Approximately 30.2% [1] of individual taxpayers in Brazil have not yet filed their 2026 Income Tax Return for the 2025 base year.
Failure to submit these documents by the deadline may result in financial penalties, fines, and the risk of being flagged by the tax-audit system, known as malha fina [3, 4].
As of Saturday, May 23, 2026, at 5:57 p.m., the Receita Federal said it had received 30,694,236 declarations [1]. This figure represents 69.8% [1] of the total expected filings for the year. The government expects a total of 44 million declarations [0].
Among the returns already delivered, 62.3% [0] of taxpayers are eligible for a refund, while 20.9% [0] are required to pay taxes.
Data regarding the number of missing filings varies across reports. While some sources indicate 13 million people have yet to settle their accounts [4], other reports suggest a higher non-filing rate. Correio Braziliense said 21.7 million people had filed, implying that approximately 22.3 million taxpayers had not yet submitted their returns [5].
Taxpayers must use the Receita Federal’s electronic filing system to complete the process [0, 1]. The deadline remains six days away from the May 23 report [1, 2].
“Approximately 30.2% of individual taxpayers in Brazil have not yet filed their 2026 Income Tax Return.”
The discrepancy between government data and some media reports suggests a potential lag in real-time reporting or differing methodologies in calculating the expected taxpayer pool. However, the consistent warning across all sources emphasizes the urgency for millions of Brazilians to avoid the 'malha fina' audit system, which can lead to prolonged legal and financial complications with the federal government.
