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Guide · Real-estate funds
Income tax on Brazilian REITs (FIIs): exempt income and capital gains
Tax on a real-estate fund confuses people because it happens at two different moments, with opposite rules: the income paid every month can be exempt, but the profit on selling the share is taxed. This guide separates the two, under the rules in force in 2026.
1. The two tax moments
There are two completely distinct taxable events in a FII, and confusing them is the most common mistake:
- The monthly income (the distribution the fund pays to shareholders) — as a rule, exempt from income tax for individuals.
- The gain on selling the share (selling for more than you paid) — taxed, always.
In other words: receiving is one thing, selling is another. The next two sections cover each.
2. Monthly income and the exemption
A FII's monthly distribution is exempt from income tax for the individual investor (pessoa física), under Law No. 11,033/2004, still in force in 2026 — provided that three conditions hold at the same time:
- (a) the fund's shares (cotas) are traded exclusively on a stock exchange or organized OTC market;
- (b) the fund has at least 100 shareholders (cotistas);
- (c) the individual beneficiary does not hold 10% or more of the fund's shares (or of the rights to its income).
If any one of these conditions fails, the distribution stops being exempt and becomes taxed. For an ordinary small investor, all three are usually met naturally — but anyone holding a large slice of a single fund needs to watch condition (c) closely.
3. The reform and what did NOT change
There was a lot of noise about "the end of the FII exemption". It's worth separating what actually happened:
- The 2025 tax reform (Law No. 15,270/2025), in force since January 2026, began taxing company dividends — with 10% withholding on payments above R$50,000 per month from a single company to an individual. But it kept the FII exemption.
- A separate measure (MP No. 1,303/2025) did propose taxing FII income, but it lapsed (caducou) after the Câmara rejected it in October 2025.
Net result: the exemption on FII monthly income, under the three conditions above, survived and remains in force in 2026.
4. Capital gain on selling: 20% and DARF
Here the rule is the opposite of the income rule. When you sell shares at a profit, the capital gain (sale price minus cost) is taxed at a flat 20% rate, regardless of amount.
One important detail: for FIIs there is no small-sale exemption like the one stocks enjoy (the up-to-R$20,000-per-month rule). With a FII, any profit on a sale is taxed.
The tax is calculated and paid by the investor, via DARF (code 6015), by the last business day of the month following the sale. On settlement, the broker withholds a tiny 0.005% — the so-called "dedo-duro". That amount is not the tax: it's just a symbolic withholding that flags the transaction to the tax authority. The real tax is the one you calculate and pay yourself.
5. How it appears in the annual return
In the income-tax return, each part goes to a different section:
- The shares you own go under Bens e Direitos (Assets and Rights).
- The exempt monthly income goes under Rendimentos Isentos e Não Tributáveis (Exempt and Non-Taxable Income).
- The taxable capital gains (profit on sale) go under Renda Variável / Ganhos de Capital (Variable Income / Capital Gains).
6. Where this guide ends
This material explains the general mechanics of FII income tax based on the rules in force in 2026 — it does not replace an accountant's guidance for your specific case. Tax rules change, and particular situations (for instance, a shareholder with a relevant stake, or funds with an atypical structure) call for specific analysis. To understand where the funds' numbers come from, see the CVM report and the methodology; to start looking at the funds, see REIT P/BV and Brick vs paper.