Got a bank account in Brazil? Beware "Big Brother" is watching.

Good thing I don't have R$6000 to transfer.....or even R$2000

What's with the move recently to get CPF's on all notas fiscais?

Starting about a year ago, it seems any place where I made a purchase asked if I would like my "CPF na nota." And now shopping for groceries at the "Atacadão", if my purchase excedes (can't remember exactly) about R$250, the system locks until I provide my CPF.

Locals have told me that the government is trying to make sure all taxable transactions get registered and taxed, and that with the transaction information, they will offer raffles or discounts on IPTU, e.g., to motivate people to jump on board.

I can understand that the government is trying to make it more difficult to "sonegar". But it seems like this information could be used for more sinister purposes. And if it could, it eventually will.

There's always more sinister purposes...

How can you even begin to trust a government that won't even obey it's own Constitution and has even bought the judiciary?

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

Well the bad news is that by majority decision the Federal Supreme Court has decided that the Receita Federal has the right to access all banking information without benefit of a Court Order.  Despite having reached a completely opposite decision in 2010 which denied the Receita the right, they have done a complete about-face.

What a difference a couple of more PT appointed STF Ministers makes!!! They've just taken the Constitution, torn it up in little pieces and tossed them up in the air.

I can see that there are going to be a lot more Brazilians and probably expats too who will simply stop having bank accounts. That's a scary thought because it will put people in danger. What I can't wrap my head around is, if the Receita states the move is to help combat tax evasion and money laundering, do they honestly believe that people are going to launder money R$1999 at a time? Is forcing the average citizen to have to justify their R$2000 rent payment every month somehow helping the Receita achieve that 'noble' goal???

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

It's the same crap in South Africa....in fact I think they did pass a law a few years back saying the government there can look in your bank account anytime they like ....

Dear James,

Thank you very much for sharing the info. Yes things here are so complicated and they seem to get worse. Interesting though because for a foreigner is not that easy to open a bank account. A few papers difficult to get involved in the process. Do you have another post on how to open a bank account in Brazil?

You need a Visa that gives you the right to live in Brazil and carry an RNE ID card

Then you simply go to a bank with your Passport , ID card , Proof of Address and CPF
Some banks will want to see proof of income too , although in my experience Caixa and Banco do Brasil did not.
Then you are in for about an hour of questions and paperwork all in Portuguese.

If you are not are just a tourist i  Brazil they will not allow you to open a bank account.

Hello Claudia,

In order to open a bank account in Brazil you first must either hold a VIPER Permanent Visa or a VITEM-V Work Visa, and have been issued your ID (Cédula de Identidade Estrangeiro).

You must also have been issued a CPF (Cadastro de Pessoa Física) which is your personal tax number.

Proof of address - this must be an electric, water, gas, fixed telephone bill. Banks will not accept bills for mobile phone, cable tv, sat. tv, or anything of that nature as proof of address. A rental contract, notarized in the Cartório, or property deed also will serve as proof of address.

Most banks will also want proof of employment and/or income, a letter from your employer or copy of pay stubs should be sufficient.

As you're an expat, they may want to see your passport so it wouldn't hurt to take that along with you when you want to open an account.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

James,
You're the only person I know who can say, "there's always more sinister purposes" and then sign off, "Cheers!" 
Thanks for holding down the fort.
- Matthew

Hi Matthew,

It's Brazil, you have to take everything in stride and with a great sense of humor... or it drives you nuts. My tradition sign off "Cheers" helps keep me smiling and sane.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

thank you James.

James, in my experience, you do not need the visas you listed to open a bank account. I opened an account in São Paulo at Itaú, and before I opened it I was told that all I needed was my RNE, CPF, and proof of address. As it happens, I had been granted permanent residency (transformed Type VII-religious visa) just before I opened the account (but after I made the inquiries) and only had the paper protocol (no plastic CIE) and no one batted an eye. Most likely every bank is different, but I would recommend that people not be discouraged from investigating opening an account because of their visa type or lack of permanent status. These privacy concerns, however, are worrying.

Rosajeanne,

You don't get an RNE unless you have been granted a VIPER Permanent Visa, VITEM-V Work Visa or a VITEM-II Student Visa.

