Becoming a tax resident / retro taxes for prior 12 months?

Member since 15 February 2023

thetravelfoxActive member06 August 2025 11:54:06

By my calculations, I just recently crossed the 183 day in rolling 365 day mark over the course of several visits to Brasil in the prior 12 months. (I became a resident by way of retirement visa in May.)

Along the way I think I missed the fact that I may be on the hook for paying retro income tax to Brazil (in excess of US tax) for the 12 months leading up to becoming a tax resident? (So, in my case from August 2024 - July 2025.) I had only been thinking about forward looking carne-leão/DARF requirements.

I am talking to a tax attorney this week but am curious if anyone else has experience with this situation of crossing the tax resident line and having prior 12-month tax obligations.

I suppose it is what it is if I need to do a costly cleanup on this one. If anything, it's a case for talking to a talented cross-border tax whiz well advance of planning a move to know the implications.

(Edit: I'm now seeing a recent post that's semi-related but am curious about insights specific to this situation.)

thetravelfox Active member

Member since 15 February 2023

thetravelfoxActive member11 August 2025 14:21:32

(Sort of) answering my own question here...

I recognize there's a lot of conflicting information online, and AI can steer one in the wrong direction, so I did hire a tax attorney to cover this and a few more questions. Despite some of the information online, her perspective is that I am not on the hook for prior year taxes because I was still in the process of moving to Brasil. She's going to draft a brief legal opinion for me, so in the event the Receita Federal does come hunting me down, at least I will be able to show that I did some due diligence.

Ivair Gontijo Member

Member since 03 September 2024

Ivair GontijoMember11 August 2025 18:16:55

@thetravelfox

I recently retired and I am in the process of moving from California to Brazil. I have been going there a couple of times a year and will go again in September for a full month and probably over the holidays, until end of March next year. So, I am also worried about the 183 day limit, especially because of the personal belongings that I hope to take to Brazil and not have to pay import taxes.

Would you recommend the attorney you talked to? If so, would you share her name/contact, perhaps in a private message?

Thanks!