By Ruben Camerlynck | Last reviewed: 8 September 2026

When a Brazilian income tax return is retained in malha fina, the correct response depends on the procedural stage. A portal pending item with no intimation is different from a Termo de Intimação Fiscal, and both are different from a Notificação de Lançamento that assesses tax and penalties. Foreign taxpayers should identify the exact document, preserve the deadline and build evidence that connects foreign records to the figures reported in Brazil.

Quick answer Malha fina is Receita Federal’s deeper review of a tax return after its systems identify a difference or information requiring proof. It does not automatically mean the return is wrong or fraudulent, but any refund remains on hold while the return is under analysis. Check the reason in Meu Imposto de Renda under “Pendências de malha”. If the return is wrong and no fiscal intimation has been received, submit a rectifying return. If the return is correct, support it with documents through the available malha service. After a Termo de Intimação Fiscal or Notificação de Lançamento, follow the specific response route and deadline in that document rather than filing an ordinary correction.

Current digital-service status – September 2026 Receita’s pending-item page was updated on 31 August 2026 and directs taxpayers to Meu Imposto de Renda or the Receita Federal mobile app, then to “Pendências de malha”. The document-delivery service was updated in July 2026 and uses a digital process under the area “Malha Fiscal IRPF”. Portal labels and procedural instructions can change, so verify them against the live service and the document received.

A deadline may already be running Save the official document and its date of science before doing anything else. Request an online consultation with Brasil Tax when the notice involves foreign income, residence dates, overseas assets or a short response period.

About Brasil Tax

Brasil Tax is a 100% online Brazilian tax consultancy focused on international personal tax matters involving Brazil. We assist foreigners, returning residents and international families with IRPF returns, foreign income and assets, CPF matters, tax regularization and the organization of responses to Brazilian tax-return pending items.

In this guide

What malha fina means and how to check the reason
The difference between a pending item, an intimation and an assessment
When a rectifying return is still allowed
How to submit documents through a digital malha process
How payment, parcelment, SRL and impugnação differ
Which evidence foreign taxpayers commonly need

Malha fina stages at a glance

What you see	What it means	Normal response
Return processing with no pending item	The declaration remains in ordinary processing.	Monitor the status and keep the supporting records.
“Pendência de malha”, no fiscal intimation	Receita identified a difference or wants deeper analysis, but no formal document request has begun.	If the return is wrong, rectify it. If it is correct, preserve the evidence and consider the document-submission route when available.
Voluntary advance document submission	From the year after filing, Receita permits taxpayers whose declaration is correct to send proof before an intimation.	Submit a complete supporting package digitally, not only documents related to the displayed pending item.
Termo de Intimação Fiscal	A formal fiscal procedure has begun and Receita is requesting documents.	Respond by the exact deadline through the indicated digital process. Ordinary rectification is blocked.
Notificação de Lançamento	Receita has formalized assessed tax and a penalty after unresolved pending issues.	Pay, parcel, request SRL when expressly permitted, or file an impugnação under the notice instructions.

What is malha fina?

After an individual income tax return is transmitted, Receita Federal’s systems compare the information declared by the taxpayer with data supplied by employers, financial institutions, health plans and other reporting entities. A difference can cause the return to be separated for deeper analysis. This is malha fiscal, commonly called malha fina.

Receita expressly states that entering malha does not necessarily mean the return is wrong. The taxpayer may simply need to prove information that was correctly declared. However, the return does not receive its refund while it remains under malha analysis.

For an international taxpayer, the comparison can be less straightforward. Foreign employers and banks do not always report Brazilian tax data in the same format as Brazilian institutions. The issue may arise from a Brazilian payer’s report, a foreign-income entry, a foreign tax credit, a residence-date inconsistency or a supporting document that Receita cannot infer from the return alone.

First identify what “notice” you actually received

English-speaking taxpayers often use the word “notice” for every portal message. Brazilian procedure uses several documents with different effects.

Portuguese term	Practical meaning
Pendência de malha	A pending item visible in Meu Imposto de Renda. It is not necessarily a formal intimation.
Termo de Intimação Fiscal	A formal request to provide specified documents. Receipt starts the fiscal procedure for rectification purposes.
Notificação de Lançamento	A formal assessment of tax and penalties after Receita identifies an infringement or unresolved difference.
Solicitação de Retificação de Lançamento – SRL	A request to correct certain automatic assessments without prior intimation, but only when the notice expressly permits this route.
Impugnação	An administrative challenge against the assessment, submitted under the deadline and instructions in the notice.
Ciência	The legally relevant point at which the taxpayer is treated as having received or become aware of the document.
DARF	The federal tax payment form used to pay tax, fines and related amounts.

