What is Lucro Real?
Lucro Real is the regime in which IRPJ and CSLL are charged on the actual accounting profit, as adjusted for tax. It is mandatory when revenue in the previous year was above R$78 million and open to anyone by choice.
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Current Rate (Calendar year, calculated quarterly or annually with monthly estimates.)
IRPJ 15% plus the 10% surcharge, CSLL 9%. PIS and COFINS are usually non-cumulative (1.65% and 7.6%, with credits).
Example
A company making a loss chooses Lucro Real so that it pays no IRPJ on a presumed profit it did not make.
How Lucro Real works in Brazil
Under Lucro Real an operating expense is deductible when it is necessary, usual and normal for the business (RIR/2018 art. 311). The company must keep the ECD and file the ECF. The tax adjustments are the contador's work.
Related terms
IRPJ (Imposto sobre a Renda das Pessoas Jurídicas) is the federal corporate income tax. Outside the Simples Nacional it is 15% of profit plus a 10% surcharge on profit above R$20,000 a month.
Lucro Presumido is a regime in which taxable profit is a fixed percentage of revenue. It is open to companies whose revenue in the previous year was up to R$78 million.
PIS/Pasep and COFINS are federal contributions on revenue. They are paid monthly by companies outside the Simples Nacional and are replaced by the CBS from 2027.
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