Portugal–Brazil tax treaty in English
Convention between the Portuguese Republic and the Federative Republic of Brazil for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income. Article by article, in English, with the Portuguese alongside: 210 aligned provisions.
Signature, entry into force and texts
- Signed
- 16 May 2000, Brasília
- Approved by
- Resolução da Assembleia da República n.º 33/2001 (approved 1 March 2001), ratified by Decreto do Presidente da República n.º 27/2001; both published in Diário da República, I série-A, n.º 98, 27 April 2001, pp. 2404-2413. Brazil: promulgated by Decreto n.º 4.012 of 13 November 2001.
- In force
- 5 October 2001 (Aviso n.º 131/2001)
- Takes effect
- Retroactively from 1 January 2000 (Art. 28(2)): Portugal – taxes withheld at source where the taxable event occurs on or after 1 January 2000, other taxes for fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2000; Brazil – amounts paid, remitted or credited on or after 1 January 2000, other taxes for fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2000.
- Authentic languages
- Portuguese
- Replaces
- Convention between Portugal and Brazil approved by Decree-Law No. 244/71 of 2 June 1971, applied from 1 January 1972 to 31 December 1999 and terminated by Brazil (AT Tabela prática das CDT, note d).
- English text
- Our translation of the Portuguese text, reviewed by a second tax translator
Treaty rates for dividends, interest and royalties
The maximum tax the State where the income arises may charge when the beneficial owner is resident in the other State. The article reference opens the provision.
| Income | Rate | Condition | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dividends | 10% | Beneficial owner is a company holding directly at least 25% of the capital of the paying company for an uninterrupted period of two years before the payment | 10(2)(a) |
| Dividends | 15% | All other cases | 10(2)(b) |
| Dividends | 10% | Profits remitted, paid or credited by a permanent establishment to its head office in the other State (branch profits treated as dividends) | 10(6) |
| Interest | 15% | General limit (gross amount); includes Brazilian interest on equity (juros sobre o capital próprio) under Protocol point 4 | 11(2) |
| Interest | 0% | Interest paid to the Government of the other State, its political or administrative subdivisions or local authorities, or to an institution (including a financial institution) wholly owned by them which is the beneficial owner | 11(3), Protocol 4 |
| Interest | no limit | Interest attributed or paid to a permanent establishment of a resident of the other State situated in a third State | 11(4) |
| Royalties | 15% | Gross amount; definition includes equipment rentals and (Protocol point 5) payments for technical assistance and technical services | 12(2) |
Treaty rates are maxima; domestic law may be lower. Portugal: dividends paid to a Brazilian-resident company may be exempt from withholding under Article 14(3) CIRC (treaty State with exchange-of-information clause; holding of at least 10% for one year; subject-to-tax and anti-abuse conditions). Brazil: under Article 10(4) of Law No. 9.249/1995 (inserted by Article 3 of Law No. 15.270 of 26 November 2025, in effect from 1 January 2026), profits and dividends paid, credited or remitted abroad are subject to a 10% withholding tax, which does not exceed the treaty limits; profits for periods up to 2025 whose distribution was approved by 31 December 2025 are excluded (Article 10(5)); JCP and interest are capped at 15%. Benefits are denied to persons entitled to Madeira/Santa Maria/Manaus free-zone, SUDAM or SUDENE income tax benefits or similar regimes (Protocol point 9). The MLI does not apply, so there is no MLI dividend holding-period rule or principal purpose test; the treaty itself requires a two-year uninterrupted holding for the 10% dividend rate. Rates confirmed by the AT Tabela prática das CDT (Brazil: Art. 10 10%/15%, Art. 11 15%, Art. 12 15%).
To apply a treaty rate at source in Portugal, the recipient gives the Portuguese payer a form certified by its own tax authority before the tax is due (Article 98 CIRC); otherwise the excess tax can be reclaimed afterwards.
Has the MLI changed this treaty?
The Convention is not modified by the Multilateral Instrument at present. Portugal listed it as a covered tax agreement (item vii of its list in Resolução da Assembleia da República n.º 225/2019) and made notifications concerning it: a reservation under MLI Article 8(3)(b)(i) because Article 10(2)(a) already contains a minimum holding period (so the MLI 365-day dividend holding rule would not apply), and a notification under Article 16(6)(b)(i) that Article 25(1) contains a time limit shorter than three years (two years), which the MLI three-year rule would replace. Brazil was not an MLI signatory until 20 October 2025, when it signed and, according to professional commentary, listed its treaty with Portugal among some 27 covered agreements; Brazil’s ratification by the National Congress is pending. Once Brazil’s ratification takes effect and the listings match, the Convention would become a covered tax agreement and the minimum standard would apply (preamble under MLI Article 6 and principal purpose test under Article 7), together with any other provisions on which the two States’ positions match. Meanwhile the OECD Sixth Peer Review on treaty shopping records the Portugal–Brazil Convention as not yet compliant with the minimum standard, Portugal having indicated that steps have been taken outside the MLI. Point 9 of the Protocol (exclusion of free-zone and regional-incentive beneficiaries) is the main specific anti-abuse rule in the treaty; domestic general anti-abuse rules (Article 38(2) of the Lei Geral Tributária in Portugal) remain applicable.
- From when
- Not applicable at present. The MLI entered into force for Portugal on 1 June 2020; Brazil signed it on 20 October 2025 but has not deposited an instrument of ratification (none announced by the OECD as at October 2026). If Brazil ratifies and both listings match, the MLI would enter into force for Brazil on the first day of the month following three calendar months after deposit and take effect for this Convention under Article 35 of the MLI (withholding taxes from the following 1 January; other taxes for periods beginning six months later).
Every article of the treaty
How this edition is made
The Portuguese text
Reproduced from the official publication and compared line by line with it. Where a protocol replaced or added a provision, the article shows the wording in force and a note names the protocol.
The English text
Our translation of the Portuguese, in the wording of the OECD Model Tax Convention wherever the treaty follows it, checked by a second tax translator against the Portuguese and the partner State’s authentic text for rates, conditions and cross-references.
What it is not
Not tax advice. Whether a treaty rate applies depends on residence, beneficial ownership, anti-abuse rules and the paperwork; domestic law may give a better result.
Unofficial English translation prepared by BCA Portugal for reference. The Convention was done in Portuguese and only that text is authentic. The Portuguese text is reproduced from the official publication. Editorial notes are ours and are not part of the Convention.
Treaty relief between Portugal and Brazil, claimed correctly
Treaty rates are not automatic in Portugal: the recipient must give the payer a form certified by its own tax authority before the tax is due, or claim a refund afterwards. We check which article applies, the rate and the paperwork.