End of obligation to declare shares in the IR requires attention

The 2023 Individual Income Tax Declaration (IRPF) brought something new to one of the types of investors who suffer the most when filling out the document: those who apply on the stock exchange. This year, the Revenue exempted from the obligation to declare those who carried out low-value sales operations or did not make a profit. Simplification, however, benefits fewer people than it appears.

Taxpayers who meet other mandatory criteria to complete the annual declaration must continue to declare investments in variable income, even if they sold low amounts or only purchased shares last year. The one who makes the alert is Diego Figueiredo, Director of Operations at fintech Grana Capital. The company offers an application to automate Income Tax management for stock exchange investors.

“The income tax return is like a photo. In the same way that, in an official document, we cannot take a photo with glasses and a cap, the Federal Revenue will demand the best possible photo of proof of income”, compares Figueiredo. “From the moment the taxpayer is obliged to declare the Income Tax, he must present the information in the most detailed way possible.”

Changes

Until last year, taxpayers who had any amount invested in the stock, goods, futures or similar exchanges were required to declare Income Tax (IR). Even if you took a loss or just bought shares (without selling any shares) in the previous year. This year, the rule has changed. Only those who sold more than R$ 40,000 in variable income or who made a profit of any amount in the sale in the previous year will need to fill out the declaration.

If the sum of sales – not profit – of the shares is below R$ 20,000 per month and the investor did not make a day trade (he bought and sold shares on the same day), there will be an exemption from Income Tax. However, even in these cases, it will be necessary to declare the assets and results of operations, because there was a profit in the previous year.

“The Revenue made this change because it detected that around 500,000 investors declared Income Tax last year just because they owned shares. So he decided to simplify the rules even to help the small investor, who often got confused when filling out the declaration”, says Figueiredo.

The director of Grana Capital warns that the measure, in practice, will benefit fewer taxpayers than the 500 thousand initially foreseen. “Any number about how many individuals are going to be covered is a guess,” he said. According to him, it is not possible to know if the taxpayer, from one year to another, was included in the other mandatory criteria to send the declaration, which are the following:

• Earned more than BRL 28,559.70 in taxable income in the year (in salary, retirement, rent or other taxable sources),

• Received more than BRL 40,000 exempt, non-taxable or taxed at source in the year (such as labor compensation or savings income)

• Earned from the sale of goods such as houses and cars, among others

• Owned assets worth more than BRL 300,000

• Started residing in Brazil in any month of the last year, remaining in the country until December 31

• Sold a property and bought another within 180 days

If it fits into any of these cases, the taxpayer should not only declare the stock of shares at the end of the previous year, in the “assets and rights” form. It will also be necessary to inform the result of the operations – profit or loss – in the “variable income” form, with the losses filled in with a negative sign so that the losses can be deducted from the Income Tax in the following years.

Monthly payment

In the case of investment in variable income, the income tax declaration is only part of the obligations with the tax authorities. The tax must be paid each month in which the investor sells shares, through a Federal Revenue Collection Document (Darf). When filling out the declaration, it is necessary to gather the Darf to facilitate the filling of the document.

Even if the investor is in arrears with the payment of the IR, he must fill out the declaration. This is because the month-to-month discharge of the tax and the declaration are two independent processes.

Other income associated with stocks and other stock exchange investments must be reported. Dividends must be declared on the “exempt income” form. Interest on equity, which pays 15% of income tax, must be reported on the “income subject to exclusive taxation” form.

Discipline

To avoid a headache, the director of Grana Capital recommends discipline and organization for anyone who decides to venture into the stock market. “Ideally, the investor organizes a spreadsheet for each operation in variable income to reduce the work when paying monthly income tax and filling out the declaration the following year”, he points out.

According to him, the worksheet must have as much information as possible, such as the value of each purchase, number of shares, sale value, profit or loss, average share price in the month, ticker (stock exchange code) of the stock and the National Personnel Registry. Legal (CNPJ) of the company issuing the share. Figueiredo warns of the importance of filling in the correct information to prevent investor earnings from being eroded due to fines applied by the Federal Revenue Service.

In addition, recalls Figueiredo, it is necessary to gather as many documents as possible, such as securities distributor reports, brokerage notes and income reports for each company or fund in which it invests. These reports are available in the “investor relations” area of ​​the website of each listed company.

“Those who make a profit on the stock exchange have three options. The first is to pay 15% Income Tax every month (when you sell assets), or 20% in the case of day trades. The second is delaying the bills and paying a fine, which grows over time. The third is to receive a letter from the Revenue with a subpoena to provide clarification. To avoid setbacks, investors have to organize themselves”, he warns.