Federal tax collection in Brazil totalled R$239.384 billion in September, the highest figure ever recorded for the month since the Receita Federal (Federal Revenue Service) began its series in 2000. The agency released the data on Thursday in Brasília. Stripping out inflation as measured by the IPCA consumer price index, the result is up 5.62% on September last year.
The number came in broadly as the market expected: the median of the estimates compiled by Broadcast Projeções pointed to R$239.640 billion, within a range running from R$235 billion to R$256 billion. In August, collection had come to R$235.566 billion.
Of September's receipts, R$231.4 billion are taxes administered directly by the Receita Federal, up 5.03% in real terms.
What drove the month
The single largest contribution came from the payroll. Social security revenue reached R$64.588 billion, a real increase of 6.18%, a result linked to growth in the overall wage bill and to collection under Simples Nacional, the simplified tax regime for small businesses.
Two tax-policy shifts show up clearly in the month's figures:
- Withholding tax on capital income: R$12.061 billion, up 9.87% in real terms. The jump is attributed to the taxation of dividends, which took effect in 2026, and to a 9.68% nominal rise in fixed-income holdings.
- Export tax on crude oil: R$2.943 billion. The levy, charged at 12%, is recent and had no equivalent basis for comparison a year earlier.
Corporate income tax (IRPJ) and the social contribution on net profit (CSLL), by contrast, came to R$29.820 billion in September, up just 1.06% in real terms — the smallest variation among the main headings.
Moving the other way, the IOF, Brazil's tax on financial transactions, brought in R$8.041 billion over the month, a real fall of 9.06%.
R$2.351 trillion for the year so far
From January to September, federal collection adds up to R$2.351 trillion, up 6.97% in real terms — also the best performance in the series for the period. Taxes administered by the Receita Federal alone reach R$2.250 trillion, up 6.89% in real terms.
The breakdown of the year to date:
| Tax | Jan–Sep 2026 | Real change |
|---|---|---|
| Social security revenue | R$575.925 billion | +5.16% |
| PIS/Pasep and Cofins | R$466.555 billion | +4.10% |
| IRPJ and CSLL | R$444.238 billion | +5.76% |
| Withholding tax on capital income | R$131.151 billion | +5.76% |
| IOF | R$75.750 billion | +19.49% |
The IOF's 19.49% rise over the year sits oddly beside its fall in the month, and the explanation is one of calendar: the rate was raised in June 2025, amid a standoff with Congress, so the comparison base for the early months of 2026 still predates the increase.
How much of the record is one-off
The Receita Federal identifies R$23.869 billion in atypical revenue for the year to date — receipts that do not recur on any regular basis. Of that total, R$11 billion comes from one-off IRPJ and CSLL payments and R$12.869 billion from the export tax on crude oil.
The figure helps put the record in proportion: atypical revenue accounts for roughly 1% of everything the federal government collected between January and September. The bulk of the growth, then, comes from a recurring base — payroll, consumption and company profits — rather than from isolated events.
Also feeding into the year are the changes Congress approved at the end of 2025, which raised taxation on fintechs, on betting and on interest on equity. In the case of fintechs, the CSLL rose from 9% to 12% through the end of 2027 and goes to 15% from 2028; banks pay 20%.
With information from CNN Brasil and Estadão Conteúdo, based on the Receita Federal's revenue report.
