Rounding out a busy batch of Official Gazette releases, Decree No. 12 865, also dated 3 March 2026, ratifies Brazil’s first double-taxation treaty with Poland. The accord is modelled on the latest OECD standard and, significantly for mobility practitioners, exempts income derived by pension funds, and treats stock-option gains as taxable only in the employee’s residence state if the option is exercised after departure. For Brazilian automotive suppliers operating in Katowice’s special economic zone, the treaty caps Polish withholding on royalties at 10 % and on interest at 8 %, down from the statutory 20 %. Assignment packages that include employer-provided housing will classify the benefit as dependent personal services income rather than real property income, eliminating a grey-area tax equalisation cost.
![Poland agreement finalises Brazil’s 2026 tax-treaty refresh cycle]()
Companies navigating the new treaty may also need to secure or extend work permits for their assignees. VisaHQ’s Brazil desk can streamline that side of the process, offering end-to-end visa and residence-permit support for both Brazilian nationals heading to Poland and Polish specialists bound for Brazil; more details are available at https://www.visahq.com/brazil/
The agreement also contains an anti-abuse ‘principal-purpose test’. HR tax teams must therefore document legitimate economic rationale for secondments—such as knowledge transfer—lest aggressive optimisation be re-characterised. Deloitte Warsaw warns that the Polish tax authority has already formed a treaty-monitoring unit that will scrutinise Brazilian expatriate filings. Entry into force will occur after both countries exchange ratification notes; Poland’s Sejm is expected to vote by June, putting a realistic effective date of 1 January 2027.
Companies navigating the new treaty may also need to secure or extend work permits for their assignees. VisaHQ’s Brazil desk can streamline that side of the process, offering end-to-end visa and residence-permit support for both Brazilian nationals heading to Poland and Polish specialists bound for Brazil; more details are available at https://www.visahq.com/brazil/
The agreement also contains an anti-abuse ‘principal-purpose test’. HR tax teams must therefore document legitimate economic rationale for secondments—such as knowledge transfer—lest aggressive optimisation be re-characterised. Deloitte Warsaw warns that the Polish tax authority has already formed a treaty-monitoring unit that will scrutinise Brazilian expatriate filings. Entry into force will occur after both countries exchange ratification notes; Poland’s Sejm is expected to vote by June, putting a realistic effective date of 1 January 2027.
