so that they answer only for the debts of that development. - [Buying in a condomínio in Brazil: debts, rules, votes](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-in-a-condominio): Most Brazilian apartments are in a condomínio edilício (a building where units are owned individually and common areas jointly), governed by articles 1,331 and following of the federal Civil Code. - [Buying at a property auction in Brazil: leilão rules](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-at-a-property-auction): Property auctions in Brazil come in two federal forms: the fiduciary auction of a lender that holds title as security for a defaulted loan (Lei 9.514/1997), which must be held within 60 days of consolidating ownership with a second auction within 15 days if the first fails, and the judicial auction of property seized in a court case (Civil Procedure Code). ### Financing - [Mortgages in Brazil: how they work](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/mortgages-in-brazil-how-they-work): A Brazilian home loan is a financiamento imobiliário (real-estate financing) governed by federal rules of the National Monetary Council (CMN) and the Central Bank (BCB). - [SAC vs Price amortization in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/sac-vs-price-amortization): Brazilian lenders mostly offer two ways to repay a home loan: SAC (Sistema de Amortização Constante), where each payment repays the same slice of principal and the instalments fall over time, and Price, where the instalment is constant. - [SFH vs SFI: Brazil's two mortgage regimes](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/sfh-vs-sfi): The Sistema Financeiro da Habitação (SFH, the housing finance system) is the regulated segment of Brazilian home loans. - [Alienação fiduciária: the lender owns your home](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/alienacao-fiduciaria): In Brazil a home loan is usually secured by alienação fiduciária de coisa imóvel (fiduciary transfer of real property), created by Lei 9.514 of 1997. - [Using the FGTS to buy a home in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/using-fgts-to-buy-a-home): The Fundo de Garantia do Tempo de Serviço (FGTS) is a fund built from employers' monthly deposits in each worker's account. - [Minha Casa, Minha Vida: income bands and limits](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/minha-casa-minha-vida): Minha Casa, Minha Vida (MCMV, "my house, my life") is the federal housing programme restored by Lei 14.620 of 13 July 2023. - [Moving a mortgage to another lender in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/mortgage-portability): Portabilidade de crédito (credit portability) lets a borrower move an existing loan to another lender that offers better terms. - [CET: the total effective cost of a Brazilian loan](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/cet-total-effective-cost): The Custo Efetivo Total (CET, total effective cost) is a single rate that expresses, on the date it is calculated, all the charges and expenses of a loan: interest, fees, taxes, insurance and other expenses tied to the operation. - [MIP and DFI: mandatory mortgage insurance in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/mortgage-insurance-mip-dfi): Lenders in the Sistema Financeiro da Habitação (SFH) may grant a home loan only with insurance covering, at a minimum, the borrower's death and permanent disability (known as MIP, morte e invalidez permanente) and physical damage to the property (DFI, danos físicos ao imóvel). - [The Selic and mortgage rates in Brazil, 2026](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/selic-and-mortgage-rates): The Selic target rate is 13.75% a year, in force since 17 September 2026 after meeting 281 of the Central Bank's monetary policy committee (Copom) on 16 September 2026. - [Mortgage default and foreclosure in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/mortgage-default-and-foreclosure): If you stop paying a Brazilian home loan secured by alienação fiduciária, the lender does not go to court first. The property registry officer serves a notice giving you 15 days to pay what is overdue. ### Selling - [Selling a home in Brazil: deed, tax and payout](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/selling-a-home-in-brazil): Selling a home in Brazil is governed by federal law: the Civil Code decides how ownership passes, and the federal income tax on the gain is set by the Receita Federal. - [Capital gains tax on selling property in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/capital-gains-tax-on-property): A tax resident of Brazil who sells real estate pays federal income tax on the ganho de capital (capital gain) at 15% on the part of the gain up to R$ 5,000,000, 17.5% from R$ 5,000,000 to R$ 10,000,000, 20% from R$ 10,000,000 to R$ 30,000,000 and 22.5% above R$ 30,000,000. - [Single-property exemption from capital gains tax](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/capital-gains-exemption-single-property): A Brazilian tax resident who sells the only property they own is exempt from capital gains tax if the sale value is R$ 440,000 or less and they have made no other property sale in the previous five years, taxed or not. - [Capital gains exemption: reinvest within 180 