Ask questions about the IPTU and learn how to obtain discounts and payment advantages

The IPTU (Imposto Predial e Territorial Urbano) begins to be collected by City Halls at the beginning of each year from citizens who own urban properties.

That is, the owners of houses, apartments, commercial establishments or other properties must pay a tribute annually to the local administration of the municipality for maintaining an established construction in the city.

The municipalities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other capitals in Brazil begin to collect the tax from the second half of January, but in each municipality the system may be different.

In Rio, the city government announced news for the payment of IPTU for 2022. As of this year, taxpayers from Rio de Janeiro who made the Annual Declaration of Cadastral Data (DeCAD) and kept their IPTU payments up to date will have a 5% discount.

The city hall pointed out that, in order to receive the discount, all quotas must have been paid by November 30 of last year.

If the taxpayer continues to be considered a good payer, he will have another 5% reduction in the IPTU in the following year. The ceiling for these discounts is 10%.

Regarding discounts, the capital of Rio offers 7% to the taxpayer who pays the tax in this single quota, the same amount offered by the city of Salvador.

In Porto Alegre, the discount will be 8%, while in Belo Horizonte it will be 10% in cash if paid until this Thursday (20).

In Manaus, some residents will have a 30% discount for payment in a single installment and 20% for installments in up to 10 installments.

Florianópolis residents also receive hefty discounts this year. It was established that people without debts with the city hall until October 30, 2021 have 20% of discount with cash payment until this Thursday (20).

On the other hand, the city of São Paulo established a discount of only 3% for the IPTU this year. It allowed the installment in 10 installments, as well as other capitals and municipalities.

See below the 2022 IPTU payment schedule in São Paulo:

When considering the possibility of doubts arising at the time of payment of the tax, the CNN Brasil Business talked to experts and created a list to help when paying off the tax.

Do I have to pay in case of rent?

A question that may be recurring occurs in cases of renting apartments, houses or commercial properties.

In this scenario, experts say it is necessary to review the signed contract, but that it is common for the tenant to be responsible for paying off the debt.

“The person responsible for the payment is the owner of the property, but it is a market practice to pass the value on to the tenant. Generally, when we rent, the rent, the value of the condominium, if applicable, and the IPTU are detailed,” said Natalia Rabinovitch Szyfman, partner and portfolio manager at Sonata Gestão de Patrimônio.

“However, if the tenant does not pay it, it is the owner’s responsibility to pay the tax”, he pointed out.

Green property tax

The idea of ​​“Green IPTU” is to make cities increasingly sustainable through discounts on the value of the tax of the owner who adopts green practices in his residence.

“The idea was born out of a United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP) in which foreign cities presented situations to promote sustainability in urban areas”, said financial educator Isabela Fontanella.

According to her, some Brazilian municipalities have adopted IPTU incentives based on this idea. “Each city has the freedom to determine the rules of discounts, which can be like installing solar energy panels, vegetation cover in the house and even planting trees,” said Isabela.

In Guarulhos, for example, discounts range from 2% to 3% of the tax amount, depending on the sustainable practices established by the resident. They are cumulative and reflect directly on the final price to be paid.

In Salvador, on the other hand, when investigating the property, the city establishes points for sustainability, which are transformed into discounts if they reach certain numbers established by the city.

“If a person scores 50 points, they enter the ‘bronze’ group and receive a 5% discount, while 70 points take them to the ‘silver’ group, which promises a 7% discount. But if the resident scores 100 points, he is classified as ‘gold’ and receives a 10% discount”, said the educator.

Isabela Fontanella says that it is very important for citizens to research and find out about discounts that can be offered in their city, normally available on the city hall website.

Calculation

Each city has a way of calculating the IPTU, as the experts explain.

In several municipalities, the IPTU is calculated on the market value. In São Paulo, it can vary from 0.70% to 1.5% of this amount, according to financial planner Rafael Monteiro.

“Market value is the value of the property according to the city hall metrics. The higher it is, the higher the percentage of tax to be collected”, he explained.

In Salvador, the IPTU is also calculated from the market value, but also involves the land area, built-up area, location, characteristic (commercial or residential) etc.

In Belo Horizonte, the market value is multiplied by the rate established by the city hall to form the final price to be paid by the taxpayer.

In cash or in installments?

Taking as an example the discount offered by the city of São Paulo, of 3% in cash, and from other municipalities that establish a similar rate, experts believe that the best scenario is to carry out the tax in installments.

“The IPTU is using a lower rate, around 8.5% per year, which would give 0.68% per month. So if the person has an application that earns more than 0.68% per month, it is not worth paying in cash, but keeping the money invested and in installments”, said Josilmar Cordenonssi, professor of Economics at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie.

The professor cites as an example the Selic as a basis for the application. The basic interest rate is currently at 9.25%, so it’s a better option to let the money pay while you pay the IPTU.

“If you leave money in the Selic Treasury, it will yield more than the 8.5% IPTU interest rate. It’s better to split it with money or not, in this case. After paying the installments, there will still be money left in the end,” said the professor.

However, in the case of more robust discounts above double digits, the recommendation becomes different.