Crypto Tax in Brazil 2026: Receita Federal and DeCripto

Brazilian crypto reporting has two separate layers: income-tax calculation and transaction disclosure. The tax treatment also changes according to custody. Crypto held in Brazil or in self-custody generally remains under the ordinary capital-gain framework, while qualifying financial-investment crypto held or traded through a foreign institution can fall under the 15% annual foreign-investment regime. From July 2026, DeCripto replaces the former IN RFB 1,888 reporting system.

Reviewed September 1, 2026. This guide is for Brazilian-resident individuals. A company, exchange, professional service or business activity requires separate accounting and corporate-tax analysis. Reporting a transaction does not by itself decide its income-tax classification.

Start with custody: Brazil has two relevant regimes

The location of the exchange or custodian is not a minor detail. The Receita Federal's 2026 questions and answers distinguish crypto held or negotiated through an institution abroad from crypto held through a Brazilian institution. The official foreign-assets guidance also says that assets held directly by a Brazilian resident in self-custody, without an intermediary, are not treated as located abroad.

Bitcoin is generally an asset capable of qualifying as a foreign financial investment when held through a foreign institution. Not every token does: the Receita's official foreign-assets Q&A gives an artwork NFT as an example that is not necessarily a financial investment. Classification must follow the asset and arrangement, not the word “crypto.”

Brazilian custody and self-custody: R$35,000 is a disposal threshold

For ordinary capital-gain treatment, gains are taxable when the total value of all cryptoassets disposed of in a month exceeds R$35,000. The threshold concerns gross disposal value, not profit. It aggregates Bitcoin, altcoins, stablecoins, NFTs and other crypto disposed of during the month. If the total exceeds the threshold, the gain on all relevant disposals is analysed; only the amount above R$35,000 is not the taxable base.

Progressive capital-gain rates are 15% on the portion of gains up to R$5 million, 17.5% from R$5 million to R$10 million, 20% from R$10 million to R$30 million and 22.5% above R$30 million. Tax is generally calculated in GCAP and paid by the last business day of the next month using revenue code 4600. The official IRPF 2026 Questions and Answers, questions 653 and 574, are the primary reference.

Do not confuse three thresholds: R$35,000 of monthly disposals for the ordinary gain exemption, R$35,000 of monthly operations for a user's DeCripto duty in specified non-Brazilian-platform situations, and R$5,000 acquisition cost per crypto type for listing holdings in DIRPF. They answer different questions.

Foreign-custody financial investments: annual 15% regime

Since January 1, 2024, returns and gains on virtual assets that qualify as financial investments abroad are included in the annual adjustment return and taxed at 15% when realised or effectively received. This regime can include exchange-rate movement. The R$35,000 small-disposal exemption does not apply to qualifying foreign financial investments.

The relevant location test looks to custody or negotiation through an institution abroad. A foreign exchange account therefore cannot simply be pooled with a Brazilian exchange account under the domestic monthly exemption. Conversely, transferring assets to a wallet directly controlled by the taxpayer changes the custody facts but is not automatically a sale; preserve transaction hashes and proof that both addresses belong to the same person.

Sales, swaps and payments are disposals

A sale for reais is the clearest disposal. A crypto-to-crypto exchange is also a disposal: the asset given up is valued in reais at market value on the date of receipt of the new asset. Paying for goods or services with crypto likewise disposes of the crypto. A transfer between the taxpayer's own wallets should be reconciled as a transfer, not manufactured into income or a sale.

• Separate proceeds from transfers between owned wallets.
• Record the BRL market value for swaps and non-cash payments.
• Keep fees separate from asset quantity and proceeds.
• Do not assume that a stablecoin conversion is tax-neutral.
• Mark missing prices as unresolved instead of entering a false zero.

DeCripto lists staking, mining, airdrops, loans and several transfer types as reportable data categories. That list is an information-reporting taxonomy; it does not create one universal income-tax rule for every protocol. Reward availability, service activity, lending terms and whether the taxpayer operates a business still require factual analysis.