days](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/capital-gains-exemption-reinvestment-180-days): A tax resident of Brazil who sells a residential property pays no capital gains tax on the gain if, within 180 days of signing the sale contract, they use the proceeds to buy another residential property in Brazil. - [Capital gains reduction factors FR1 and FR2 explained](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/capital-gains-reduction-factors): When a Brazilian tax resident sells real estate, the law lets the gain be reduced for time held before the rate is applied, through FR1 = 1 / 1.0060^m1 and FR2 = 1 / 1.0035^m2, where m1 and m2 are calendar months "or fraction". - [Real estate broker commission in Brazil: what is published](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/real-estate-broker-commission): The sources read show no federal law that sets what a broker may charge to sell a home in Brazil: the Civil Code leaves the fee to the parties and, failing that, to "the nature of the business and local usage". - [Brazil's IBS and CBS reform and real estate sales](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/tax-reform-ibs-cbs-and-real-estate): Brazil is replacing several consumption taxes with a dual value-added tax: the IBS (state and municipal) and the CBS (federal), created by Complementary Law 214/2025 and amended by Complementary Law 227/2026. ### Renting - [Brazil's tenancy law: what Lei 8.245 says](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/renting-in-brazil-tenancy-law): Residential and commercial rentals of urban property in Brazil are governed by one federal statute, Lei 8.245/1991 (the tenancy law, or Lei do Inquilinato), which applies the same way in every city and state. - [Rental guarantees in Brazil: deposit, guarantor, insurance](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/rental-guarantees): Under article 37 of Brazil's tenancy law, a landlord may ask for one of four guarantees: a deposit or pledge (caução), a personal guarantor (fiança), rental-guarantee insurance (seguro de fiança locatícia) or a pledge of investment-fund shares. - [Rent adjustment in Brazil: annual updates and review](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/rent-adjustment): In Brazil rent may be updated by a clause in the lease, but never more often than once a year: Lei 10.192/2001 declares void any adjustment or monetary correction with a period shorter than one year. - [Ending a Brazilian lease early: notice, penalty, exceptions](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/ending-a-lease-early): A tenant in Brazil may hand the home back before the end of a fixed term, but must pay the penalty written in the lease, proportional to the part of the term already completed (Lei 8.245, article 4); if the lease sets no penalty, a court sets one. - [Eviction in Brazil: the ação de despejo step by step](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/eviction-in-brazil): Under Brazil's tenancy law, "whatever the ground for ending the lease, the landlord's action to recover the property is the eviction action" (ação de despejo, article 5). - [Short-term rentals in Brazil: the temporada lease](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/short-term-rentals-temporada): Brazilian law has a specific category for holiday and other temporary lets: the locação para temporada, defined in article 48 of Lei 8.245/1991 as a lease for the tenant's temporary residence (leisure, courses, health treatment, works on their own home and similar facts tied to a limited time), contracted for no more than 90 days, furnished or not. - [Short-term rentals in Brazilian condominiums](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/short-term-rentals-in-condominiums): Whether you may rent your apartment on a nightly or weekly basis in a Brazilian condominium depends on the condominium convention (convenção de condomínio) and on how the courts read it. - [Landlord income tax in Brazil: the carnê-leão in 2026](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/landlord-income-tax-carne-leao): A landlord who lives in Brazil and receives rent from an individual tenant must pay income tax every month through the carnê-leão ("lion's booklet"), using the monthly progressive table, by the last business day of the following month under revenue code 0190, and then adjust in the annual return. ### Owning - [IPTU in Brazil: the municipal property tax explained](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/iptu-property-tax): The IPTU (Imposto Predial e Territorial Urbano) is the annual urban property tax. - [Condominium fees and rules in Brazil: the legal basics](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/condominium-fees-and-rules): A Brazilian apartment owner pays a monthly condominium fee (taxa condominial) in proportion to the unit's ideal fraction, unless the convention says otherwise (Civil Code, article 1.336, I). - [ITCMD in Brazil: inheritance and gift tax on property](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/itcmd-inheritance-and-gift-tax): The ITCMD (Imposto sobre Transmissão Causa Mortis e Doação) is the Brazilian tax on inheritances and gifts. - [Inheritance and inventário in Brazil: notary or court](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/inheritance-inventario): In Brazil the inheritance passes to the heirs at the moment