How to declare the FGTS and the birthday loot in the Income Tax

Workers who withdrew the FGTS (Fundo de Garantia do Tempo de Serviço) in 2021 may be required to declare the Income Tax. The period for submitting the 2022 IR statement started on March 7 and ends at 11:59 pm on April 29.

Even those who are free to report to the Federal Revenue for not having reached the minimum income that requires the submission of the declaration – of R$ 28,559.70 in taxable income – will be obliged if the amount withdrawn from the fund exceeds R$ 40 thousand.

The rules for Income Tax provide for several situations that make the submission of the declaration mandatory, such as owning assets or rights above R$ 300 thousand or having carried out operations on the Stock Exchange.

Among these situations are exempt, non-taxable or taxed exclusively at source income above R$ 40 thousand. It is in this category that both the FGTS birthday withdrawal and the release of the fund balance made from dismissal without just cause or upon retirement are included.

The FGTS is supplied by monthly payments made by employers and, therefore, is a right of formal workers, who work with a formal contract. Those who opt for the birthday loot give up receiving the money on dismissal. If the worker who joined the birthday withdrawal is fired, he will retain the right to receive a 40% fine on deposits made by the company.

According to Dilma Rodrigues, HR director at Attend, the withdrawal of money from the fund must be informed by the worker in the form “Exempt and Non-Taxable Income”, where he will choose option 4, which is “Indemnities for termination of contract, including of POS, and for work accident; and FGTS”.

The taxpayer must include the CNPJ and corporate name of the paying source, in addition to the total amount of withdrawals. In the case of the FGTS, he will be able to access this information in the fund statement, available in the FGTS application (see here how to consult). The paying source is Caixa Econômica Federal, which is responsible for managing the fund. Caixa’s CNPJ is 00.360.305.0001/04.

The rule that defines the obligation to send the declaration considers the sum of exempt income. Therefore, even if the worker has received less than R$ 40 thousand from the FGTS, he must consider in this calculation other values ​​of exempt income, such as unemployment insurance, savings and scholarships, for example, in addition to inheritance.

How does the birthday withdrawal work?

This type of withdrawal was created by the Jair Bolsonaro government (PL) in 2019, in the hope of increasing the circulation of money and improving conditions for consumption.

The worker can inform the Caixa of the option for this type of withdrawal until the last day of the month of his/her birthday. Values ​​are available for up to two months. Those born in March, for example, have until the 31st to opt for the modality, and until the 31st of May to withdraw the money.

How much each worker can withdraw varies depending on the total balance in the FGTS accounts. Those who have up to R$500 in FGTS can withdraw half of the amount, for example.

Workers with a balance above R$ 20 thousand can only withdraw 5% of the total. The higher the total amount of the FGTS, the lower the percentage authorized for annual withdrawal.

The worker can withdraw from the birthday withdrawal at any time, according to the government, but it will be necessary to wait two years (24 months) for the employee to receive the full amount of the fund in case of dismissal.

The subscription to the annual withdrawal can be made on the FGTS website or application and at Caixa service points, such as branches and ATMs.

See the situations that make the declaration mandatory in 2022

• Received taxable income above BRL 28,559.70 in 2021

• Received exempt, non-taxable or taxed exclusively at source income above BRL 40,000

• Obtained a capital gain on the sale of assets or rights subject to tax

• Was exempt from capital gain tax on the sale of residential property, followed by the acquisition of another residential property within 180 days

• Performed operations on Stock, Commodity, Futures and Similar Exchanges

• Had, on December 31, 2021, possession or ownership of goods or rights, including bare land, above R$ 300 thousand

• Obtained gross revenue from rural activities in an amount greater than BRL 142,798.50

• Who wants to compensate, in 2021 or following years, for losses from rural activity from 2021 or previous years

• The taxpayer who became resident in Brazil in any month and was in that condition on December 31