To apply for an ITIN from Brazil, you file IRS Form W-7 with a certified copy of your passport, verified online by a Certifying Acceptance Agent, or certified by the Brazilian Federal Police or a US consulate, attached to a US tax return or a qualifying exception. You do not need to travel to the United States, and you do not need a US visa. Here is the part most guides skip: there is no income tax treaty between Brazil and the United States, so an ITIN does a very different job for a Brazilian than it does for someone in a treaty country. It will not lower your 30% US withholding. Nothing can, short of a treaty Brazil does not have. For a Brazilian investor or property owner, the ITIN is about reclaiming over-withheld dollars, complying with FIRPTA when you sell US property, and onboarding a US brokerage or bank. It is a key, not a rate cut.
- Brazil has no US income tax treaty, so a W-8BEN cannot cut the flat 30% US withholding on dividends and royalties, and forming a US LLC or holding an EIN does not change that (IRS treaties A to Z).
- The ITIN is what lets you reclaim over-withholding by filing Form 1040-NR, handle FIRPTA when you sell US real estate, and onboard a US brokerage or bank. It is a filing and identity key, not a rate-reducer.
- The IRS rejects a Brazilian cartorio notarization. Only the Federal Police (Polícia Fede
The Brazilian real has weakened markedly against the dollar since 2023, losing roughly a fifth of its value in 2024 alone, and that one fact reshapes how Brazilians think about money. When your home currency slides, dollar assets stop being exotic and start being a plan. So a large retail crowd now buys US stocks through fintech brokerages like Avenue, Nomad, Inter, C6, and XP, and Brazilians sit among the top foreign buyers of US homes, especially in Florida. Both groups eventually hit the same wall. A US payer, a broker, or a closing agent wants a US taxpayer number, and they are not eligible for a Social Security Number. The answer is an ITIN, the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number the IRS issues to people with a US tax reason who cannot get an SSN.
This guide covers exactly how to get one from Brazil in 2026: what the missing tax treaty really means for your money, who actually needs an ITIN, the documents, the passport problem specific to Brazilian applicants, the step-by-step process, processing time, and the route that keeps your passport in your hands.
Brazil Has No US Tax Treaty. Here's What That Means.#
There is no income tax treaty between Brazil and the United States. Brazil is simply absent from the IRS list of US income tax treaty partners (IRS treaties A to Z). That single fact reshapes the whole ITIN conversation for a Brazilian, and it is the first thing to get right before you spend money on anything.
Start with what a treaty does. When a US payer sends dividends or royalties to a nonresident, the default statutory withholding is a flat 30% with no deductions, "30% or a lower treaty rate if you qualify" (IRS, Taxation of Nonresident Aliens). A tax treaty can lower that rate. The form you would use to claim the lower rate is the W-8BEN, which asks you to name your country and the treaty article you qualify under. A Brazilian filling out a W-8BEN has no treaty article to claim. So the 30% stands.
This is the trap to avoid. An ITIN does not lower that 30%. Neither does a US LLC, and neither does an EIN. Only a treaty reduces the rate, and Brazil has none. Anyone who tells you an ITIN will cut your dividend or platform withholding is wrong, and planning around that mistake costs real money. The table below compares Brazil with a treaty country and spells out the ITIN's honest role.
One precision point, because it trips people up. There is a portfolio-interest exemption that can zero out US withholding on certain qualifying interest. It applies to interest, not dividends. Your US dividends still face the flat 30%. Do not let one be sold to you as the other.
There is a sharper, 2026-specific reason this matters. As of January 1, 2026, dividends are newly taxed in both directions for a Brazilian, and the two taxes are easy to confuse, so keep them strictly separate. At home, Brazil's Law 15,270/2025 introduced a 10% withholding tax on dividends remitted to non-residents, with residents taxed on monthly dividends above R$50,000 from a single payer (Alvarez & Marsal). That is a Brazil-domestic tax. Separately, on your US holdings, the US still applies its flat 30% with no treaty to soften it. One is Brazilian, one is American, and neither one is touched by an ITIN.
