PF or PJ: how to receive money from abroad?
Choosing between receiving as a PF or PJ changes your taxes, costs and paperwork. Here are the differences, and how Ruvo lets you keep a foot in both.
The choice that drives your costs
PF: simple, but taxed at the top
PJ: more structure, more efficiency
Where Ruvo fits (you can keep both)
- Hold both a personal (PF) and a business (PJ) account.
- Free transfers between them, so you can invoice through the PJ and move money to your PF whenever you want.
- The same US account details, dollar balance and 0% IOF card on both.
Cost and tax are two different levers
Revenue thresholds: when a CNPJ starts to pay off
PF vs PJ: what weighs most
| Criteria | Personal (PF) | Business (PJ) |
|---|---|---|
| Income taxation | Up to 27.5% | Lower under regimes like Simples |
| Invoicing | Cannot invoice | Service-export invoice |
| Paperwork to start | Immediate | Requires an active company |
| Accounting obligations | Minimal | Recurring |
| Best for | Small or occasional amounts | Recurring dollar income |
Frequently asked questions
Individual or business to receive from abroad, what to weigh.
For small or occasional work, receiving as an individual is the simplest choice, and it is not worth setting up a company. As you earn more in dollars and the income becomes recurring, setting up a company (PJ) usually becomes worth it: the lower tax burden outweighs the cost of keeping the company, since individual income can be taxed up to 27.5%.
In many cases, yes. Regimes like Simples Nacional can result in a lower total burden than the individual income-tax table. The exact result depends on your revenue and activity, confirm with your accountant.
As a business, yes: providing a service to a client abroad is a service export and requires an invoice. This keeps your operation compliant and proves the origin of the funds.
You can open a CNPJ at any point in the year — there is no restriction on timing. However, income received before the CNPJ was opened remains as PF income for that year's IRPF declaration. Going forward from the registration date, income can be received and declared as PJ. Many people open the CNPJ when they decide to make the switch and transition invoicing over the following month.
A rough rule of thumb: if your consistent monthly foreign income in reais equivalent exceeds R$3,000–5,000, the tax saving from Simples Nacional versus IRPF carnê-leão typically covers the cost of accounting fees and CNPJ maintenance within a few months. Below that threshold, the overhead may not be justified. A contador who works with freelancers can give you a model based on your actual monthly amounts.
Yes. Ruvo supports both PJ and PF accounts under one login, with separate balances and separate conversion rates. This is useful if you receive both business (PJ invoiced) and personal income, or if you want to maintain separate dollar pools for different purposes. The accounts are independent — a conversion in one does not affect the other.
