2023-04-26 22:00:12
The Real Estate Transfer Tax (ITBI) is a municipal tax that must be paid when buying or selling real estate.
The charge is mandatory to formalize the acquisition and sale, even of flats on the plan, and must be paid at the time of registration at the Real Estate Registry.
“There are laws that determine that the payment must occur through the drawing up of the public deed, while others, through the registration of the deed”, explains the lawyer partner of Carreirão & Dal Grande Advocacia, Bruno Carreirão.
Who needs to pay the ITBI
ITBI is mandatory for purchases and sales of real estate, but in case of donation or inheritance, the tax charged is another: Tax on Transfer Cause Mortis and Donation (ITCMD).
“In addition, ITBI is only levied on transactions involving real rights, such as ownership and usufruct, which are subject to a note before the Real Estate Registry. In cases such as the transfer of ownership of a property or real guarantee rights, such as a mortgage, the payment of the tax is not charged”, explains Carreirão.
The ITBI payment exemption also happens in the following cases:
- When the property will correspond to a legal heritage;
- When there is inclusion or merger of an organization (legal person);
- In the purchase of a property with a value of up to R$ 176,444.41 or that is included in the former Minha Casa Minha Vida Program and current Casa Verde e Amarela.
ITBI value
The value of the ITBI rate is decided by the local city hall, so it can vary greatly depending on the region.
However, the amount cannot exceed the maximum rate allowed by the constitution, which is 5%.
See the table of some rates according to Brazilian municipalities:
- São Paulo (SP) – 3%;
- Guarulhos (SP) – 2%;
- Campinas (SP) – 2.7%;
- Rio de Janeiro (RJ) – 3%;
- Niteroi (RJ) – 2%.
How to calculate ITBI?
To calculate the tax, you need to multiply the market value of the property by the tax rate. For example, in cities where the rate is 2% and the property costs BRL 500,000, the amount to be paid at ITBI is BRL 10,000.
Generally, this cost is paid by whoever is buying the property, although it is a tax subject to agreements and negotiations between the parties involved. That is, those interested in selling the property can also afford this cost to pass the property on.
However, according to the tax consultant, partner and president of Fradema Consultores Tributários, Francisco Arrighi, it is possible to save if there is intelligence when paying the ITBI.
“There are authorizations provided for in the legislation that allow you to draw up the title in a certain State, even if your residence is in another. The buyer has a 30-day deadline, ”he explains. “If it is not paid, the result may be the impossibility of registering the property at the General Property Registry (RGI).”
In these cases, according to the consultant, the buyer becomes a debtor and has his name entered in the active debt. “Later, the municipality will propose execution of the expense, and may take the residence itself up for auction to settle the debt”, he points out.
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