ISS Service Code Generator

ISS service codes explained

ISS (Imposto Sobre Serviços de Qualquer Natureza) is Brazil's municipal service tax — the local-government counterpart of state-level ICMS (goods) and federal IPI (industrial products). Authority comes from the 1988 Constitution (article 156, item III) and the framework is set by Complementary Law 116/2003, which attaches a national list of taxable services. Each item on that list carries a numeric code that every Brazilian municipality must reuse, so a software company in São Paulo and one in Belém share the same code 1.05 even though local rates differ.

The LC 116/2003 service list

The list contains roughly 200 activities grouped into 40 chapters. Each code follows a chapter.item pattern. Examples a developer or accountant sees daily:

• 1.03 — Data processing and electronic information services
• 1.05 — Licensing or assignment of right to use software
• 7.10 — Cleaning, maintenance and conservation of buildings
• 14.01 — Lubrication, cleaning, polishing of vehicles
• 17.06 — Advertising, publicity and marketing

Rates: 2% to 5%, set per municipality

Each of Brazil's 5,570 municipalities defines its own ISS rate inside the federal band of 2% (minimum) and 5% (maximum). The 2% floor was added by Complementary Law 157/2016 to end the so-called guerra fiscal (fiscal war), where towns offered near-zero ISS to attract head offices. Today, advertising rates above 5% or below 2% are unconstitutional, and CNM (the National Confederation of Municipalities) publishes compliance audits.

Where ISS is due: place of provider or place of service

The general rule of LC 116/2003 is that ISS is owed to the municipality of the provider's establishment. Exceptions listed in article 3 push the tax to the place of provision instead — civil construction, surveillance and cleaning, port and airport services, among others. Tax substitution (substituição tributária) lets the service taker withhold ISS at source when municipal law requires it, which is common for large contractors.

NFS-e and the national standard

Service invoices are issued electronically through each municipality's portal (São Paulo's SBE, Rio's CARIOCA-DIGITAL, Belo Horizonte's BHISS-DIGITAL and many others). In 2023 the NFS-e Nacional standard (managed by CGSN) started unifying the XML layout so all 5,570 cities will eventually share the same e-invoice schema. MEI (individual micro-entrepreneurs) pay a flat ISS embedded in the monthly DAS, while Simples Nacional companies also pay ISS inside the DAS at a rate determined by their tax bracket. Self-employed professionals (doctors, lawyers, engineers) pay an annual fixed ISS that varies by city — in São Paulo, for example, around R$ 1,700 for physicians and R$ 850 for other regulated professions.

FAQ

Does ISS generate a CFOP code? No. CFOP belongs to ICMS (goods and transport). ISS uses the LC 116 service code on the NFS-e, plus a municipal sub-code (código de tributação municipal) when the city splits the list further.

Is this generator safe for testing my tax software? Yes — that is exactly its purpose. The codes follow the LC 116/2003 format and can drive unit tests, NFS-e mock payloads and validation rules. They are not real registrations.

Is the ISS rate the same across Brazil? No. It ranges from 2% to 5%. Software licensing might pay 2% in one city and 5% in another, which is why tax engines store a (municipality, service-code) → rate matrix instead of a single number.

Where do I look up the official code for my activity? Start with the annex to LC 116/2003. Then check the municipal tax code (Código Tributário Municipal) for any local sub-code — São Paulo, for example, uses a 4-digit sub-code on top of the LC 116 number.