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@Mark Blonde

There is a clause in the Brazilian Constitution that makes double-taxation illegal, (that is the taxing of funds that have already been taxed once). So that may apply to your situation, depending on if you have paid taxes in the US.

Secondly, the vast majority of retirees I know receive their funds in US/UK, etc, and then transfer as required to their Brazil bank as "savings" (non-taxable), or simply use a foreign debit/credir card in Brazil. As you will be obtaining a retiree visa, the former is probably best for you.

Thirdly, the rate of tax in Brazil is not 27.5% - that is the highest rate, and it is a sliding scale depending on your actual monthly income - starting at 7.5%.

Fourthly, there is no way there is normal communication between governments on regular folks about income and tax. Of course, if serious crime is involved, that changes...

Fifthly, if an individual wants to volunteer to pay tax, I am sure he would be welcome to by any govenrment; btw the punishment for non-payment of taxes in Brazil (and they can only go back a maximum of 5 years), is just a fine and interest, if no serious crime has been involved.

Finally, you are correct, seek your own professional advice, here in Brazil where you intend to live I would recommend, and also research the numerous chats in this forum that have covered this issue previously.

07/8/25 @Mark Blonde.  Welcome back!  Talking to a professional is a very good idea.  If you don't speak Portuguese, you'll probably need to start with the major international accounting firms; some but not all of them provide services for individuals in Brazil.  Links to office locations appear at the end of this post.

If your Brazilian partner will be with you and able to act as your guide/interpreter, your options widen.  Talking to the person who does her taxes, or any accountants in her family or friend group, may give you a more realistic take on your situation than the international firms who, based on my limited exposure to them, tend to be conservative and will be very sure that you don't underpay your taxes.

If you're going to have a bank account, you're going to have to provide a copy of your Brazilian tax return to the bank annually.  Their main concern with expats isn't so much that they're paying taxes as it is that they're not laundering money, a very sensitive topic with the Banco Central. 

Although there's no tax treaty, Brazil is serious about avoiding double taxation; my Brazilian taxes are always considerably lower than my US taxes.

International accounting firms in Brazil:

Deloitte --

EY --

KPMG -- (may require allowing popups)

PWC --

@Peter Itamaraca

From what I read online, as a taxable resident of Brazil, I'm supposed to report all Social Security, Pension, and IRA/401K withdrawals in the USA as income. Some will be taxable in the USA and I'll have to pay that because they have access to everything of mine! But if there is no reporting to Brazil, I have to figure out what has to be reported and taxes paid on. I've read that if your income is over ~$800/month, you are subject to the 27.5% tax bracket. Am I mistaken? Just my Social Security is way over that. Honestly, my plan is to basically live off my SS and bank the rest either for my kids or my extended terrible death (HAHAHA!)

Anyway, thanks! I'm over my head financially trying to figure all this out!

@abthree

Thank you!!

Now talking more to move to Natal and not Pipa. Little resort town sounds nice, but I've always lived in cities. looks like nice town houses and such are very affordable there and near a beautiful beach.

Yeah, she's more an artist, so I don't know how much help she will be, but she does speak the language, so that's something. (I haven't made much progress! )

If I only have to pay taxes on what I transfer in, that would be great, and I can write that off from my US federal taxes anyway (foreign tax credit).

And yeah, my guess is there is what is written on paper and what is actually done in practice. As a former freelance person in the USA, if you weren't 1099'ed, most people would simply "forget" to file that income. and in practice you were generally ok,

07/08/25 If I only have to pay taxes on what I transfer in, that would be great, and I can write that off from my US federal taxes anyway (foreign tax credit).

And yeah, my guess is there is what is written on paper and what is actually done in practice. As a former freelance person in the USA, if you weren't 1099'ed, most people would simply "forget" to file that income. and in practice you were generally ok, - @Mark Blonde

You'll want to check with your US tax advisor about writing off your Brazilian income taxes on your US tax return.  You may be confusing the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion with a tax deduction.  It allows you to exclude, up to a maximum, any Brazil-based income you may have from US taxation; it doesn't help with Brazilian taxes on US-based income.

Yes, there's a big difference between "what's written on paper" and actual practice.  A competent Brazilian accountant can make sure that you pay what you owe and no more, and justify the numbers by citing chapter and verse of Brazilian tax law for every deduction and exclusion if required.

@abthree

I do have US tax adviser I will be meeting with to come up with a strategy on this end, but it's the Foreign Tax Credit which most online sources say you can reduce your US taxes dollar for dollar by what you paid to Brazil. Maybe she can give some initial advice regarding reporting in Brazil, but I doubt it.

I'm more interested in paying the least amount possible that I can get away with.... like most people everywhere.

Wow, I didn't know that "denaturalization" was a thing. Someone residing overseas can be stripped of their US citizenship, and there could be serious tax consequences as well.

07/13/25  Wow, I didn't know that "denaturalization" was a thing. Someone residing overseas can be stripped of their US citizenship, and there could be serious tax consequences as well. - @EricPau

Yes, denaturalization of naturalized citizens in the United States is a thing (it is for naturalized Brazilian citizens under Brazilian law too, btw), but there's a reason most people have never heard if it:  because it's exceedingly rare, and almost always voluntary when it does occur.   When it's not voluntary it can always be disputed in federal court, and for all the ruminating that the current US Administration does on the subject, it's difficult to imagine them winning there.  The best known cases are of Nazi prison guards who lied on their immigration papers.  It still took an actual, professional US Justice Department 28 years to finally win one of the more famous of those cases ()

As for Rosie O'Donnell, she's safe:  there's no precedent short of a treason conviction for depriving a natural born American of his/her citizenship.  Even the Confederates targeted by the Insurrection Clause (Section 3) of the Fourteenth Amendment were only deprived of the right to hold office, not rendered stateless.

The "exit tax" is real and does bite some people who voluntarily renounce their US citizenship and are rich enough for it to apply; how much sympathy one has for such people is a personal choice.  A more frequent roadblock to people renouncing voluntarily is hesitation by the State Department to accept the renunciation of citizens who will thereby be rendered stateless.  To avoid that, US citizens who want to renounce should already have a second citizenship and passport.

just don’t stay more than 180 days

but if you do you won’t get doubled taxed if you paid

I think it is a stretch to not think tax will be followed, and with the recent spat with america and Brazil I think things will be checked both ends and become very sticky.