Cost basis and losses: preserve evidence

DIRPF reports holdings at acquisition cost, not year-end market value. Every taxable disposal needs supported acquisition cost and proceeds. A pooled weighted-average ledger is a practical method for fungible units when the report cannot reliably identify individual lots, but the Receita's crypto questions do not establish a universal statement that “FIFO is prohibited.” The report should disclose its method and retain the underlying acquisitions.

Do not import stock-exchange loss rules into ordinary crypto capital gains. Losses on assets outside exchange-based variable-income rules are not freely carried or offset like listed-share losses. For qualifying foreign financial investments, annual netting follows the separate Law 14,754 regime. A report should therefore keep domestic capital gains, foreign financial investments and business results in different control sections.

DIRPF 2026: Group 08, not the old code 89

For the 2026 return covering calendar year 2025, each crypto type with acquisition cost of at least R$5,000 is listed in Bens e Direitos, Group 08. The official codes are 01 Bitcoin, 02 other cryptocurrencies, 03 stablecoins, 10 NFTs and 99 other cryptoassets. Report acquisition cost and describe quantity and custody. Do not revalue the holding to December 31 market price.

The filing period for IRPF 2026 ran from March 23 to May 29, 2026, as confirmed by the Receita's official filing calendar. A missed annual deadline does not erase monthly GCAP or DeCripto obligations.

DeCripto from July 2026

Operations through June 2026 were covered by the former IN RFB 1,888 framework. For operations from July 2026, IN RFB 2,291/2025 introduced DeCripto and revoked the former instructions for the new period. Brazilian and Brazil-facing providers have their own reporting duties. A Brazilian resident using a foreign provider, decentralised platform or no provider must submit user information when monthly operations, individually or together, exceed R$35,000.

DeCripto is due by the last business day of the following month for monthly information. Its valuation rules use fair value; foreign currency is converted first to US dollars and then to reais using the closing PTAX selling rate for the operation date. Consult the Receita's official DeCripto acts and layout. The Ministry of Finance also confirms that the new system applies to transactions from July 2026.

Provider reporting does not replace the user's tax return. The broader relationship between transaction reporting and tax calculation is explained in our global crypto reporting guide.

A defensible Brazil reporting workflow

1. Classify each account as Brazilian provider, foreign provider, decentralised platform or direct self-custody.
2. Determine whether foreign-held assets are financial investments under Law 14,754.
3. Reconcile own-wallet transfers before calculating disposals.
4. Value every sale, swap and payment in BRL at the required date.
5. Maintain cost basis by asset without inventing zero costs.
6. Separate domestic monthly capital gains from foreign annual results.
7. Track the relevant R$35,000 threshold independently for tax and DeCripto.
8. Prepare Group 08 holdings at acquisition cost.
9. Retain exchange exports, wallet hashes, price sources, GCAP and DARF files.

The Portuguese Brazil filing guide provides the same workflow in local terminology. For tool selection, compare reconciliation and audit-trail features in our crypto tax software guide.

Two examples that must not be mixed

Brazilian provider: a taxpayer disposes of R$42,000 of several cryptoassets in one month and has R$7,000 supported gain. The R$35,000 gross-disposal threshold is exceeded, so the R$7,000 gain enters the ordinary capital-gain calculation; the threshold is not deducted from the gain.

Foreign provider: Bitcoin qualifying as a foreign financial investment is sold through an institution abroad. The result belongs in the annual 15% foreign-investment regime, without the domestic R$35,000 exemption. If the same Bitcoin was held directly in self-custody without an intermediary, the location analysis starts differently.

Frequently asked questions

This article is educational and not individual tax advice. Foreign custody, DeFi, business activity and incomplete cost records should be reviewed by a Brazilian tax professional.

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. For individual tax advice, consult a licensed tax professional.