Igor Utsumi

Igor Utsumi

Staff Writer
The Brazil Business

Updated

How To Negotiate Tax Debts With Receita Federal

Igor Utsumi

Igor Utsumi

Staff Writer
The Brazil Business

Updated

During hard times or after bad financial results, tax debts may appear. Find out in this article how to manage those debts with the Federal Revenue.

The Federal Revenue, or Receita Federal, is one of the major tax collectors in Brazil. In 2013, its revenue totaled BRL 1.13 trillion, which represents a growth of 4% over the previous year. And a large percentage of this tax collection, according to Receita itself, comes from the payment of debts made possible by the agreements between debtors and the government body.

How to Know if You Have Tax Debts

On the Receita’s website, it is possible to find out if you have any debt and how big that debt is.

This service is known as Pesquisa de Situação Fiscal, and it allows the taxpayer to do the following:

  • Get a report with the register of information and pendencies
  • Download software and instructions to regularize the situation
  • Visualize debts with the Federal Revenue and the State Treasury Office
  • Obtain information on administrative processes, like installments
  • Issue the Document For The Collection Of Federal Revenue, which is a the proof of payment known as Darf

To access these tools, the taxpayer is required to generate an access code. In order to do so, it is necessary to provide the company or personal information, as well as the number of the Income Tax Declaration receipt.

This inquiry can also be done at a Federal Revenue unit. In this case, a form, which is available online, must be filled out and presented in person.

Debt Situation

Any individual or company failing to pay fees or taxes to the Federal Revenue is classified as a debtor.

Debtors are allowed — and encouraged — to sign agreements with Receita Federal to solve their situation. This process is simpler if the debt is not classified yet as Dívida Ativa da União, or Active Debt.

If the debt is considered an Active Debt, the State Treasury Office can start legal procedures against the debtor, implementing tax enforcement measures. The negotiation is still possible in cases of Active Debt, but the whole process is taken to the Brazilian justice system and debtors have less leverage in the negotiation.

When Is It Possible To Negotiate

The Federal Revenue allows taxpayers to pay their debts through installments. There are different models of installment, depending on the length of time and how much is overdue. Also, different processes are needed to negotiate debts registered as Dívida Ativa da União.

Note that this type of negotiation is not considered in some cases. Receita Federal does not allow the debtor to pay through installments if it relates to specific subjects, for example:

In addition, taxpayers who participate in some of the government special installment programs, such as Refis — Programa de Recuperação Fiscal — or Paes — Parcelamento Especial — cannot negotiate their debts using this procedure.

Who Can Negotiate

Both companies and individuals can negotiate their debts with the Federal Revenue. The difference lies in the documents which must be presented.

Companies

The owner or legal representatives are allowed to start the negotiation process. Both the original and copy of documents stating that the requestors are legally authorized to represent the company is required as proof, such as:

It is also necessary to present both original and copy of the requestor or requestors ID.

Individual

The taxpayer must present both original and copy of his ID.

How To Negotiate

Each tax, duty, or contribution that is owed will be negotiated separately; therefore each debt will have a different installment program. If all the conditions to the installment are fulfilled, the debt will be recalculated, with its accruals and charges. The negotiation must be concluded within 10 days after negotiations commenced.

When the agreement is being formalized, a series of documents must be presented at the Federal Revenue unit. All the needed forms are provided free of cost by Receita Federal.

  • PEPAR - Pedido de Parcelamento de Débito, or Request for Debt Installment
  • DIPAR - Discriminação de Débito a Parcelar, or the detailing of the debt that will be parceled
  • Authorization for direct bank debit of the installments
  • Both original and copy of the documents listed at the “Who Can Negotiate” section above
  • Copy of the Darf (proof of payment) referred to the first installment

The debts can be paid in up to 60 monthly and consecutive installments. Installments have a minimum limit of BRL 100 for individuals and BRL 500 for companies.

The value of each installment shall bear interest equivalent 1% for the month in which the payment is being made. It shall also bear interest equivalent to the Basic Tax Rate (Selic), which is accumulated monthly and calculated from the month subsequent to the consolidation until the month prior to the payment.

If the debtor fails to pay three installments, consecutive or not, the agreement will be rescinded and the remaining debt is then registered as Dívida Ativa da União.

Other Forms of Negotiation

Besides the standard installment process, the Federal Revenue also offers different forms of negotiation, such as special programs.

One of the most famous is known as Refis. This program allows debtors to get discounts when paying the owed amount, if some conditions are followed.

There are different Refis programs, like Refis da Crise and Refis da Copa, and each one attends debts of a specific sector or size. However, registrations for some of them have already been finished, so the recommended procedure is to check what can be done with the Federal Revenue.

Also, there is the possibility to choose a simplified way of tax debts negotiation with the Federal Revenue. This can be done via internet in cases where the owed amount is under BRL 1 million. An access code must be requested at the Receita Federal websiteif this negotiation type is chosen.