ISS (Brazilian Service Tax) Calculator

ISS: how the municipal services tax works

ISS (Imposto Sobre Serviços) is the Brazilian municipal tax on services, set out in LC 116/2003. Each city picks its own rate, but always inside a national band of minimum 2%, maximum 5%. The math itself gives no trouble: ISS = gross value · rate. São Paulo runs from 2% to 5% depending on the service code, while Rio de Janeiro tops out at 5%, as do most large capitals. Take a service worth R$ 1,000 at 5%: that is R$ 50 of ISS, recorded on the electronic service invoice (NFS-e).

The annex to LC 116 lists roughly 200 taxable services. Liberal professionals such as doctors, lawyers, accountants and dentists frequently pay fixed ISS per registered professional instead of a slice of revenue. For MEIs the ISS is already bundled into the DAS, at R$ 5 a month for services. Simples Nacional companies pay their ISS through the DAS too, at progressive rates under annexes III, IV or V, which one depending on the service and on the payroll-to-revenue factor.

Tax reform 2026–2032

EC 132/2023 and LC 214/2025 pull ISS, along with ICMS, PIS and COFINS, into a dual VAT made of IBS (state and municipal) and CBS (federal). The transition stretches from 2026 to 2032, with a combined rate expected around 26–27%. Right up to 2032, though, ISS stays due on every NFS-e issued, and city halls keep running their own rate tables.

FAQ

Where is ISS due, at origin or destination? As a rule, in the city where the provider is established. LC 116 carves out exceptions, including construction, security, cleaning and leasing, where the ISS goes to the city where the service is actually performed.

Does the MEI pay ISS on top of the DAS? No. The monthly DAS already carries the fixed R$ 5 of ISS for services. And a MEI cannot opt for fixed-rate ISS as an individual professional.

Why does an accounting firm pay fixed ISS? LC 116 lets liberal professions set up as a "sociedade uniprofissional" pay a flat ISS per registered professional. That figure tends to be far smaller than a percentage of revenue would be.