To send money to Brazil from the US, you need your recipient’s Brazilian tax ID (CPF for a person, CNPJ for a business) and their bank details or PIX key, a transfer channel that fits your budget and timeline (a bank wire, a digital remittance service, or cash pickup), and a clear picture of the three costs involved: the flat fee, the exchange rate markup, and Brazil’s IOF tax on the currency conversion. Larger or cash-funded transfers can also trigger US reporting rules on your end.
What You Need From Your Recipient
Every transfer to Brazil requires the recipient’s tax identification number. For an individual, that’s the eleven-digit CPF (Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas). For a business or other legal entity, it’s the fourteen-digit CNPJ (Cadastro Nacional da Pessoa Jurídica). The name you enter must match the name tied to that tax number in Brazil’s registry exactly. A minor mismatch will cause the transaction to fail.
For a bank-to-bank transfer, you’ll also need:
- The three-digit COMPE code identifying the Brazilian bank.
- The branch number (agência) where the account is held.
- The account number, including its verification digit.
- The SWIFT/BIC code that routes funds internationally to the bank.
Some platforms also ask for the bank’s eight-digit ISPB code, used inside Brazil’s payment system. If your recipient banks with a major institution such as Banco do Brasil, Itaú, or Bradesco, the SWIFT code is usually enough for international routing.
If Your Recipient Uses PIX
PIX is Brazil’s instant payment system, run by the Central Bank of Brazil, and it handles account-to-account transfers around the clock using a simple identifier called a PIX key. A key can be the recipient’s CPF, phone number, email address, or a randomly generated alphanumeric code. Individuals can register up to five keys; businesses can register up to twenty.1Banco Central do Brasil. Pix
Cross-border PIX is still limited. Some digital remittance platforms work around that by converting your dollars to reais and then paying the recipient’s PIX key as a domestic Brazilian transfer. If your recipient gives you a PIX key instead of full bank details, confirm with your provider that they support PIX delivery before you fund the transfer.
Your Options for Sending the Money
Bank Wire Transfer
A traditional wire sends money from your US bank directly to the recipient’s Brazilian bank through the SWIFT network, sometimes routed through an intermediary bank on the way. International wires typically clear in one to three business days, with delays possible around Brazilian holidays or when an intermediary is involved. Outgoing international wire fees at major US banks generally run from roughly $25 to $65, and some charge up to $85 depending on how you initiate the wire and the destination currency.
Digital Remittance Platforms
Online money transfer services are usually faster and cheaper than a bank wire. These platforms hold accounts in both the US and Brazil, collecting your dollars domestically and paying out reais from local reserves, which lets them skip some of the intermediary steps that slow down traditional wires. Fees are often under $15 for a typical transfer. The catch is that these services set their own exchange rate, and the markup over the mid-market rate is part of how they earn revenue. Compare the total cost, meaning fee plus exchange rate spread, rather than the advertised fee alone.
Cash Pickup
If your recipient doesn’t have a bank account, some providers offer cash pickup at retail partner locations in Brazil. The recipient shows valid identification and a reference number to collect the funds in person. Fees for cash pickup tend to be higher than for bank-to-bank digital transfers, and the exchange rate markup is usually steeper as well.
What the Transfer Actually Costs
The total cost breaks into three parts: the flat transfer fee, the exchange rate markup, and Brazil’s IOF tax.
The flat fee is the most visible. Bank wires generally charge $25 to $65 or more, while digital remittance platforms often charge under $15 on the same corridor.
The exchange rate markup is less obvious and often more expensive. Banks and transfer services typically offer a rate worse than the mid-market rate you’d see on Google or a financial news site, and the gap is their margin. On a $1,000 transfer, even a 1% markup means your recipient receives roughly $10 less in equivalent value. Some platforms advertise the mid-market rate with a transparent fee; others advertise low or zero fees and build their profit into the rate. To compare services accurately, look at the total amount the recipient receives after everything is applied.
