ITBI por Município

ITBI: how the rate is applied

ITBI (Imposto sobre Transmissão de Bens Imóveis) is a Brazilian municipal tax on the onerous transfer of real estate, and each city sets its own rate. The formula is ITBI = base · rate. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasília all charge 3% (Lei 11.154/91 in SP), while smaller cities stay in the 1–2% range. For the base, the city takes whichever is larger, the price declared in the deal or the property's market value, which it appraises on its own. Take an apartment of R$ 300,000 at 3%: that comes to R$ 9,000 of ITBI, paid when the public deed is signed and demanded before the registry will record it.

Brazilian context

In 2024 the STF (RE 1.412.236, theme 1.113) reined the municipalities in: a city cannot reach for some reference other than the IPTU's market value to push the base up. Donations are not hit by ITBI; they fall under ITCMD, a state tax. When you budget a purchase, assume ITBI, deed and registry together add roughly 5% to the price. The tax also weighs on patrimonial holdings, because folding properties into the share capital can be exempt (art. 156, § 2º, I of the Constitution) as long as the company's activity is not mostly real-estate.

FAQ

Can I pay ITBI on the lower transaction price? Only when that price beats the city's market value. If it doesn't, the higher figure wins, within the STF's ceiling that uses the IPTU as the reference.

Who pays the ITBI? The buyer, by law. The parties may shift it around in the contract, but that arrangement does not bind the tax authority.

Is financed real estate exempt? No. ITBI still falls due on a purchase financed under the SFH, though some cities hand out a discount on a first home in the popular price range.