Brazil holds no income tax treaty with the United States and is absent from the IRS treaty list. For a Brazilian, an ITIN is a filing and identity key, not a rate-reducer. Only a treaty lowers the 30% statutory withholding on US dividends and royalties, and Brazil has none (IRS treaties A to Z).
Why Brazilians Need an ITIN#
If the ITIN cannot lower your withholding, it is fair to ask what it is good for. Quite a lot, actually, but for reasons that have nothing to do with treaty rates. For a Brazilian, the ITIN earns its keep in five concrete situations, and most applicants fit at least one. The first two, investing and real estate, drive the Brazilian story more than anything else.
US-stock investors and the 30% dividend reality#
This is the leading reason a Brazilian applies. Brazilians increasingly hold US equities through brokerages like Avenue, Nomad, Inter, C6, and XP, and every US dividend they receive is hit with the flat 30% withholding, because there is no treaty to reduce it. An ITIN will not change that rate. What it does is let you file a Form 1040-NR where a return is actually warranted, and onboard the kind of US-domiciled broker that asks for a taxpayer number. If you are building a US portfolio from Brazil, start with our guide to how to invest in US stocks. Be precise about the refund, though: filing reclaims money only where tax was over-withheld against your real liability, not where the 30% was correctly applied to dividends. See tax returns for non-resident aliens and how a tax refund with an ITIN actually works.
FIRPTA when you sell US real estate#
This is the second big driver, and it is where the ITIN becomes mandatory rather than optional. When a foreign person sells a US real property interest, the buyer generally withholds 15% of the gross sale price under FIRPTA (IRS, FIRPTA withholding). Be precise about the exceptions. There is no withholding when the buyer will use the property as a residence and the price is $300,000 or less. A reduced 10% rate applies only to the band from $300,000 to $1,000,000 on an owner-occupied home. Above that, and in most investment cases, it is the full 15%. That 15% is a deposit against your actual tax, which is often far less, and to file the return, reconcile the withholding, and claim back the difference, you need an ITIN. If you are financing a US purchase, our note on a mortgage loan with an ITIN is a useful companion.
US LLC and Form 5472 compliance#
This is the founder's reason. A foreign-owned single-member US LLC is treated as a disregarded entity that must file a pro forma Form 1120 with a Form 5472 attached every year, reporting transactions with its foreign owner. The penalty for failing to file Form 5472 starts at $25,000 (IRS, Form 5472 instructions). You file the 5472 on the company's EIN, not on a personal ITIN, but the moment a personal filing enters the picture, the ITIN does too. One nuance specific to Brazil: Stripe is available in Brazil (Stripe), so Brazilians do not form US LLCs just to reach Stripe the way founders in unsupported countries do. They form them for US-market access, USD banking, and asset protection. Learn the order in our guides to starting a US LLC and whether you can get an EIN without an LLC.
Opening US bank and brokerage accounts#
An ITIN opens doors beyond filing. Many US banks and fintechs accept it in place of an SSN, which matters if you want to open a US bank account as a non-resident or move from a Brazil-based feeder broker to a US-domiciled account. For Brazilians chasing dollar exposure as the real slides, that onboarding step is often the practical reason the ITIN finally gets done.
Family and spouse-dependent filings#
The Brazilian diaspora in the US drives a quieter stream of applications. A US filer in South Florida or Massachusetts may want to claim a spouse or a dependent on a US federal return, and that relative needs an ITIN to be listed. Not sure the number is even the right tool? Start with what an ITIN actually is.
Do You Actually Need One Yet?#
The honest part most services skip: you may not need an ITIN yet, and applying before you have a reason just gets you rejected. The IRS does not issue ITINs "just in case." It issues them when a tax reason already exists.
Take the single-member US LLC case. Your annual Form 5472 obligation is filed on the company's EIN, not on a personal ITIN, so the entity stays compliant without you holding one. The trigger for needing your own ITIN comes later: a personal US filing, a 1040-NR refund claim, a FIRPTA sale, a dependent or spouse on a return, or a broker that demands a taxpayer number from you personally. Match your application to a real trigger. If none apply today, it is usually fine to wait, and our explainer on why ITIN applications get rejected shows how often "no valid reason" is the cause.