The document title, number, date of science, response deadline and available service are more important than the informal description in an email or message from an intermediary.

Step 1: verify the issue inside an official Receita channel

Access Meu Imposto de Renda through an official government route or the Receita Federal app. Select the relevant exercise and open “Pendências de malha” to see the reason available in the system.

Save:

the processing status and the displayed pending-item text;
the return and transmission receipt;
the original source files used to prepare the return;
the electronic-mailbox message, intimation or assessment in full;
the date on which the document was received or opened; and
the document number and deadline.

Do not rely on a link in an unexpected email, text message or WhatsApp request. Log in independently and confirm that the communication exists in the official environment before sending documents or paying a DARF.

Step 2: decide whether the return is actually wrong

Reconcile the pending item with the complete return and original evidence. The correct question is not “What number will remove the pending item?” It is “What number and classification are legally correct, and can I prove them?”

There are three common outcomes:

1. The return is wrong. Correct it while ordinary rectification remains available.

2. The return is correct but Receita needs proof. Preserve the declaration and submit a coherent supporting package through the applicable service.

3. The issue is mixed. Part of the return is wrong and another part is correct. Determine the procedural stage before deciding whether to rectify, explain or formally challenge.

Changing correct data can create tax that was not legally due, reduce a valid refund or cause later years to inherit a false asset position. It can also make the supporting documents inconsistent with the return.

When can you still submit a rectifying return?

Receita’s rectification guidance draws the line at the start of the fiscal procedure. A return can still be rectified when it is in malha but the taxpayer has not received a fiscal intimation. Once the Termo de Intimação Fiscal is received, ordinary rectification is no longer available.

Before the intimation, a rectifying return should be used only when the declaration itself is wrong. It is a complete replacement and requires the receipt number of the return being corrected. After the regular filing deadline, the taxpayer cannot switch between the simplified discount and legal deductions.

For the full correction process, late-return penalties and monthly-tax reconciliation, see Late or Incorrect Brazilian Tax Return: How Foreigners Can Regularize It.

When the return is correct: advance submission of supporting documents

Receita allows a taxpayer who considers the declaration correct – or whose pending item concerns document proof – to anticipate the submission of supporting documents from the year following the filing exercise. The documents are sent digitally through the available e-CAC process.

The official guidance emphasizes two points:

submit the documents supporting all information declared, not only the documents relating to the displayed pending item; and
advance document submission does not prevent Receita from issuing further intimations or notifications.

This route is useful when the return is defensible and the evidence is ready. It should not be used to upload a random collection of foreign statements without an index, explanation or link to the reported figures.

How to respond to a Termo de Intimação Fiscal

A fiscal intimation normally asks for documents that prove specific information declared. Read every item, identify the response deadline and follow the service named in the document. Receita’s current document-delivery service uses a digital process with the following path:

1. Access the digital-process service through the official Receita channel.

2. Choose the area Malha Fiscal IRPF.

3. Select Atender termo de intimação.

4. Enter the intimation number.

5. Upload the documents as separate files classified by type.

6. Open only one process for each intimation.

7. Monitor the result in Meu Imposto de Renda under “Pendências de Malha”.

Receita lists identification and the documents requested in the intimation as the common required documentation. Unrelated documents can be rejected. When the submitted evidence proves the declaration, the return is released from malha. When it is insufficient, Receita may issue a Notificação de Lançamento.

Do not file an ordinary rectifying return after the intimation The fiscal procedure begins when the taxpayer receives the intimation. At that stage, answer through the formal document process and follow the deadline in the intimation.

How to build a clear document package

A strong response lets the reviewer trace each declared figure back to primary evidence. For foreign records, it should also explain dates, currency conversion and Brazilian tax treatment.

1. Cover letter. Identify the taxpayer, exercise, intimation number and items answered.

2. Document index. Number the files and state which request each file supports.

3. Reconciliation schedule. Show how the source values produce the amount declared in reais.

4. Primary records. Include employer certificates, invoices, bank statements, tax certificates, contracts and receipts requested.

