The DARF — when you owe and how to pay

The DARF (Documento de Arrecadação de Receitas Federais) is the payment slip you use to pay tax that nobody withheld for you. If you trade stocks, ETFs, FIIs, or have gains abroad, the DARF will become part of your monthly routine. Mishandling it is one of the most common — and most penalised — investor mistakes.

When a DARF is due

You generate and pay a DARF yourself when you have a self-assessed taxable result in a given month, most commonly:

• A net profit on the sale of stocks (above the exemption — see the next chapter).
• A net profit on FIIs, ETFs, or day trades.
• Capital gains abroad or on crypto above the relevant threshold.

The deadline is the last business day of the month following the month of the profit. A gain realised in March is paid by the last business day of April.

The codes and the rounding rule

Each result type has its own revenue code (código de receita) — for example, individuals' market gains commonly use code 6015 (verify the correct code for your situation). Two quirks to remember:

• The minimum DARF amount is R$10. If the tax due in a month is below that, you do not pay it that month — you accumulate it and pay once the running total reaches R$10.
• Pay late and the DARF gains a fine (0.33% per day, capped at 20%) plus Selic interest. The official calculators (and tools like the broker's or the Receita's) compute these for you.

A worked example

You sell stocks in May with R$3,000 of net taxable gain (already above the exemption), taxed at 15% swing-trade:

Tax due        = 3,000 × 0.15 = R$450
DARF code      = 6015 (verify)
Reference month= May (competência 05)
Pay by         = last business day of June

You fill this in the Receita's Sicalc/ "Calcular DARF" tool or your broker's tax report, print the slip, and pay it at any bank or by Pix. Keep the receipt — you will need the totals at annual-declaration time.

This is educational; the codes, deadlines and the R$10 floor are stated as of the time of writing — confirm them and let your accountant validate the calculation.