Brazil has introduced a voluntary tax regularisation programme allowing taxpayers holding the Confia or Sintonia compliance seals to acknowledge and settle eligible tax debts before an audit without late payment penalties, with options for full payment, instalments or tax credit offsets.
Brazil’s tax authority, the Federal Revenue Service (RFB), announced on 3 November 2026 that it introduced a simpler way for taxpayers to settle debts without paying late payment penalties.
Normative Instruction RFB 2346/2026 created the program, which lets taxpayers acknowledge and pay what they owe before an audit takes place.
Who qualifies and how the process works
Only holders of the Confia Seal, the cooperative compliance program, or the Sintonia Seal, the highest compliance level, can use the benefit. They must first receive a Self Regularisation Notice. That notice lists the taxes, the periods involved, the signs of errors, and a 60-day deadline to respond.
Within those 60 days, the taxpayer must acknowledge the debt through a tax return or an amendment. The taxpayer then chooses to pay in full, in instalments of up to 60 months, or by offsetting. The application is fully digital and requires a DARF (code 6359) along with payment of the first instalment or the full amount.
What happens if the rules are not followed
Taxpayers who do not opt in will see the debt move through the normal collection process, with full interest and late payment penalties applied.
Those who join but miss instalment payments lose the agreement. The late payment penalty returns on the remaining balance, minus what was already paid.
The RFB has up to 5 years to check whether the debts were included correctly. If a debt was not eligible, or if the credit used for offsetting did not exist, the late payment penalty applies again to the improper portion. The taxpayer receives notice and has the right to respond.
Avoiding scams
The Federal Revenue Service does not request payment through WhatsApp, SMS, or email, and it does not threaten to cancel a CPF or CNPJ (Brazilian individual/company tax identification numbers). Official communication follows due process, sets a deadline, and arrives only through official channels.
Payments are made through a DARF, never through bank slips, deposits, or Pix transfers. Anyone unsure about their tax status can check it at www.gov.br/receitafederal.
What the program covers
The program is not an amnesty. The tax and interest remain due, and only the late payment penalty is waived. It does not cover debts already assessed ex officio before the request. The benefit is also not automatic, since the taxpayer must irrevocably acknowledge the debt and make the initial payment.
The procedure follows the same rules nationwide. It is established under the Taxpayer Defence Code (Complementary Law No. 225/2026) and reflects a cooperative model in which taxpayers with a good record can settle matters before any assessment.
