Sending money to Brazil to buy property, and taking it back

How the money comes in

Foreign exchange can only be done through an institution authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil, which identifies who sends and who receives (Law 14,286/2021, arts. 3 and 14). Only a casual exchange of up to US$ 500 in cash between individuals is outside the rule (art. 19). The Central Bank describes three ways for a non-resident to pay for a property:

1. A payment order from abroad to the seller, who closes the exchange in Brazil.
2. Reais from a non-resident account in Brazil.
3. A transfer to your attorney-in-fact (procurador) in Brazil, who closes the exchange in your name.

The purpose of the exchange: code 46215

The client tells the bank the purpose of the exchange, choosing a code from the Central Bank's lists (Resolution BCB 277/2022, art. 4). Above US$ 50,000, the code for the purchase and sale of real estate is 46215 (Annex IV). The list for smaller amounts (Annex III) has no specific real-estate code; ask the bank which one it will use.

Some guides cite other codes for this purpose; 46215 is the one in the current table (Resolution BCB 277/2022, Annex IV, as amended by Resolution BCB 337/2023).

Do you have to register with the Central Bank? No, as an individual

Many guides say a foreign buyer must register the purchase with the Central Bank. Those rules (the old RDE-IED) were revoked by Resolution BCB 278/2022. Today's foreign direct investment register (SCE-IED) is for stakes in Brazilian companies, and the one who declares is the Brazilian company receiving the investment; the US$ 100,000 threshold applies to that case.

For an individual buying property in their own name, the exchange contract at the bank is the record. By law, the property is foreign capital in Brazil with the same legal treatment as national capital (Law 14,286/2021, arts. 8 and 9).

What the exchange costs: IOF and the total effective rate

• IOF on the incoming exchange: 0.38%. There is no specific rate for real estate, so it falls under the general rate for inflows (Decree 6,306/2007, art. 15-B, as amended in 2025). The 2025 IOF decrees were challenged in Congress and in the Supreme Court; confirm the rate on your bank's quote.
• The bank's exchange rate and fees. The total effective rate (VET: rate, taxes and fees) must be shown before the operation only up to US$ 100,000; above that, ask for it (Resolution BCB 277/2022, art. 18).
• Your own bank abroad may also charge a transfer fee.

The CPF

Anyone living abroad who carries out a real-estate transaction in Brazil, or owns property here, must have a CPF (Normative Instruction RFB 2,172/2024, art. 4). It goes on the deed and on the payment orders when you later send money abroad (Resolution BCB 277/2022, art. 13).

When you sell: the tax and sending the money back

• The gain is the sale price minus your acquisition cost. If you cannot prove the cost, it counts as zero: keep the exchange contract, the deed, the registration and the tax receipts.
• The buyer withholds the tax and pays it on the date of the sale; if the buyer also lives abroad, their attorney-in-fact in Brazil does (Law 10,833/2003, art. 26).
• The money goes back through an authorized institution. The general IOF rate for outflows is 3.5%, with no specific rate for real-estate sales; confirm it with the bank. The bank decides which documents it asks for (Resolution BCB 277/2022, art. 7).