Federal tax collection reached R$ 222.1 billion in February, the highest amount ever recorded for the month since the beginning of the historical series in 1995. This result represents a real growth of 5.68% compared to February of the previous year, after adjusting for inflation.
The data was released on Tuesday (24) by the Federal Revenue Service.
It is also the best collection performance for the accumulated year. In the two-month period, collection reached R$ 547.9 billion, representing an increase of 4.41%, adjusted for inflation.
According to the tax authorities, the performance was mainly driven by the growth in social security contributions and recent changes in tax legislation, particularly in collections from the Social Integration Program (PIS) and the Contribution for Financing Social Security (Cofins), the Withholding Income Tax (IRRF) on capital income, and the Financial Operations Tax (IOF).
PIS/Cofins revenues totaled R$ 47.7 billion, with a real increase of 8.45% compared to the same month in 2025. Year-to-date, this collection reaches R$ 104.1 billion, a real increase of 6.19% compared to the same period last year. According to the Revenue Service, the increase reflects the increase in sales volume in the retail and services sectors and the performance of the oil extraction sector.
The IOF totaled R$ 8.7 billion in February, with a real increase of 35.73%, after adjusting for inflation, compared to the same month in 2025. In the accumulated January and February, the tax totaled R$ 16.8 billion, a real increase of 41.83%. According to the Revenue Service, the result reflects changes in legislation that expanded the incidence of the tax on new financial transactions.
In the two-month period, IRRF-Capital also registered a significant increase of 26.45%, totaling R$ 26.4 billion. The performance was influenced by investments in fixed income and the taxation of Interest on Own Capital (JCP), one of the ways a company distributes profits to shareholders.
At the end of last year, the National Congress approved an increase from 15% to 17.5% of the Withholding Income Tax rate for JCP. However, this increase will only be reflected in federal tax collection starting in April.
Social Security
Social security collection reached R$ 60.5 billion, with a real increase of 5.68% compared to February of the previous year. The increase was attributed to the growth of 3.89% in the payroll and the increase of 7.98% in the collection of the Simples Nacional.
In addition, there was a 23.42% increase in the amount of tax credits with social security revenue debits compared to February 2025. There was also a gradual reinstatement of the employer contribution of municipalities and payroll, starting in January 2025.
The increase in social security collection was also significant in the two-month period, reaching R$ 124.4 billion, a real increase of 5.58%.
Other taxes
Year-to-date, taxation on online betting and gambling generated R$ 2.5 billion, compared to R$ 756 million in the first two months of last year. The growth in the sector reaches 236% compared to the previous year, reflecting the regulation and expansion of collection on so-called "bets."
Conversely, taxes related to imports showed a real decline. Revenues from the Industrial Products Tax (IPI) and the Import Tax fell 10.37% in the two-month period, after adjusting for inflation, compared to January and February 2025. The Revenue Service attributes the result to the reduction in the volume of imports in dollars and the decrease in the exchange rate compared to the previous year.
The results strengthen the government's cash flow at the beginning of the year and contribute to the fulfillment of the fiscal target established for 2026, which forecasts a primary surplus of R$ 34.3 billion, excluding the payment of court-ordered settlements and expenses outside the fiscal framework.
However, the fiscal rules establish a tolerance limit of 0.25 percentage points with respect to the central target. Thus, the government is authorized to obtain a primary result of zero up to a surplus of R$ 68.6 billion in 2025.