Paying international freight from Brazil in 2026: FX, IOF and tax

The container has landed, customs has cleared the goods, and the shipping line wants its freight in US dollars. When your Brazilian subsidiary goes to pay, the bank asks for a purpose code, wants the bill of lading and quotes an IOF far higher than the one in the budget. Paying international freight from Brazil looks like routine treasury work, but it sits on top of Central Bank rules, several taxes and changes from 2025 and 2026 that many published tables still miss. This article explains how the payment works today, what changed in 2026 and how a foreign-owned company avoids overpaying tax or having the transfer bounced.

Who pays the freight, and when it becomes a foreign remittance

Who pays depends on the Incoterm. On FOB or FCA purchases, the Brazilian importer books and pays the main freight. On CFR or CIF sales, the Brazilian exporter does. In both cases, if the carrier or forwarder being paid is abroad, the payment is an outbound remittance and must go through Brazil’s foreign exchange (FX) market.

In practice there are three common routes:

• Paying the foreign carrier directly (shipping line or airline), or its agent abroad.
• Paying a freight forwarder in Brazil in reais. The forwarder then remits to its partner abroad.
• Paying the foreign carrier’s representative in Brazil in reais. Foreign shipping lines and airlines often collect locally and later remit their revenue.

The route decides who signs the FX contract, who bears the IOF and who answers to the Central Bank for the information reported. Settle it in the contract and the quote, not at the moment of payment. For groups that also run forwarding in Brazil, our guide to freight forwarders’ accounting and tax in Brazil covers the other side of these flows.

The Central Bank rules for paying freight abroad

The framework is Law 14,286/2021, Brazil’s new FX law, regulated by Central Bank Resolution (BCB) 277/2022. These are the points that matter most for freight.

1. An authorized institution and complete payment details

The payment must go through an institution authorized to operate in the FX market, or another channel the rules allow. The payment instruction carries the payer’s details (name, ID, address and account or CNPJ, the Brazilian company registration number) and the beneficiary’s (name and account or transaction identifier) (Resolution BCB 277, art. 13). Informal channels, or paying through unauthorized third parties, are off the table.

2. The purpose code: the transport table changed, and many still use the old one

Every FX transaction is classified by purpose, and that classification is the company’s responsibility, not the bank’s (Resolution BCB 277, art. 4). For transactions up to USD 50,000, Annex III of Resolution 277, in force since early 2023, has no specific freight code. It uses broad groups, such as “purchase or sale of services”, in which freight generally falls under “Other service” (code 46992). The table has no explanatory notes, so confirm the classification with the bank.

Above USD 50,000, Annex IV applies. Resolution BCB 337/2023 rewrote it from November 1, 2023, replacing the old codes by transport mode with single transport codes:

Older tables still published by banks and advisers list codes by mode, such as 22019 for air freight on imports or 22112 for ocean freight on imports, which no longer appear in the current text. A wrong code means rework or a returned transfer and, in an audit, a mismatch between the FX records, the accounts and the tax authority’s data.

3. One purpose per transaction, no splitting

Payments must be contracted separately for each purpose (art. 24). Goods and freight are always different purposes, even when they appear on the same supplier invoice. Above USD 50,000, freight and insurance also have their own codes. Splitting a payment to stay within the up-to-USD-50,000 rules is not allowed (art. 22).

4. Net settlement, gross reporting

When outbound and inbound FX transactions settle on the same date, they must be reported to the Central Bank at their full amounts, but the money can move on a net basis (art. 25). This is what lets a forwarder with payables and receivables with the same overseas partner settle only the difference, as long as each transaction is recorded in full. Law 14,286 also allows private offsetting between residents and non-residents, but only in the cases the Central Bank regulates (art. 12). Outside those cases, settling by offset without an FX transaction is still a violation.

5. Paying with crypto now counts as FX

Since February 2, 2026, international payments or transfers made with virtual assets are part of the FX market (Resolution BCB 277, art. 76-A, added by Resolution BCB 521/2025). Paying a forwarder abroad in stablecoins is only regular through an authorized institution, with the same information and classification as a normal remittance. From October 1, 2026, Resolution BCB 561/2026 also reorganized the rules for eFX, Brazil’s international payment and transfer services.

6. Exporters can now hold foreign-currency accounts in Brazil

The change with the biggest practical effect for exporters came with Resolution BCB 575/2026. From October 1, 2026, companies that export goods can hold foreign-currency accounts in Brazil, funded exclusively by export proceeds and other amounts from abroad (art. 70, XII, and art. 75-A). Transfers in foreign currency to and from these accounts do not require an FX transaction (art. 70, sole paragraph).