Brazil’s IOF Tax
Brazil levies the IOF (Imposto sobre Operações Financeiras) on foreign exchange transactions. The tax applies automatically when dollars are converted to reais and is deducted from what the recipient receives. Rates depend on the type of transaction: personal remittances, business payments, investment returns, and credit card purchases abroad each carry different rates, and those rates have been in flux. In mid-2025, Brazil issued Decrees 12,466 and 12,499, which changed rates across several foreign exchange categories, raising some and reducing others, and the government has signaled a longer-term plan to phase out certain IOF charges by the late 2020s.
Because the applicable rate depends on the category of your transfer and the decree in effect at the time, check the current rate with your transfer provider or a Brazilian tax professional before sending. Your provider should display the IOF amount during the review step before you confirm.
Submitting the Transfer
Once you have the recipient’s details, log into your bank or remittance app and enter the recipient’s full legal name, CPF or CNPJ, and banking details or PIX key. Choose how to fund the transfer, typically from a linked checking account or debit card. Credit card funding, when available, usually carries a higher fee.
Before you confirm, the platform will display the exchange rate it’s offering, any service fees, and the IOF being applied. This is the moment to compare the total the recipient will receive against what other services quote; small differences in the exchange rate matter more than the flat fee on larger transfers. Once you approve, the platform issues a reference number you can use to track the transfer.
US Reporting Rules That May Apply to You
Cash-Funded Transfers Over $10,000
If you fund a wire with more than $10,000 in physical cash in a single day, your bank or money transfer provider is required to file a Currency Transaction Report with FinCEN.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 US Code 5313 – Reports on Domestic Coins and Currency Transactions The institution files automatically; you don’t need to do anything, and the filing doesn’t mean your transfer is under suspicion. Deliberately breaking a large cash transaction into smaller pieces to stay under the threshold (“structuring”) is a federal crime even if the money itself is legitimate.
Gifts to Someone in Brazil
If you’re sending money as a gift rather than payment for goods or services, US gift tax rules apply to you as the sender, regardless of where the recipient lives.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 2501 – Imposition of Tax For 2026, you can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year without owing any gift tax or filing a return.4Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax Above $19,000 to a single person in a calendar year, you’ll need to file IRS Form 709, though you generally won’t owe tax until your cumulative lifetime gifts exceed the lifetime exemption (over $13 million for 2026).
If You Also Hold a Brazilian Account
If you personally hold a financial account in Brazil, say to manage funds for a family member, and the combined balance of all your foreign accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point in the year, you must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) on FinCEN Form 114.5Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) The $10,000 threshold is based on the aggregate across all foreign accounts, not each one separately. FBAR is filed separately from your tax return, due April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15.
A related boundary: if money is flowing the other direction and you receive more than $100,000 in gifts from a foreign individual in a tax year, you file IRS Form 3520.6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 3520 That’s an information return, not a tax, but the penalties for skipping it are steep. It doesn’t apply to money you’re sending out.
What Happens on the Brazilian Side
Foreign exchange entering Brazil must be classified by purpose using standardized codes set by the Central Bank, indicating whether the funds are for family support, payment for services, investment, or another category. Your transfer provider usually handles the classification, but you may be asked to select or confirm the purpose. Choosing the wrong code can trigger audits or administrative penalties from Receita Federal, Brazil’s federal tax authority, so pick the one that actually reflects why you’re sending the money.
For larger deposits, the Central Bank requires reporting through its electronic system (SISBACEN). The threshold for mandatory reporting of deposits into Brazilian reais accounts was raised from BRL 10,000 to BRL 100,000 in September 2020, and failure to report, or reporting false or incomplete information, can carry fines of up to BRL 250,000.7KPMG. Brazil – Central Bank Has New Thresholds and Reporting Requirements This reporting is handled by the Brazilian financial institution, not by you.
Sanctions Screening
Every international transfer from the US passes through sanctions screening required by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Your bank or transfer provider checks the details, including the recipient’s name, against the Specially Designated Nationals list maintained by the US Treasury.8US Department of the Treasury. Sanctions Compliance Guidance for Instant Payment Systems Brazil isn’t a sanctioned country, so routine transfers clear without issue, but a name match, including a false positive, can pause the transfer while the institution investigates. There’s nothing you need to do; screening runs automatically.