Tax collection hits record in May, totaling R$230 billion; government increases IOF tax in the month

Federal tax collection in May broke a record for the month in 30 years and totaled R$230.1 billion according to data from the Federal Revenue Service released this Thursday (26). The amount represents a real growth of 7.7% compared to the same period last year and occurred amid the increase in the IOF to close the year's accounts.

The tax increase, however, was frustrated on Wednesday (25) with the overturn of the decree by Congress with a wide margin of votes , signaling a defeat for the government, including by parties in the allied base. The government estimates that it will have to cut R$12 billion, but the IRS says it will still have to assess what the impact of the measure will be.

“As soon as the legislative decree is issued, we will accurately assess the revenue from the period in which [the decree] was in force and the period in which it will cease to be in force. Only then will we have the precise effects of the decision’s impact,” said Claudemir Malaquias, head of the Federal Revenue Service’s Center for Tax and Customs Studies.

The data released this Thursday (26) were the first officially presented this year, due to the strike by Federal Revenue employees since November last year. Of the R$230.1 billion collected, R$223.8 billion came from revenues managed by the agency, such as Income Tax, IPI, IOF, among others, and R$6.4 billion from other departments, such as royalties and judicial deposits.

From January to May, revenue totaled R$1.2 trillion, also a record for the period, with a real increase of 3.95% compared to the same period in the previous year, when it totaled R$1.1 trillion.

According to the Federal Revenue Service, the expressive performance was driven mainly by the more favorable macroeconomic scenario, by the increase in Income Tax on capital gains — influenced by the increase in the basic interest rate (Selic) — and by the strong performance of tax collection linked to foreign trade.

In the case of foreign trade, three factors contributed to the increase in revenue: the growth in the volume of imports, the average appreciation of the dollar against the real and the increase in the average effective rates applied to imported products.

“This does not mean that we increased the tax rates on products, but that, in the comparison basket, taxpayers are preferring to buy products that are being taxed at higher rates,” explained Marcelo Gomide, forecast and analysis coordinator.

Another point highlighted by the Tax Authorities is the absence of extraordinary events that could distort the collection data, unlike what happened in 2024, when income tax was applied to capital gains, resulting from the taxation of exclusive funds. There was also a postponement of tax payments for taxpayers in Rio Grande do Sul, due to the climate tragedy in May.

The IRS also pointed out the surge in revenue from online betting sites – “bets” – reaching R$3 billion in the year to date.