Carnê-leão
Carnê-leão is Brazil's mandatory monthly payment on income received from individuals or from abroad without withholding at source. Variable-income trading results do NOT go through it: they are assessed separately and paid by DARF under code 6015. Run this calculation now: day trade tax calculator (brazil)
Carnê-leão is the monthly payment for income without withholding. Trading results do not belong there — traders use DARF 6015.
What it is, and what belongs in it
Carnê-leão exists for taxable income received from a payer who does not withhold: payment from an individual, rent received from an individual, income from abroad. In those cases no payer deducts anything, so the taxpayer pays monthly, on the progressive scale.
The calculation is done in the tax authority's own program, and the assessed amount carries into the annual return already filled in.
Why trading results stay out
Variable income has its own regime and a flat rate — 20% on day trades and 15% on ordinary trades — not the progressive scale. The assessment is monthly, like carnê-leão, and that is where the confusion comes from, but the route is different: a DARF under code 6015, issued by whoever trades.
The practical difference matters. Putting market results through carnê-leão places them on the progressive scale, which can reach 27.5% — more than the 20% actually due — while leaving the variable-income assessment unpaid in its proper place.
What a trader may genuinely take to carnê-leão is something else: income from individuals earned outside the market.
What the two share
Both are monthly, both are the recipient's responsibility, and both fall due on the last business day of the following month. That is why they get mixed up: the calendar is the same, the nature is not.
And in both, missing the date generates penalties and interest on the amount due, counted from the due date — not from the day someone noticed.
FAQ
Do I need carnê-leão for my day-trading results?
No. Variable income is assessed separately and paid by DARF 6015. Carnê-leão is for income without withholding at source, such as payment from an individual or rent.
Do they fall due on the same day?
Yes, on the last business day of the month following the assessment. The shared calendar is exactly what makes one get mistaken for the other.
What if I already paid through carnê-leão by mistake?
The money went into the wrong regime and the variable-income assessment is still outstanding. Fixing that is a conversation with an accountant, not with a calculator.