Brazilian Federal Revenue Service formalizes the annual income tax assessment regime for betting winnings.
The General Coordination of Taxation (Cosit) published this Wednesday (26), in the Official Gazette of the Union, Consultation Solution No. 157, of August 24, 2026, consolidating the understanding of the Federal Revenue Service on the taxation of Income Tax levied on net prizes obtained in fixed-odds bets and fantasy sports. The text, signed by the general coordinator Rodrigo Augusto Verly de Oliveira, confirms a model that had already been operationalized since March, when the Revenue Service made the ComprovaBet tool available, but now with the weight of a binding statement in a consultation process.
What does Ruling 157/2026 say?
According to Cosit, net prizes are subject to exclusive and definitive taxation under the IRPF (Brazilian Individual Income Tax) – that is, they are not included in the calculation base for the annual adjustment along with other income, following a logic similar to that of fixed-income financial investments. However, the calculation follows three specific rules:
⇒ Annual periodicity. The taxpayer calculates, only once a year, the result of all bets placed in the previous calendar year, considering all operating agents used — and no longer event by event or session by session.
⇒ Segregation by type of bet. The calculation is done separately for each of the three modalities foreseen by law: real sporting events, virtual online gaming events, and fantasy sports. Wins and losses are only offset within the same modality.
⇒ No offsetting between categories. The final net prize is the sum of only the positive results obtained in each of the three categories. If the taxpayer has a loss in one category and a profit in another, the loss does not offset the profit in the different category.
The calculation and payment are the responsibility of the taxpayer: in March, through an application provided by the Federal Revenue Service, with the tax payment due by the last day of April.
The backdrop: the tug-of-war over article 31
This provision did not originate in Law No. 14.790/2023 as sanctioned. In the original wording sent for presidential approval, Article 31 already provides for a 15% tax rate on the net prize exceeding the first income tax exemption bracket, calculated annually and by type of business. However, the Ministry of Finance recommended vetoing paragraphs 1 to 3 of the article, arguing that it constituted a tax waiver and was contrary to the public interest—a recommendation accepted by the Executive Branch upon enactment in December 2023.
Without these paragraphs, the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service regulated the matter in May 2024 through Normative Instruction RFB No. 2.191/2024, amending IN RFB No. 1.500/2014 to institute a more burdensome system: calculation per event or session , without deduction of losses from other bets, with withholding attributed to the operating agent . The sector's reaction was immediate, arguing that taxation without compensation for losses and withholding would eventually increase the effective cost for the bettor and push them towards clandestine platforms.
Two days after the publication of IN 2.191/2024, the National Congress overturned the vetoes to paragraphs 1 to 3 of article 31 in a joint session, reinstating them in Law No. 14.790/2023. This reversed the original logic of the normative instruction: the assessment became annual and by modality, with compensation for losses within each category, and the responsibility for the calculation shifted from the operating agent to the taxpayer himself.
Ruling No. 157/2026 is, therefore, the formalization, within the context of a tax consultation, of this post-veto override design — based expressly on Article 31, §§ 1 to 3, of Law No. 14.790/2023 and Articles 20, 21, 21-A and 21-B of RFB IN No. 1.500/2014 (already adjusted in light of the veto override).
Why does it matter
SC 157/2026 has immediate practical value for bettors and operating agents:
⇒ Confirms, with the force of administrative precedent, that there is no definitive withholding by the operator that exempts the taxpayer from annual reporting — any withholding eventually made on withdrawals is in the nature of an advance/internal control of the platform, but it is the bettor himself who settles the account with the tax authorities, via the Revenue Service application.
⇒ It reinforces that losses in one type of betting do not translate to gains in another — a point that is poorly understood by the general public and relevant for those who bet simultaneously on real sporting events and fantasy sports, for example.
⇒ Reduces the scope for discussion regarding the calculation method on the eve of the 2027 IRPF (2026 calendar year) tax return, serving as a reference for accountants and for the development of the Revenue Service's own application.
CONSULTATION SOLUTION No. 157, OF AUGUST 24, 2026
Subject: Individual Income Tax – IRPF
Fixed-odds betting. Law No. 14.790 of 2023. Promulgation of vetoed parts. Definitive taxation. Calculation of the net prize. Assessment period. Responsibility for collection.
Net winnings obtained from fixed-odds lottery betting and fantasy sports are subject to final taxation.
The taxpayer must annually determine, in relation to the results obtained in the previous calendar year and from all operating agents, the net result of the bets, by adding the winnings and subtracting the losses, calculated separately for each type of bet (real sporting events, virtual online gaming events and "fantasy sports").
The net prize will be the result of adding the positive results calculated separately for each type of prize.
The taxpayer will be responsible for calculating the tax, which must be determined in March by using an application available on the website of the Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil, and the payment must be made by the last day of April.
Legal Provisions: Law No. 14.790, of December 29, 2023, art. 31, §§ 1 to 3; RFB Normative Instruction No. 1.500, of October 29, 2014, arts. 20, 21, 21-A and 21-B.
RODRIGO AUGUSTO VERLY DE OLIVEIRA
General coordinator