Who in Brazil Applies for an ITIN#
Florida real estate is the clearest window into the Brazilian ITIN story. In the year to mid-2025, international buyers purchased about $10.4 billion of Florida homes, and Brazil was the third-largest source by dollar volume, at roughly $762 million, with about 45% of those international purchases concentrated in the Miami area (Florida Realtors, 2025). Nationally, foreign buyers bought about $56 billion of US homes, and Florida took roughly 21% of all foreign purchases, its long-running number-one spot (NAR, 2025). When the contract closes, and later when it sells, FIRPTA and the ITIN are waiting. Here are the groups who actually apply.
US-stock investors. This is the largest and fastest-growing group. As the real weakened, Brazilians moved into US equities through Avenue, Nomad, Inter, C6, and XP, and the 30% dividend withholding follows them. The 2026 arrival of Brazil's own 10% domestic dividend tax, on top of the unchanged US 30%, has made many of them look harder at what they actually owe and what they can reconcile by filing. An ITIN is the price of admission to that conversation.
US property buyers and sellers. Brazilians are among the top foreign buyers of Florida homes, with Miami the obvious hub. Buying does not always force an ITIN, but selling does, because FIRPTA withholds 15% at closing and only a filed return reclaims the over-withholding. Anyone holding US property should plan for the ITIN before the sale, not during the scramble at closing.
Founders and e-commerce sellers. A smaller but steady group forms US LLCs for US-market access, USD banking, and asset protection, not for Stripe, which already works in Brazil. Once they own a US entity, Form 5472 follows, and a personal filing eventually brings the ITIN.
The diaspora. Roughly 725,000 Brazilian-born people live in the United States (Migration Policy Institute and US Census ACS estimates), concentrated in South Florida and around Boston, with communities like Framingham and Miami acting as hubs. Among them, US filers periodically need an ITIN for a spouse or dependent in order to file correctly.
Documents Needed for Your ITIN Application#
Three things go into a complete ITIN package, and the order of importance is not what most people assume. Your passport is the single most important document, the W-7 is the form, and the attached reason is what makes the application valid. Miss any one and it bounces.
- A certified copy of your Brazilian passport, or the original. This is the one document that can stand alone for both identity and foreign status, which is why it anchors the package. A plain photocopy is rejected. A cartorio-notarized photocopy is also rejected (more on that next).
- Form W-7, the ITIN application itself, current revision December 2024, signed and dated with the correct reason code.
- A reason the IRS recognizes. For most filers this is a US federal tax return attached to the W-7. For an investor or property seller it may be an exception package, such as a withholding or FIRPTA situation. For a dependent or spouse, it is the US relative's return that claims them. Without a valid reason, even a flawless passport copy will not produce an ITIN.
The Passport Problem: How to Certify It from Brazil#
This is where most Brazilian applications stall. The IRS accepts a certified copy of your passport from exactly three sources, and a Brazilian cartorio is not one of them. A cartorio notarization, however official the stamp and seal look, is not accepted by the IRS for passport certification (IRS, obtaining an ITIN from abroad). Here are the three routes that do work.
Option A: The Federal Police (Polícia Federal). As the agency that issues your passport, the Brazilian Federal Police can provide a certified copy from the issuing authority. This route works in principle, but it means a trip to a Federal Police office and dealing with its processing times, and not every unit handles certified-copy requests for foreign tax purposes smoothly.
Option B: A US consulate or embassy. The US Consulate General in São Paulo and the US Embassy in Brasília offer limited notarial services by appointment. The US also operates consulates in Rio de Janeiro, Recife, and Porto Alegre. Slots are scarce, services lean toward US citizens, and consular staff will not always certify a foreign national's passport copy for ITIN purposes. Still, for some applicants it is a viable path. The two main offices are below.
Source: [br.usembassy.gov](https://br.usembassy.gov).
