Pay Your Taxes with Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is all the rage these days. Many online retailers accept it alongside credit card payments. In fact, Venezuela even created its own national cryptocurrency. And now, one city in Brazil will soon let residents use crypto to pay their property taxes.

Real estate in Brazil is subject to IPTU (Imposto Predial e Territorial Urbano), a municipal property tax charged annually on urban real estate. We’ve written about it before (HERE and HERE).

Soon Rio de Janeiro will be the first city in Brazil to allow residents to pay their IPTU property taxes using cryptocurrency. It’s not yet permitted, but 2023 is just around the corner. According to city officials, the goal is to make Rio the country’s hub for technology and innovation.

The impact of the change, particularly for foreign owners of Brazilian real estate, could be notable. It can be difficult for foreigners to pay IPTU for properties they own because most non-residents can’t open a Brazilian bank account. Thus the ability to pay with cryptocurrency may be a game changer.

So what’ll be next? What about notary fees, condo fees, electricity and other public services? Perhaps this small but significant change will open the Brazilian market, particularly in Rio, to greater foreign investment. Maybe having a bank account in Brazil won’t be as necessary for foreign investors anymore?

And that leaves yet another question - when will the rest of Brazil follow suit? Because the easier it is to do business in Brazil, the more business there’ll be.