Invoice Requirements: Brazil → United States
🇧🇷Brazil freelancers billing🇺🇸United States clients — required fields, VAT treatment, and compliance rules.
Brazilian freelancers invoicing US clients must provide Form W-8BEN to avoid 30% US withholding. Brazil and the US do not have a bilateral income tax treaty, so the default 30% withholding rate on US-sourced income cannot be reduced through treaty claims — though independent services performed entirely outside the US may not be subject to US withholding at all. Brazilian freelancers must also issue a Nota Fiscal de Serviço Eletrônica (NFS-e) for domestic tax compliance.
Required
Provide Form W-8BEN to your US client before receiving payment to establish your foreign status and avoid the IRS's default 30% withholding requirement.Required
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Even without a US-Brazil tax treaty, the W-8BEN is required to certify that you are a non-US person. For services performed entirely in Brazil with no US fixed base, the payment may not be subject to US withholding — your US client's tax adviser will make that determination.
Brazil and the US have no income tax treaty; the standard US withholding rate of 30% applies to US-sourced income, though services performed solely in Brazil from a Brazilian base may not be treated as US-sourced.Required
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The IRS determines source of income for services based on where they are performed. If you perform work entirely in Brazil, the income is foreign-source and generally not subject to US withholding. However, classification depends on the nature of the service and the US client's interpretation — request written confirmation from your client.
Brazilian MEI and ME freelancers must issue a Nota Fiscal de Serviço Eletrônica (NFS-e) through their municipality's portal for each service provided, even for export services — maintain records for Receita Federal compliance.Required
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Export of services from Brazil is generally exempt from ISS (Imposto Sobre Serviços), PIS, and COFINS when the services are rendered abroad or used exclusively by a foreign client. File SISCOSERV declarations for service exports exceeding USD 30,000 per transaction or company.
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Invoice in USD; Brazilian freelancers may receive USD payments into accounts at authorized exchange institutions — the funds must be converted to BRL through a legal FX transaction.
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Receiving USD from abroad requires an authorized financial institution to process the foreign exchange (câmbio). Platforms like Wise (Conta Wise Balances) can hold USD, but repatriation to a Brazilian bank account still triggers the IOF (Imposto sobre Operações Financeiras) tax on the conversion.
State NET 30 payment terms; US clients expect this as a baseline and it establishes the reference date for any dispute resolution.
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