Option C: An IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent. A CAA is authorized by the IRS to verify your identity and passport directly, then submit your W-7 with a Certificate of Accuracy. With an online CAA, this happens over a video call, so your passport never leaves Brazil and you never mail the original to the United States. For most Brazilian applicants, this is the cleanest route. Read more about what a Certifying Acceptance Agent is.
A word on the mail-in alternative. If you skip certification and send your original passport to the IRS in Austin, Texas, you are putting your most valuable travel document into international post for weeks. People lose passports this way. The risk is real, and it is avoidable.
How to Apply for an ITIN from Brazil, Step by Step#
The process is the same whether you are in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, or anywhere with a webcam. What changes is the certification route you pick in step three. Here is the full sequence.
- Confirm your tax reason and gather documents. Identify your trigger: a 1040-NR refund on over-withheld US income, a FIRPTA sale, a US LLC and Form 5472, or a spouse or dependent on a US relative's return. Pull your valid passport.
- Complete Form W-7. On the official IRS form (Rev. December 2024), choose the correct reason code, enter your name exactly as it appears in your passport, and use your Brazilian address.
- Certify your passport via one of the three routes. The Federal Police, a US consulate, or an IRS CAA. Most applicants choose a CAA to keep the passport and skip the mail.
- Attach your reason. A US federal return for most filers, exception or FIRPTA proof for some investors and sellers, or the US relative's return for a claimed dependent or spouse.
- Submit the package. A CAA submits it for you electronically with the certification attached. Going the DIY route means mailing it to the IRS ITIN operation in Austin, Texas, ideally by tracked courier.
- Wait 7 to 11 weeks. The IRS quotes about 7 weeks standard, and 9 to 11 weeks when filed from abroad or during the January 15 to April 30 peak (IRS, obtaining an ITIN from abroad). It mails a CP565 notice with your number once approved. You can later check your ITIN status online.
IRS-listed Acceptance Agents in Brazil#
Unlike many countries, Brazil has several IRS-listed Acceptance Agents inside the country, mostly clustered in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. As of the directory reviewed in June 2026, the listing shows the agents below.
Source: IRS Acceptance Agents, Brazil (last reviewed 9 June 2026).
So Brazil is not a coverage desert, and that is worth being honest about. If you live in central São Paulo or Rio and an in-person agent suits you, those options exist. The reason most applicants still finish online is convenience, not scarcity. An online CAA works from anywhere in Brazil, not just the two big metros, with no appointment and no travel. It also matters that the no-treaty 1040-NR reclaim and a FIRPTA sale are exactly the filings that benefit from an agent who handles them routinely, who checks the package before it goes in, and who stands behind the work. Taxsym operates a network of IRS-authorized Certifying Acceptance Agents who verify your documents over video and submit your W-7 for you, with a money-back guarantee on preparation errors, so your passport stays in Brazil and you deal with one team rather than the IRS mailroom.
Apply online with Taxsym. Keep your passport. 100% money-back guarantee on prep errors.
Apply With Taxsym vs Doing It Yourself#
Both routes reach the same ITIN. The difference is risk, speed, and what happens to your passport. In the applications we see from Brazil, the certification step is where most do-it-yourself filers stall, because the Federal Police route is slow, consulate slots are scarce, and a cartorio copy is rejected outright.
Taxsym works with IRS-authorized Certifying Acceptance Agents who handle the W-7, verify your documents remotely, and file everything for you. The named agent on this guide, Ömer Y., holds the CAA credential. You stay in Brazil, keep your passport, and once your ITIN arrives you can put it to work, whether that is filing a 1040-NR to reclaim over-withheld dividends, handling FIRPTA on a US property sale, keeping a US LLC compliant, or opening US banking and brokerage accounts.
Common Mistakes Brazilian Applicants Make#
- Mailing the original passport by regular post. People lose passports in international mail. If you must send originals, use a tracked courier. Better, use a CAA and never let the passport leave Brazil.
- Using a cartorio-notarized copy. A Brazilian cartorio cannot certify your passport for the IRS. Only the Federal Police, a US consulate, or an IRS CAA can. Do not pay for a cartorio copy expecting it to work.
