AOW, pension and tax in Brazil: the treaty of 1990 divides, and the treaty of 2002 exists only on paper

Your AOW stays taxed in the Netherlands, your annuity becomes taxed in Brazil, and your occupational pension is divided: that is the short version of the tax treaty both countries concluded in Brasília on 8 March 1990 and which has applied since 20 November 1991. Brazil taxes its residents on worldwide income, in brackets up to 27.5 percent. What the brochure does not say is that there is a second treaty, on social security, signed in 2002 — and that according to wetten.overheid.nl that treaty "enters into force on a date yet to be determined". Without that treaty the AOW travels at the married rate, and that costs a single person twenty percentage points.

Income	The Netherlands	Brazil	Treaty
AOW and other social security benefits	taxed, only here	not taxed	article 18, paragraph 3
Occupational pension	may also tax what exceeds 5,000 dollars a year	taxed; credits the Dutch tax	article 18, paragraph 1; article 23
Annuity	not taxed	taxed, only there	article 18, paragraph 1
Government pension (ABP)	taxed, only here, unless you are also Brazilian	not taxed	article 19, paragraph 2
Home in the Netherlands	always taxed here, box 3	—	article 6
AOW amount single person	married rate, 50 instead of 70 percent	—	no treaty in force

Who taxes what?

The AOW. Article 18, paragraph 3, of the treaty is unambiguous: payments "under the provisions of a social security system" are "taxable only in the first-mentioned State" — the country that pays. So the SVB withholds wage tax on your AOW, and Brazil stays off it.

The occupational pension. The first paragraph assigns pensions "in consideration of past employment" to the country of residence, but with a ceiling fixed in 1990: up to 5,000 US dollars per calendar year only Brazil taxes; the part above "may also" be taxed in the Netherlands. For almost every Dutch pension that means double taxation on paper, and article 23, paragraph 5, solves it on the Brazilian side: Brazil deducts the tax paid in the Netherlands, up to the amount of the Brazilian tax on that same income.

The annuity. An annuity is according to the first paragraph taxable "only" in the country of residence, without a ceiling. For that you apply in the Netherlands for an exemption from wage tax; the Belastingdienst wants a declaration of tax liability in the country of residence, signed by the Brazilian tax authority, showing that you are liable in Brazil for your worldwide income.

The ABP. A pension from government service stays, according to article 19, paragraph 2, taxed only in the Netherlands, unless you are a resident and a national of Brazil.

What else does the Netherlands do?

You are a non-resident taxpayer. The Belastingdienst then taxes only what is taxed in the Netherlands: the AOW, the pension above the ceiling, the ABP, and immovable property in the Netherlands, which is "always taxed in the Netherlands". A Dutch bank account or annuity insurance falls outside box 3. And whoever lives outside the EU has, according to the Belastingdienst, "usually no right to the tax part of the tax credit". The year of departure you close with the M form; an annuity or pension entitlement travels along with a protective assessment.

What does Brazil do?

From the day you are a tax resident there, Brazil taxes your worldwide income. The Regulamento do Imposto sobre a Renda sets that day in article 16 at arrival with a permanent visa, and in article 17 at arrival with a temporary visa for work; whoever comes for another reason becomes a resident after 183 days of stay in a period of twelve months. Foreign income you declare monthly through the carnê-leão, and the Receita Federal says that the tax paid abroad is credited under a treaty.

The monthly table of 2026 starts at zero up to 2,428.80 reais and ends at 27.5 percent above 4,664.68 reais. Whoever is older than 65 moreover gets 1,903.98 reais of pension income a month tax-free, and since 2026 a reduction applies that sets the tax to zero up to 5,000 reais a month and phases it out up to 7,350 reais. Have a Brazilian contador do the return the first year; the credit of article 23 is a rule he has to know.

The AOW blow without a treaty

The Netherlands and Brazil signed a social security treaty on 7 March 2002, with an article on the export of benefits. It never entered into force, and in 2024 the minister listed the 36 countries with which a working treaty does exist: Brazil is not among them. Therefore article 9a of the AOW applies: outside the Netherlands the AOW equals the married rate. A couple notices nothing; a single person falls from 70 to 50 percent of the net minimum wage, and the supplement for a younger partner lapses (article 8a).

Calculate the 2,000 dollars of your visa with the export amount. The residence route for retirees asks for a monthly transfer of 2,000 dollars, and after the export the SVB transfers less than your Dutch statement shows. Ask the SVB before the application for the amount at the married rate, and have the bank letter for the consulate name that amount.

Whoever does not yet have AOW moreover loses 2 percent of accrual per year outside the Netherlands and the Anw cover for his partner; the SVB lets you continue the insurance voluntarily within one year of departure.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Brazil or go straight to step 1.2 in the open plan.