Portuguese 
Spanish 
4 min of reading 
0 comments 
On June 17, 2026, the Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, stated in the Chamber that the government will expand the MEI limit and allow one more employee. He did not mention values. Today the ceiling is R$ 81 thousand annually and one employee.
The federal government will propose increasing the MEI limit, the individual microentrepreneur, along with the authorization to hire one more employee. The announcement was made this Wednesday, June 17, 2026, by the Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, during a public hearing in the Chamber of Deputies. The news, however, came with an important gap: the minister did not mention what the new allowed turnover value will be, leaving open precisely the information most awaited by those working under this regime.
Under the current rules, microentrepreneurs can have only one employee and earn up to R$ 81 thousand per year. The government’s proposal is to raise this ceiling and allow the hiring of a second employee, meeting a long-standing request from the category. Durigan’s statement took place in the Agriculture and Finance and Taxation Committees of the Chamber. The information was disclosed by g1, based on what the minister declared during the hearing.
What the minister announced about the MEI limit
During the hearing, Dario Durigan was direct in stating that the change will be made in conjunction with the National Congress. According to him, the MEI limit will be expanded and the microentrepreneur will be able to have one more employee, meeting a demand that has existed for a long time among small entrepreneurs in the country.
-
Dia Supermercados closes 343 stores in Brazil, ends judicial recovery ahead of schedule, and attempts to revive with 238 units in São Paulo after a debt of nearly R$ 1.1 billion exposed the brutal pressure of wholesale clubs on traditional chains.
-
‘The vessel of human civilization has entered dangerous waters, full of reefs and storms’: it was with this apocalyptic tone that China launched an explosive manifesto this Wednesday, full of barbs at protectionism and the “double standards” of Western powers.
-
Brazilians begin to receive R$ 600 through Caixa Tem and the Bolsa Família calendar reveals who will have the money released first between June 17 and 30.
-
Goodbye income tax: Senate analyzes a bill that could benefit nearly 1 million military personnel, police officers, and firefighters with full exemption on salaries, pensions, and paid reserves; text advances without presenting calculated fiscal impact.
The point that remained unanswered was the value. The minister did not inform how much the turnover ceiling will rise, leaving open the number that most interests microentrepreneurs. Today, those who are MEI need to respect the limit of R$ 81 thousand annually, and any change in this level directly affects the lives of millions of people who depend on this framework to work in a simplified manner.
The project already underway in Congress
Although the government has not mentioned figures, there is an ongoing project that points in a direction. Bill 108, from 2021, already approved by the Senate and under review in the Chamber, proposes raising the MEI limit from the current R$ 81 thousand to up to R$ 130 thousand per year. The same text also provides for the possibility of hiring one more employee, in line with what the minister announced.
The government’s relationship with this proposal, however, is ambiguous. The economic team specifically listed this project among the so-called “explosive agendas,” that is, matters that create large expenses or reduce public revenue. According to the economic area’s calculation, this would be the main explosive agenda cited by the government, with an estimated impact of R$ 50 billion per year in loss of federal revenue, within a total of R$ 111 billion across nine projects.
How MEI and Simples work today
To understand the weight of the change, it’s worth remembering how the system currently works. MEI is part of the Simples Nacional, a regime created in 2006 to stimulate small businesses. It unifies various taxes into a more favorable rate, simplifying the life of those who undertake on a smaller scale.
The qualification brackets vary according to the size of the business. Currently, an individual micro-entrepreneur can earn up to R$ 81,000 per year, while micro-enterprises can reach R$ 360,000 and small businesses can reach R$ 4.8 million annually. The tax reform on consumption, approved in 2023, did not change these qualification limits, leaving room for the current discussion about raising the ceiling.
The impact on public accounts
The most sensitive point of the entire discussion is the effect on the government’s cash flow. Simples Nacional is already the main program that generates a loss of federal revenue, and the cost is not small. Estimates from the Federal Revenue point to a significant waiver of revenue linked to this regime throughout the year.
The numbers help to size the debate. According to the Revenue, Simples Nacional is expected to generate a waiver of R$ 136 billion this year, about 22% of the total R$ 612.84 billion in benefits projected for 2026. Studies indicate that the tax relief granted to individual micro-entrepreneurs is an important source of imbalance in Brazilian public accounts, which have been recording consecutive deficits in recent years.
How Brazil compares to other countries
The debate about the MEI limit also takes on different contours when compared to the rest of the world. In 2022, a Federal Revenue auditor presented a survey in the Chamber of Deputies on the revenue ceilings adopted by other countries in their favored regimes for micro and small businesses.
The difference is notable. In Brazil, the limit for this type of regime is equivalent to about US$ 1 million, while in the United Kingdom it is around US$ 104,000 and in South Korea US$ 48,000. Countries like Canada, Israel, and Portugal have even lower ceilings, which places Brazil among the most generous in this type of benefit and helps explain why raising the limit generates so much fiscal concern.
And you, do you think the increase in the MEI limit will help small entrepreneurs or do you fear the impact of this on public finances? Leave your opinion on the proposal announced by the Minister of Finance in the comments.
Be the first to react!