RET — Special Taxation Regime

The Special Taxation Regime (Regime Especial de Tributação, or RET) is a tax option created by Law 10.931/2004 that lets a developer pay four federal taxes — PIS, COFINS, CSLL, and corporate income tax (IRPJ) — as a single unified rate of 4% of the development’s monthly revenue. In exchange, the developer must legally segregate the land and the construction through a ring-fenced estate (patrimônio de afetação).

• Ring-fenced estate (patrimônio de afetação): a legal regime under which the land and the construction are segregated from the developer’s general assets. If the company goes bankrupt or becomes insolvent, the project’s funds remain protected and must be used exclusively to finish construction, protecting the buyers.
• Rates by project type: 4% for developments in general; 1% for the "Minha Casa Minha Vida" affordable-housing program (income tier 1); 4% for other income tiers of that program. Opting into RET is voluntary but irrevocable for each specific development.
• Benefit to the buyer: the ring-fenced estate required under RET is the main legal protection for buyers of off-plan properties if the developer becomes insolvent. Law 14.382/2022 strengthened the protections of this mechanism.
• Conditions to opt in: the developer must have the development’s incorporation memorandum registered at the CRI, be current on federal taxes, and formalize the ring-fenced estate before or after registering the memorandum.
• Revenue limit: there is no revenue cap for choosing this option. RET can be adopted by developers of any size, provided the legal conditions are met.

In Florianópolis, high-end developers in neighborhoods like Jurerê Internacional, Campeche, and Lagoa da Conceição frequently adopt RET, both for the tax benefit and as a sales argument: developments with a ring-fenced estate offer buyers greater security if the company runs into financial trouble.