Investing in Land and Property in Brazil and how to Send Your Funds for the Purchase.
Transferring funds to and from Brazil is a relatively straightforward process, however there are a number of rather complex rules and regulations that must be adhered to in order to carry out transfers correctly. These rules are enforced by the government-owned Banco Central do Brasil.
Funds sent to Brazil for the purpose of buying property or land must be sent from your own bank account directly to the account of the person selling the property.
All international transfers are via the Banco Central do Brasil and although technically you are sending directly to the sellers account, your funds will in actually be held by the Central Bank in a holding exchange account, in preparation for the exchange from your currency to Brazilian Reais.
In order to release the funds from the holding exchange account, the seller is required to show a copy of the sales contract signed by both parties. Only once he has done so can the money be exchanged from its source currency into Brazilian Reais.
This is the reason that your bank will not be able to offer an exchange rate at the time of transfer as the exchange rate will only be confirmed when the seller presents the sales contract to their bank.
In many cases the fluctuation in currencies can lead to a shortfall of funds being sent, or alternatively an overpayment. It is important that your contract allows a margin, often of +/-10% on the amount that has been transferred to avoid any problems.
This transfer system provides several benefits to the international purchaser. Not only does it ensure the your funds are registered correctly, thereby proving your investment into Brazil. It also proves that the money was earned outside Brazil and is therefore not subject to Brazilian income tax. Likewise, when you come to sell and want to return your funds to your home country, the system allows for you to transfer back the original purchase amount free of tax. However capital gains may still be payable on any profit made from the propertys sale.
It is vital to ensure your funds are registered correctly with the Banco Central do Brasil on entering the country to prevent any limitations on returning funds to your home country should you wish to do so on sale of your property.
Although other sending options are available via companies such as Western Union, under Brazilian law these cannot exceed R$10,000 per transfer and of course will not result in registration of your funds with the Banco Central do Brasil.
To conclude, because of the registration process employed by the Brazilian Central Bank, sending funds to Brazil for a property or land purchase is very safe as the seller will need a valid and certified contract to access the funds and the Bank will have a register of who has sent and who has received the funds.