of death (Civil Code, article 1.784), but the heirs must still carry out an inventory and partition (inventário e partilha) before the property can be registered in their names. - [Usucapião in Brazil: gaining title by long possession](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/usucapiao-adverse-possession): Usucapião is the Brazilian way to become the owner of real estate by possessing it, as your own, for a legal period without interruption and without objection. - [Bem de família: how the family home is protected in Brazil](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/bem-de-familia-protection): Under Lei 8.009/1990, the residential property that belongs to a couple or a family and is used as its home is unseizable (impenhorável): it "will not answer for any kind of civil, commercial, tax, social-security or other debt" of the spouses, parents or children who own it and live in it, except in the cases the law lists. - [Renovating in Brazil: city permits, ART and RRT](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/renovation-permits-art-rrt): A renovation in Brazil can involve three separate approvals. - [Declaring Brazilian property in the income tax return](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/declaring-property-in-the-income-tax-return): A person who is a tax resident of Brazil reports real estate in the annual income tax return (Declaração de Ajuste Anual, DAA) in the "assets and rights" section, at its acquisition cost, not at market value. ### Cities of foreign buyers - [Buying property in Rio de Janeiro: taxes and fees](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-property-in-rio-de-janeiro): For Rio de Janeiro Payotte read the state's 2026 table of deed and registry fees, in force since 9 March 2026, but not the city's ITBI rate or IPTU rules: the city's official sites refused the connection, and Payotte never bypasses a blocked site. - [Buying property in São Paulo: ITBI, IPTU and fees](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-property-in-sao-paulo): In the city of São Paulo the transfer tax (ITBI) is 3% of the greater of the price and the city's reference value, under Lei 11.154/1991. - [Buying property in Florianópolis: ITBI and the coast](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-property-in-florianopolis): In Florianópolis the transfer tax (ITBI) is 2%, below São Paulo's 3%, under Lei Complementar 007/1997 as reworded by LC 683/2019. The tax is self-assessed: the buyer files a declaration with the city and pays under the city's regulation. - [Buying property in Salvador and the Bahia coast](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-property-in-salvador-and-bahia-coast): In Salvador the transfer tax is called ITIV and is 3% of the property's valor venal, or 1% for a small "popular" property, under Lei 7.186/2006. - [Buying property in Fortaleza and the Ceará coast](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-property-in-fortaleza-and-ceara-coast): In Fortaleza the ITBI is 4% according to the city's finance department (Sefin); it drops to 2% if paid before the deed is signed, and financed purchases under SFH pay 0.5% on the financed amount up to a 2026 cap of R$ 390,672.24. - [Buying property in Natal and Pipa (Tibau do Sul)](https://payotte.com/brazil/guides/buying-property-in-natal-and-pipa): Payotte could read the transfer-tax law of Tibau do Sul, the municipality it uses for Pipa: the tax (ITIV) is 3% of market value, with no financing discount, under Lei Complementar 005/2002. ## The trades - [Architects and engineers in Brazil: CAU and CREA](https://payotte.com/brazil/professions/architect-and-engineer): In Brazil, architects are registered with the CAU (Conselho de Arquitetura e Urbanismo) of their State, under Lei 12.378 of 2010, and engineers with the CREA (Conselho Regional de Engenharia e Agronomia) of their region, under Lei 5.194 of 1966. - [Mortgage lenders in Brazil: Banco Central authorisation](https://payotte.com/brazil/professions/mortgage-lender): In Brazil, a home loan comes from an institution authorised by the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), directly or through a banking correspondent that the institution has contracted. - [Property appraisers in Brazil: CNAI, CREA and CAU](https://payotte.com/brazil/professions/property-appraiser): In Brazil, a property valuation can come from several professions, and the law does not give one of them a single monopoly that we could read. - [Property lawyers in Brazil: how to check an OAB registration](https://payotte.com/brazil/professions/property-lawyer): In Brazil, only a person registered with the OAB (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil, the bar association) may practise as a lawyer and use the title advogado: Lei 8.906/1994, art. 3. - [Real estate brokers in Brazil: CRECI registration](https://payotte.com/brazil/professions/real-estate-broker): In Brazil, only a person registered with a regional council (CRECI) may work as a corretor de imóveis (real estate broker), under Lei 6.530 of 12 May 1978. ## Payotte - [Get your firm listed](https://payotte.com/brazil/get-listed) · [How we select](https://payotte.com/brazil/selection-method) · [Legal notice](https://payotte.com/brazil/legal-notice) · [Privacy](https://payotte.com/brazil/privacy) - Contact: gpayotte@gmail.com