Investing Abroad from Brazil: Brokers, Accounts and What Law 14,754 Changed

For a Brazilian with a serious portfolio, owning nothing outside the real is now the unusual choice. The reasons are familiar: currency risk, a narrow local stock market and the wish to own global companies directly. The harder part is choosing the route, and understanding the rules that changed at the start of 2024.

The main routes

• US brokers that accept non-US residents, such as Interactive Brokers and Charles Schwab. Schwab notes that non-US residents are subject to country-specific restrictions, so eligibility and minimums vary.
• Platforms built for Brazilians, such as Avenue, a US digital broker. In December 2025 Itaú filed to raise its stake from 35% to 50.1%, subject to CADE and Banco Central approval.
• An international account with a private bank, booked in the US, Switzerland or elsewhere, usually with higher entry levels and broader services.
• A holding company or trust abroad, which brings its own tax and reporting rules and needs specialist advice.

The broker is the easy decision. The structure, the reporting and the tax are where mistakes cost money.

What Law 14,754/2023 changed, in general terms

The law was sanctioned on 12 December 2023 and its changes generally apply from 1 January 2024. According to the Finance Ministry's own explainer, income from financial investments held directly abroad is now taxed at 15%, once a year, through the annual income tax return. Before, there was no express rule: depending on the case, such income was treated as a capital gain or fell under the monthly carnê-leão.

• Profits of certain controlled offshore companies are taxed every year, whether or not they are distributed.
• Trusts gained specific rules: assets are attributed first to the settlor and later to the beneficiary.
• Losses on direct foreign investments can offset gains on others in the same year, with the excess carried forward.
• Exchange gains on non-interest-bearing foreign currency deposits remain exempt.

A separate obligation comes from the Banco Central: residents holding US$1 million or more abroad on 31 December must file the Capitais Brasileiros no Exterior (CBE) declaration. For the 2025 base year, the deadline was 6 April 2026.

What to ask before you move money

• Which regulator supervises the broker, and what investor protection applies to my account?
• In whose name are the assets held, and what happens to them in a succession?
• How will income, gains and currency movements be reported on my Brazilian return?
• Does a holding company or trust make sense at my level of wealth, or only add cost?