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Deadline is until May 29, the IRS expects 46.2 million declarations and new cashback returns up to R$ 1,000 via Pix for those earning up to two minimum wages
The Federal Revenue has never had so much information about the financial lives of Brazilians. With Normative Instruction No. 2,278/2025, fintechs began to follow the same rules as traditional banks when passing data to the government. This means that transfers via Pix, cryptocurrency purchases, and even cashback from financial apps now feed a data cross-referencing system powered by artificial intelligence. The deadline to submit the Income Tax 2026 declaration, referring to the base year 2025, is until May 29 — and those who delay will pay a minimum fine of R$ 165.74.
As published by the federal government, the main novelty this year is the IRPF cashback: an automatic refund of up to R$ 1,000 via Pix for taxpayers earning up to around two minimum wages (R$ 2,428.80/month). The IRS estimates that about 4 million Brazilians fit this situation.
Pix is not taxed — but the IRS knows exactly how much you move
The Federal Revenue has repeatedly confirmed that there is no legislation that taxes movements via Pix. There is no “Pix fee,” as rumors suggest. However, what matters for income tax is the nature and origin of the money received, not the payment method.
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The industrial waste that even recyclers didn’t want has gained value in the interior of Bahia: two entrepreneurs invested R$ 2.8 million to transform 350 tons per year of foam, rubber, and plastic into boards that can replace wood and MDF.
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Erected in just 30 minutes over the water that had already engulfed the courtyard, a motorized floating bridge from China evacuated more than 6,000 students trapped inside a school surrounded by the flood in the south of the country, after Typhoon Maysak turned the region into a flooded area.
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Employee buys a ticket that a customer left behind, discovers a million-dollar prize, tries to claim the fortune, is fired after 20 years, and ends up in a legal dispute with the company.
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China returned almost 20 Brazilian ships with soybeans and is now back to buying from the USA, but stocks above 9 million tons raise suspicions of a political move, not a commercial necessity.
Financial institutions and fintechs report global movements to the IRS. Starting in 2025, transactions above R$ 5,000 monthly for individuals and R$ 15,000 for legal entities must be reported mandatorily, especially in operations with crypto assets. The IRS compares this data with declared income — and any incompatibility leads to a fine.
As warned by the E-Investidor from Estadão, Normative Instruction No. 2,291/2025 further increased the rigor in tracking operations on crypto asset platforms. Several foreign brokers are already passing data to Brazil.
Recently, the CPG detailed how the IRS cross-references crypto and cashback data in IR 2026, with the pre-filled form pulling even transactions from Mercado Pago.
How the IR cashback works and who receives it without declaring
The IRS system will automatically identify individuals who had tax withheld at source in 2024 but did not submit a declaration in 2025 because they were not required to. The cross-referencing uses data from eSocial sent by companies. If the system detects that there was excess tax paid, the amount will be automatically refunded via Pix with CPF key, without needing to declare.
Robinson Barreirinhas, special secretary of the Federal Revenue, stated that the goal is “to make the process increasingly simple and accessible for taxpayers.” The cashback payment is expected to start from July 15, 2026, in a special batch separate from the traditional refund calendar.
However, voluntarily declaring remains the safest way to recover excess tax paid — cashback depends on automatic cross-referencing that may not capture all cases.
The errors that most lead to fines — and fines of up to 20%
One of the main errors is receiving payments for services as an individual without declaring the amounts as taxable income. With Pix facilitating direct transfers, many freelancers accumulate receipts that appear in the IRS systems but not in the declarations.
The fine for delay can reach 20% of the tax due, with a minimum of R$ 165.74. For crypto assets, voluntary late payments also incur a 20% fine. The IRS expects to receive 46.2 million declarations in 2026 — and as highlighted by the Estado de Minas, this year’s pre-filled declaration makes any inconsistency even more evident, as the data already comes pre-filled by the system.