Truth of the matter is that most banks don't even understand the Central Bank rules and will only open accounts for permanent residents. In many cases expats working in Brazil are only successful in opening bank accounts with a great deal of help from their employers.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

James, I got my RNE without any of those visas and so did all of my co-workers. There are many other visa types than the ones you listed. Mine was a type VII temporary (1-year) visa and I got my RNE right away when I arrived in the country. I didn't get permanent residency until after two years. And none of us needed employer help opening a bank account -- we just walked in and did it. As I said, every bank (and perhaps every branch) is different, but I hope people won't be discouraged from looking into it if they don't have the visa types you mentioned.

One must have a VITEM visa of some kind, at the very minimum in order to open a bank account, and even then it's an uphill battle. You had a VITEM-VII and trust me, the church probably had to influence the bank quite a bit in order for you and your peers to get accounts.

For the "average" expat coming to Brazil if you don't have a VIPER or VITEM-V they're almost right out of luck when it comes to bank accounts here. Trust me, I've been doing this for years now, lived in Brazil for 14 and know what I'm doing.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

James, in my years in Brazil, one thing I learned is there is no one who has *all* the experience. One reason I joined this blog is that it has very little info for the type of person who is coming to Brazil to live in poorer neighborhoods and get by on a lot less money than most "expats" -- and there are plenty of us like that who are looking for good advice and tips. I hope this blog is not only for the "average" person. Most of my experience in Brazil is very different from the advice and experience offered here.

I can tell you that the church had nothing to do with my bank account because they didn't even know I was opening it as it wasn't a requirement or necessary for me in any way (I opened it to get the cinema discounts!). Your original post did not say all VITEM visas, only three specific visa types, and a newbie might be led to think that if they had a different temporary visa they would be out of luck in getting a bank account. That's not helpful. In my experience - in São Paulo at Itaú bank - opening a bank account with an RNE, proof of address, and CPF and no outside help was very easy. I would encourage anyone with these three items to give it a try.

The bottom line is you need a residence permit -temporary or permanent to get an RNE to open a bank account , these are regarded as residence "Visas" as opposed to a tourist visa

Indeed the 3 things you need for a bank account are RNE , proof of address and CPF , some of the private banks require proof of income too

I don't have a bank account.   Had one for years then closed it because of the hassles.  Cash talks now....especially with the recession.   To get money from abroad, use ATMs.  To pay bills go to the local loteca.  Some you may need an account, but study your situation first.

Hi, everyone! If one is self-employed and until now, had asked his clients to deposit his paychecks into his Brazilian bank account, should he stop doing this? If he doesn't stop this, will he have to pay taxes on all his income? Or worse, be arrested for tax evasion if he doesnt declare all his income? For example, if every month, he receives 5-6 deposits totaling roughly R$ 14,000 - R$ 16,000, the Receita Federal will keep track of those deposits if they are R$ 2000 or higher, right? When does this "invasion of privacy" policy go into effect? lol

I know a Brazilian who is a private teacher and she told me she only paid R$ 300 TOTAL  in taxes last year even though she had made about R$ 8,000 a month. She worked with an accountant and in so many words, he told her not to worry about declaring the bank deposits from her clients because the government is too lazy to track them. Hmm...I wonder what he'll tell her this year.

Hi Victoria,

The requirement for Brazilian banks to report directly to the Receita Federal all transactions over R$2000 for individuals and R$6000 for registered businesses is already in effect.

So that means if you're teaching privately, or doing anything else as a self-employed person that if your students/clients deposit directly to your bank account then any payments they make in excess of R$2000 the Receita is going to already know about, you will likely be asked to explain all of them. Government doesn't have to track them now, the banks must report them.

If your deposits are made on a fixed schedule and for a fixed amount then the Receita is absolutely certain that the Receita will determine they are income unless you prove otherwise, and you will be expected to pay tax on them.

Also don't forget that since you are a US citizen the Brazilian banks are required to report all of your banking information directly to the IRS, and you are required to report any Brazilian sourced income as "World Income" on your annual 1040, so the IRS is already aware of that too, so you don't want to try and 'fudge' it.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

Good to know, James! Thank you!

James, account-to-account transfers below R$ 2,000 wont be reported, correct? What if the client sending the paycheck were to split the payment in two? (For example, R$ 3,000 gets split into two transfers of R$ 1500 each.) During the transfer, they would still note the CPF of the person receiving the $, so wouldn't the recipient still have to answer to the Receita Federal?

