Anyone who has paid income tax on alimony received over the past five years can claim the return of this money to the Federal Tax Service. The STF (Federal Supreme Court) has ruled that this income is exempt from tax and that there is no longer a need to levy a retirement tax.

As a result of the vote, on October 7, the Federal Tax Service released a statement explaining how the refund process will proceed, which must be done through a corrective statement.

The government must stop raising 1 billion reais a year – Photo: Marcello Casal Jr/Agência Brasil/ND

The decision concerns taxpayers who have included child support as part of taxable income over the past five years, from 2018 to 2022.

Judgment

The application of income tax to alimony, which stems from family law, was vetoed in June at the plenary meeting of the STF. Earlier this month, the Court heard an appeal in which the Union intended to avoid retroactive returns. The case was considered in a virtual plenary session that ended on 30 September.

At the end of the trial, the understanding of the speaker, Minister Diaz Toffoli, prevailed, for whom taxation is unconstitutional and violates fundamental rights, affecting the interests of vulnerable people.

Influence

The Federal Tax Service, attached to the AGU (Union Advocacy General) process, estimates that the government should stop collecting 1 billion reais a year.

The impact could be even more significant for pensioners who were taxed by the government. According to official estimates, the impact on the state treasury of the so-called overpayments could reach 6.5 billion reais over the next five years.

Correction

The IRS said that anyone who filed a claim including child support as taxable income between 2018 and 2022 can correct the claim and make an adjustment. An application for correction regarding the year in which the wrongful collection or withholding was made can be submitted through the Declaration Creator Program on the e-CAC Portal (https://cav.receita.fazenda.gov.br/authenticacao/login) or through application “My income tax”.

To do this, simply provide the delivery receipt number of the declaration to be corrected and retain the retention model selected when the declaration was sent.

The amount of support claimed as taxable income must be excluded and listed in the “Exempt and Taxable Income/Other” option with “Alimony”. Other information about tax paid or withheld at source should be kept.

A declarant who does not include a dependent who received support will be able to include it, as well as expenses related to the dependent.

Activation conditions:

• Have chosen to tax with legal deductions on the original return (because the simplified deduction return does not include deductions for dependents);

• The dependent does not have their own declaration.

If, after correcting the declaration, the tax balance to be refunded is greater than in the original declaration, the difference will be available through the banking network in accordance with the package schedule and legal priorities.

If there is a reduction in the balance of tax actually paid after you correct the return, the excess amount will be refunded via Perdcomp (electronic refund request).

In this case, a refund or refund of the overpaid tax or more must be requested through the PER/DCOMP (Declaration of Reimbursement, Reimbursement or Reimbursement and Compensation) web tool available on the e-CAC portal, or, in some cases, through the PGD Perdcomp.

The IRS warns that it is important to keep all vouchers relating to the amounts declared on the return, including the rectifier that may be requested for discussion, until the relevant tax credits have expired.