Brazil taxes US Social Security up to 27.5% for residents staying 183 days

How Brazil taxes US Social Security

Brazil treats US Social Security as foreign pension income for anyone classified as a Brazilian tax resident, folding it into the same progressive IRPF table that tops out at 27.5%. The benefit must be reported as "Rendimentos Tributáveis Recebidos de Pessoa Física e do Exterior" on the annual return, regardless of whether the money lands in a US or Brazilian account.

Law 15.270/2025 took effect Jan. 1, 2026 and kept the 0-27.5% brackets intact while adding a monthly reducer. Converted benefits at or below 5,000 BRL per month owe zero Brazilian tax. Amounts between 5,000 and 7,350 BRL get partial relief and anything above 7,350 BRL falls fully under the standard progressive rates.

Who gets pulled in

Residency is the trigger. Foreign retirees on a retirement visa, remote workers who cross the 183-day presence threshold in any rolling 12-month period and dual Brazilian-US nationals living primarily in Brazil all owe tax on worldwide income, including Social Security.

Short-stay tourists on standard 90-day entries who never cross 183 days and never obtain a resident visa remain non-residents. Their US Social Security stays outside Brazilian tax reach because it isn't Brazilian-source income.

There's no US-Brazil income tax treaty, so the same benefit can be taxable in both countries. The 2018 Totalization Agreement coordinates coverage and eligibility but doesn't touch how benefits are taxed. Normative Instruction 208/2002 does allow a reciprocity credit for US tax paid on the same income.

Filing and payment mechanics

Because no Brazilian entity withholds on a US benefit, residents must self-assess monthly through Carnê-Leão.

• Calculate the tax each month and pay via DARF code 0190 by the last business day of the following month.
• Convert the benefit first to USD at the US monetary authority rate on the receipt date, then to BRL using the Central Bank's purchase rate from the last business day of the first half of the prior month.
• Consolidate all monthly entries in the annual DIRPF, filed between late March and late May.
• File the DIRPF when annual taxable income exceeds roughly 35,584 BRL, even when foreign tax credits zero out the bill.

Carnê-Leão reporting still applies when the 5,000 BRL exemption wipes out the tax owed; the system simply records zero.

Read our full Brazil guide for the complete picture and browse more visa updates for nomads.