I don't know where you're getting all this filthy money Victoria , but I want in on the action!

VictoriaChandler wrote:

James, account-to-account transfers below R$ 2,000 wont be reported, correct? What if the client sending the paycheck were to split the payment in two? (For example, R$ 3,000 gets split into two transfers of R$ 1500 each.) During the transfer, they would still note the CPF of the person receiving the $, so wouldn't the recipient still have to answer to the Receita Federal?

Never mind. I misunderstood. ALL transactions totalling over R$ 2,000 will be reported to the Receita Federal. Nossa! The Brazilian government is desperate. They couldn't get CPMF approved, so now they've resorted to violating everyone's constitutional rights.

Hi Victoria,

Really the R$2000 limit really is meaningless, since the banks must automatically report all transactions over that amount, to the Receita Federal your account is virtually an open book anyway with this Supreme Court ruling. It doesn't take much for one of their bean counters to figure out the blank spots in the information. They can still easily see transactions less than the limit by simply comparing the larger transaction to your monthly balance. So if you've had 4 monthly deposits/transfers of R$2000, but your balance for the month totals R$15000, they automatically know you had a number of smaller deposits/transfers which total R$7000 that month. They're certainly going to look a lot more closely at your transactions from that point on.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

So if a person transfers R$1900 a month to a brazilian bank account the banks won't report to the receita federal?

05/27/21

This advice is very much out of date.  You're looking at old threads.  Try to direct your searches to threads that show activity after November 2017:  Brazil did a complete overhaul of its immigration laws that took effect then, and a lot of prior information is obsolete.

On the specific question,  large transfers (e.g., to buy a residence) are reported to the Central Bank, the Receita Federal, and the Federal Police when they're received in Brazil, and not released until they've been vetted.  Small, regular transfers probably are not reported immediately, but bank account activity is reported to the Receita Federal annually.

Yes, the central bank is watching. Anything over $4,000 U$ is a "blip" on the radar. As in many countries, money laundering is a problem. This is where the "catch-all" regulations can be found.
For the first 2 years, I had to present my tax returns and US Bank statements in Jan. After that no issues.
Any large purchases going thru your bank should be discussed with the bank's back office. The bank will advise BB and the Central Bank of the possible transfer.

"The bank is watching anything over 4 thousand dollars?" Another person said anything over 2 thousand Reais that the banks are already on you. Which one is is which?

how much can a foreigner send per month to a Brazilian person and get by without taxation and bank burocracies?

Who said $2K?
If referring to the 2016 post all information is obsolete,
If I'm going over $4K, I just talk to my bank.

Now you switched from your bank to another person's bank.
Another person will have to report such. s/he would have to clear such with the bank and the bank will ask questions to the owner of the account.
$1900.00US is around $R10.000,00

Anyone who lives in Brazil and has an income over R$ 28.559,70 per year is required to file an income tax return.   Whether and how much they have to pay will vary from case to case.

Brazil's financial systems are acutely attentive to anything that looks like money laundering.

ON another subject  -  " Birth certificate for a newborn.
Babies -{ TWINS ] were born in Brazil in August 2020. Mother is Brazilian - Dad lives in the Caribbean ,they are not married  Mother & Father sent in all required documents for birth certificates, it is almost a year -No birth certificates as yet, Mother checks every week - Dad is not happy, he could not be there personally, however, he sent all the necessary documents, Because of covid he cannot travel from his country.  Can a lawyer help? Please advise Kids will be a year old  August  2021. what can we do ????
email is ***

06/02/21

junegabice1

How is the cartório explaining the delay to the children's mother?  What are they telling her is missing or incorrect?

They said it is not ready as yet. I cannot understand, IT HAS BEEN SOME TIME NOW. I never thought it will be this long. Many thanks for your reply to my post.

junegabice1 wrote:

They said it is not ready as yet. I cannot understand, IT HAS BEEN SOME TIME NOW. I never thought it will be this long. Many thanks for your reply to my post.

If the mother is in Brazil, she should go to the cartório in person and ask exactly what is causing the delay, and how she can resolve it.  Birth certificates are supposed to be issued almost immediately if the correct documents are presented, and free of charge.

Reading back to your original post, you said that both parents had "sent in" the documents; birth certificates are supposed to be requested in person.  If the family is in Trinidad and the children were born there, then the registration needs to be done in person at the Brazilian Embassy in Port of Spain.