- Applying with no valid reason or return. A perfect passport copy with no tax reason attached gets rejected. Confirm your trigger first.
- Expecting the ITIN to cut your withholding. It will not. Only a treaty does, and Brazil has none. Plan to reclaim over-withholding by filing, never by holding an ITIN.
- Mishandling FIRPTA at a property sale. Treating the 15% closing withholding as a final tax, or assuming a general 10% option exists, leaves money on the table. The reduced 10% applies only to the $300,000 to $1,000,000 owner-occupied band. File to reconcile and reclaim.
- Ignoring Form 5472. If you own a US LLC, the annual pro forma 1120 and Form 5472 carry a $25,000 penalty for failure to file. Do not skip them while you focus on the ITIN.
- Letting the ITIN go dormant. An ITIN not used on a US return for three consecutive years expires. Check whether you need to renew it before you file.
FAQ: ITIN From Brazil#
Can a Brazilian cartorio certify my passport for the IRS?#
No. The IRS does not accept a cartorio notarization for passport certification. It accepts certification only from the passport-issuing authority (the Brazilian Federal Police), a US embassy or consulate, or an IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent. A cartorio copy will get your application rejected, so do not pay for one expecting it to work.
Is there an IRS Acceptance Agent in São Paulo or Rio?#
Yes. Unlike many countries, Brazil has several IRS-listed agents, with most based in São Paulo and one in Rio de Janeiro, as of the directory reviewed in June 2026. If an in-person agent in those cities suits you, that option exists. Most applicants still use an online Certifying Acceptance Agent because it works from anywhere in Brazil with no appointment or travel.
I am buying or selling US property. Do I need an ITIN?#
Selling almost always requires one. When a foreign person sells US real estate, the buyer generally withholds 15% under FIRPTA, and only a filed US return reclaims any over-withholding, which needs an ITIN. Buying does not always force one immediately, but plan ahead, because the ITIN takes weeks and you do not want to scramble at closing.
Can I get an ITIN without a US tax treaty?#
Yes. The treaty question and the ITIN question are separate. Brazil has no US tax treaty, but you can still get an ITIN, because the number is a filing and identity tool, not a treaty benefit. Just remember the ITIN will not lower your 30% withholding, since only a treaty can, and Brazil has none.
Does my US LLC's EIN mean I don't need an ITIN?#
Not necessarily, and maybe not yet. Your foreign-owned single-member LLC files its annual Form 5472 on the company's EIN, so the entity stays compliant without your personal ITIN. You need your own ITIN when a personal trigger appears: a 1040-NR refund, a FIRPTA sale, a broker asking for your personal taxpayer number, or a dependent or spouse claimed on a US return.
How long does it take from Brazil?#
Plan for about 7 to 11 weeks of IRS processing, on the longer end when you file from abroad or during the January 15 to April 30 peak. Add international mail time if you submit by post. An online CAA removes the slowest, riskiest leg, mailing your passport overseas, so the timeline is more predictable.
What does it cost, and is there an IRS fee?#
The IRS charges no fee for Form W-7 itself. Your costs come from how you certify your passport and whether you use a professional to prepare and file the package. A CAA charges a service fee for verifying your documents and submitting the application, which buys you a checked package, a kept passport, and a lower rejection rate.
The Bottom Line for Brazilian Applicants#
For a Brazilian, the ITIN is not a key to lower US taxes. It cannot be, because there is no US-Brazil tax treaty to unlock a reduced rate, and no ITIN, EIN, or US LLC changes that. What the ITIN does do is essential in its own right. It lets you file a 1040-NR to reclaim over-withheld dollars, handle FIRPTA when you sell US real estate, keep a US LLC compliant, and onboard with US banks and brokers as the real keeps pushing you toward dollar assets. Match the application to a real trigger, certify your passport through one of the three valid routes, never settle for a cartorio copy, and never mail the original abroad. Whether you compare Brazil to fellow no-treaty countries like Nigeria and Ethiopia, or to a no-tax hub like the United Arab Emirates, the Brazilian path is its own. Get the facts right and the application is straightforward.