New Normative Instruction regarding IRRF rules for digital platform commissions

In brief

On July 1, 2026, the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (“RFB”) published in the Official Gazette Normative Instruction RFB No. 2,331, of June 23, 2026 (“IN RFB No. 2,331/2026”), which governs (i) the withholding at source and the payment of the Withholding Income Tax (“IRRF”) levied on commissions, brokerage fees, and other remunerations paid or credited by legal entities to digital platforms in consideration for commercial representation or intermediation in civil and commercial transactions; and (ii) the possibility of advance payment of such tax by the platforms themselves, in their capacity as collection centralizers.

In more detail

In general terms, the new rule stems from an understanding reached within the scope of the “Receita Soluciona” program, an initiative launched by the RFB to foster dialogue with different economic sectors and jointly develop regulatory solutions. Discussions held under the program made clear the need to standardize and adapt IRRF withholding procedures to the new business models arising in digital environments, particularly in light of the multiplicity of financial flows and the centralization of payments performed by the platforms, which had been giving rise to uncertainty as to the identification of the paying source responsible for withholding.

For purposes of the new rule, IN RFB No. 2,331/2026 adopts a concept of digital platform aligned with that set forth in Complementary Law No. 214/2025, defining as such the legal entity that, cumulatively, (i) acts as intermediary between suppliers and purchasers in transactions and imports carried out on a non-face-to-face basis or through electronic means; and (ii) controls one or more of the essential elements of the transaction, namely, collection, payment, the definition of terms and conditions, or delivery. Conversely, the rule expressly excludes from this concept legal entities that exclusively perform the activities of providing internet access, rendering payment services as institutions authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil, advertising, or searching and comparing suppliers – in this latter case, provided that no fee is charged based on the sales carried out.

As to the applicable regime, the rule preserves, as a general principle, the levy of IRRF at the rate of 1.5% on amounts paid or credited as commissions, brokerage fees, and other remunerations for the intermediation of civil and commercial transactions, with the paying source remaining responsible for withholding and remitting the tax. Payment must be made by the last business day of the second ten-day period of the month following that of the payment or credit, by means of a DARF, under revenue code 8045.
In this respect, therefore, IN RFB No. 2,331/2026 preserves the traditional logic of withholding taxation, without changing either the tax rate or the allocation of responsibility that had already been in place for commercial intermediation transactions.

As an alternative to the general rule, however, the RFB introduces an innovative optional regime under which the digital platform itself – provided that it acts as the centralizer of the payment flows in the transactions it intermediates – may take on the anticipation of the IRRF payment. In such cases, the platform will remit the IRRF directly, and, as a consequence, the legal entity responsible for the payment or credit will be released from the withholding obligation. It is worth noting that the tax so remitted will be treated as an anticipation of the tax due by the digital platform itself, which reflects the RFB’s concern to preserve the neutrality of the regime from the perspective of the ultimate tax burden.

Once the election for the centralized regime has been made, it will be annual and irrevocable, and must be formalized in the Digital Tax Bookkeeping of Withholdings and Other Tax Information (“EFD-Reinf”) filed in January of each calendar year or, in the case of the commencement of activities, in the first EFD-Reinf filed within the respective calendar year.

In addition, it is essential to note that the election for the centralized regime imposes on the digital platform relevant duties of continuous observance, namely: (i) the application of the anticipation mechanism to all transactions carried out during the term of the election; and (ii) the duty to inform the legal entities transacting through it that the withholding obligation has been waived, by means of the declaration provided in the Sole Annex to IN RFB No. 2,331/2026.

Exceptionally for calendar year 2026, Article 4 of IN RFB No. 2,331/2026 establishes a specific transitional rule, pursuant to which the digital platform may perform the advance payment as from October 1, 2026, being required, for that purpose, to formalize the election in the EFD-Reinf relating to the month of October 2026. This differentiated timeline grants potentially eligible platforms a defined window to assess the convenience of adhering to the regime and, where applicable, to implement the necessary operational adjustments still within calendar year 2026.

From a systemic standpoint, IN RFB No. 2,331/2026 represents a relevant advance in the tax regulation of digital platforms, insofar as it specifically addresses recurring disputes concerning the responsibility for IRRF withholding in transactions intermediated through electronic means, while at the same time harmonizing the concept of digital platform with that adopted by Complementary Law No. 214/2025. From this perspective, the new rule is directly connected to the broader movement toward reorganizing the taxation of digital transactions in Brazil, contributing to the construction of a more coherent and predictable framework.

In this context, we recommend that companies potentially falling within the concept of a digital platform carefully assess their qualification in light of the criteria set forth in the rule, revisit their collection, payment, and contracting flows, and analyze the strategic and operational convenience of electing the advance-payment regime, taking into account the impacts on systems, ancillary obligations, and the relationship with suppliers and purchasers.