Fake Pix tax scams: what Brazil's Federal Revenue Service changed, why the rule was revoked and how to spot the fraud

São Paulo, January 16, 2025 — The week in which millions of Brazilians began repeating that the government was going to “tax Pix” ended with the announcement that a rule of Brazil's Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal) would be revoked and with a warning from the Revenue Service itself: criminals are using the rumor to run scams. There is no fee, tax or tariff on Pix, Brazil's instant payment system, for individuals. What existed was a reporting rule, and the government decided to revoke it.

What the Revenue Service changed in e-Financeira

Revenue Service Normative Instruction (IN RFB) No. 2,219/2024 expanded e-Financeira, the filing in which banks and other institutions report to the Revenue Service the totals of account activity. According to a Revenue Service note of January 7, the new module replaced the old Credit Card Operations Declaration (Decred), from 2003, covers more filers and includes amounts received through payment methods such as Pix.

The monthly thresholds went up: before, they were R$2,000 for individuals and R$6,000 for companies. The Revenue Service said the rule “did not imply any increase in taxation” and that the data could, for example, feed the pre-filled income tax return. Even so, the reading that Pix would be monitored and taxed spread.

The wave of rumors and the revocation

1. 01/01/2025The new e-Financeira rules take effect for the year's transactions.
2. 01/07/2025The Revenue Service publishes a note explaining the change and saying it does not raise taxes.
3. 01/09/2025The Revenue Service warns about the “Pix fee charge scam”: “there is no taxation on Pix, and there never will be.”
4. 01/15/2025Minister Fernando Haddad and Revenue Service secretary Robinson Barreirinhas announce the revocation of the rule.
5. 01/16/2025The government issues Provisional Measure 1,288, on Pix confidentiality and the ban on charging a different price to those who pay with it.

According to Agência Brasil, in a text reproduced by the newspaper O Povo, Barreirinhas explained the revocation by two reasons: to keep the rule from being used as “a weapon in the hands of these criminals” and to keep it from getting in the way of the provisional measure's passage through Congress. Haddad said that “Pix will be protected by confidentiality, as it always was” and denied that the decision was a defeat in the face of fake news.

According to the government, MP 1,288, of January 16, reaffirms that no tax applies to the use of Pix, ensures the confidentiality of the information and keeps Pix free for individuals. It also bans charging more from those who pay with Pix than from those who pay in cash. The measure takes effect immediately, but must be approved by Congress so as not to lapse.

The rumor caught on because it mixed a fact with a false conclusion. The fact: the Revenue Service began receiving activity data that includes Pix and set a monthly threshold of R$5,000. The false conclusion: that each transfer would be monitored and taxed. The Revenue Service itself describes that it receives only monthly totals per account, without identifying the recipient, the purpose or the payment method of each transaction, and that the Constitution bars taxing financial activity. In a climate of distrust, the difference between “reporting totals” and “charging tax” was lost, and scammers filled the gap.

How the “Pix fee” scam works

According to the Revenue Service, criminals send messages, mainly through WhatsApp, with the agency's name, colors and symbols. The text says the recipient was “taxed” for moving more than R$5,000 on Pix and that their CPF will be blocked if they do not pay. It usually attaches an official-looking document and a boleto (a Brazilian bank payment slip). The example released by the Revenue Service demanded R$845.20.

How to recognize it and what to do

• Be wary of urgency and threats. CPF blocking and a short deadline are hallmarks of a scam.
• Remember the official channel. The Revenue Service only uses the e-CAC portal and the official website for secure communication. It does not send charges or notices by WhatsApp, SMS or social media.
• Do not pay a boleto received by message. Check the beneficiary and do not act on impulse; federal tax is not paid this way.
• Do not click links or open attachments from unknown senders. They may install malicious programs or ask for personal data.
• Verify at the source. Confirm on the Revenue Service's or your bank's website before forwarding the message to family and colleagues.

Anyone who has already paid should notify the bank immediately to try to block the amount, file a police report (boletim de ocorrência) and keep the messages and receipt. Companies that make many payments through Pix should instruct the finance team to validate any charge through a second channel. It is the same rule that protects crypto payments against the address poisoning scam: never trust data that arrived ready-made. Other scams are in the Security category of this blog.

• Pix
• Scams
• Federal Revenue Service
• Taxation
• Social engineering
• Cybersecurity