Our technical reading, to confirm with the bank: for an exporter that pays the main freight on CFR or CIF sales, the account opens the possibility of paying freight with its own export dollars, without an outbound FX contract. Since IOF is charged on FX transactions, this may lower the cost of the payment. How it works in practice depends on each bank and deserves a review before the first transaction.

The taxes on a freight remittance

IOF: the item that weighs most in 2026

Until May 2025, before Decree 12,466, a freight remittance generally paid 0.38% IOF. Decrees 12,466 and 12,499 of 2025 set 3.5% for other outbound FX transactions not covered by an exception (art. 15-B, XXIV). Congress suspended the decrees through Legislative Decree 176/2025, but on July 16, 2025 Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF) restored Decree 12,499 by an interim ruling in ADC 96, keeping only one non-FX point suspended. As of October 2026, the merits had not been decided. Under the current text, a freight remittance generally falls under the 3.5% general rule. Confirm with your FX bank, which collects the tax, and remember that the purpose classification is the company’s responsibility.

IRRF: watch the transport mode and what the invoice contains

The zero rate under Law 9,481 covers freight of ships and aircraft, as well as containers, demurrage and port facilities, and it does not apply when the beneficiary is in a low-tax jurisdiction, where the rate is 25% (Law 9,779/1999, art. 8). Since shipping lines and forwarders may be based in jurisdictions on the Federal Revenue’s list (Normative Instruction RFB 1,037/2010), check the beneficiary’s domicile before paying. International road freight, common within Mercosur, is not in item I. For exporters, item XII (transport carried out abroad) may cover it; for importers, the tax depends on the case, including any double tax treaty, and should be reviewed before payment. If you need the general rules for paying services abroad, see our guide to withholding taxes on cross-border services.

A frequent problem is an invoice that mixes freight with forwarding, storage or documentation fees. Services that are not freight are generally outside item I, and the mix makes it hard to show what qualifies for the zero rate. Ask for separate invoices with the right description.

A worked example

A hypothetical importer buys goods FOB in Asia and books ocean freight directly with the shipping line for USD 8,000. Using an illustrative exchange rate of BRL 5.40 per USD:

The IOF difference between the old and the current rule is BRL 1,347.84 on a single freight payment. Across 50 shipments a year of this size, that is roughly BRL 67,000 of extra cost. This is why the Incoterm, the way freight is paid and, for exporters, the new foreign-currency account now move the final price. When headquarters reviews landed cost or intercompany pricing, this line belongs in the model. For a broader view of import costs, see our guide to importing goods into Brazil.

Documents the bank usually asks for

• The freight invoice or debit note, with amount, currency, beneficiary and a separate description of each service.
• The transport document (bill of lading, air waybill or CRT for road) and, where applicable, the CE-Mercante (Brazil’s electronic maritime cargo record).
• The import declaration (DI or Duimp) or export declaration (DU-E), as applicable.
• The contract or quote with the carrier or forwarder, especially for recurring arrangements.

The FX institution must know its customer and the transaction. Incomplete or inconsistent documents, such as different amounts or dates on the invoice and the bill of lading, are the most common reason a payment stalls.

Mistakes that cost money

• Using an old freight code below USD 50,000, or the wrong Annex IV code above it.
• Remitting freight and goods in the same transaction, against the one-purpose rule.
• Budgeting IOF at 0.38% without checking whether the 3.5% general rule applies.
• Accepting an invoice that mixes freight with other services and losing the zero withholding rate.
• Offsetting balances with the overseas agent without FX, or paying in crypto outside an authorized institution.
• Not reconciling FX and accounting: the FX gain or loss between the freight date and the payment date must be recorded.

Frequently asked questions

Is there IOF on freight paid to a forwarder in Brazil in reais?

A payment in reais to a company in Brazil is not an FX transaction. Whoever remits abroad, in this case the forwarder, signs the FX contract and bears that transaction’s rules and IOF, a cost usually passed on in the price.

Can we pay freight before shipment?

Yes, advance payment is allowed. If the transaction does not go ahead, the funds must come back to Brazil, as the FX institution must tell its customer (Resolution BCB 277, art. 21).

Does Brazil’s tax reform change freight remittances?

It does not change FX or IOF. Freight on imports stays in the customs value, which also becomes the base of CBS and IBS on imports. Our overview of Brazil’s tax reform for foreign headquarters covers the timeline.

How Solidy can help

Freight payments touch FX, tax and accounting at once, and each mistake shows up in a different place: at the bank, at the Federal Revenue or in the balance sheet. Solidy works with logistics and foreign trade companies, reviews the tax cost of freight and FX flows, including the effect of the reform, and keeps FX and accounting reconciled. Solidy already serves subsidiaries of multinational companies in Brazil. Talk to Our Brazil Tax Specialists.