5. Brazilian calculations. Include Carnê-Leão, capital-gains calculations, DARFs and the annual-return fields involved.

6. Timeline where relevant. Explain residence dates, payment dates, acquisition dates and changes in ownership.

7. Language support. Provide a clear Portuguese summary or translation when needed for Receita to understand a foreign document, following the notice and professional advice on whether a formal translation is required.

Use descriptive file names such as “03_foreign_employer_income_2025.pdf” rather than “scan1.pdf”. Keep copies of the exact package submitted and the digital-process receipt.

Common malha risk areas for foreign taxpayers

Risk area	What may need to be demonstrated
Brazilian salary or pension mismatch	The income report, withholding and payer information agree with the return, or the reason for a discrepancy is documented.
Foreign salary or professional income	Residence date, receipt date, original-currency amount, conversion, Carnê-Leão and any foreign tax credit.
Foreign tax credit	The foreign tax was effectively paid, relates to the same income, is creditable under the applicable basis and does not exceed the Brazilian limit.
Mid-year arrival or departure	The date resident rules began or ended and why pre- or post-residence income was excluded.
Dependants	The dependant relationship, income, assets and whether the person was duplicated on another return.
Medical expenses	The provider, patient, payment, service and absence of reimbursement, supported by acceptable records.
Rental income	Gross receipts, permitted expenses, payer, property, monthly calculations and tax paid.
Capital gains	Ownership, acquisition cost, sale proceeds, exemptions, transaction date and payment.
Foreign company or trust	Legal documents, control or beneficiary position, accounts, distributions and the Brazilian classification applied.
Asset balances and patrimonial variation	Acquisition history, transfers, loans, gifts, inheritance and the source of funds for material increases.

A pending item can be narrow even when the underlying return requires a wider review. For example, a foreign tax-credit question may reveal that the income was entered in the wrong month, or that the taxpayer used the wrong Brazilian residence date.

Need to turn foreign records into a Brazilian response? Request a Brasil Tax consultation. We can review the declared figures, identify the evidence needed and organize the tax explanation before the package is submitted.

What happens after documents are submitted?

Monitor Meu Imposto de Renda and the digital process. Receita does not publish one guaranteed analysis time for every malha response. Keep access to the taxpayer’s gov.br account and electronic mailbox and preserve the submission receipt.

There are three practical outcomes:

The evidence is accepted. The return is released from malha and returns to ordinary processing.
Receita asks for more information. A further intimation or communication may be issued.
The evidence is considered insufficient. Receita may issue a Notificação de Lançamento assessing tax and penalties.

A refund remains on hold while the declaration is under malha analysis. Release from malha does not necessarily mean immediate payment; the return still follows the applicable refund-processing rules.

What a Notificação de Lançamento means

A Notificação de Lançamento is a formal document that establishes a tax debt and applies a penalty after Receita identifies an infringement from its data and the unresolved return information. This is more advanced than a portal pending item or a request for proof.

Receita lists four possible routes:

pay the assessed amount;
parcel the debt;
request rectification of the assessment when the SRL route is available; or
contest the assessment through an impugnação.

The correct option depends on whether the assessment is right, partly right or wrong and on what the notice expressly permits.

Payment and parcelment discounts

Receita’s current malha guidance states that payment within 30 days of receipt of the assessment gives a 50% discount on the assessed penalty. Parcelment within the same 30-day period gives a 40% discount on the penalty, and the debt may be parcelled in up to 60 instalments under the stated service.

These are not MAED discounts The 50% and 40% reductions relate to the penalty in the Notificação de Lançamento. They should not be applied to the separate late-filing penalty for an individual income tax return.

When an SRL may be available

The Solicitação de Retificação de Lançamento is intended for certain automatic assessments issued without a prior intimation. Receita instructs taxpayers to check the “Intimação” box in the notice to see whether SRL is allowed. When the notice does not permit SRL, use the impugnação service to contest the assessment.

The current SRL service requires a digital process under “Malha Fiscal IRPF” and “Solicitar retificação de lançamento”, with one process per notice. The package includes the signed SRL request, identification and evidence supporting the allegations. If the request is denied, Receita states that a new notification is issued and an impugnação can be filed within 20 business days from science of the decision.

When to use an impugnação

An impugnação is the formal administrative challenge to the assessment. Receita’s main notification guidance states a 30-day period from receipt for the initial response to the notification. A later decision or an SRL denial can produce a different deadline, such as the 20-business-day period stated in the SRL service. The safest rule is to follow the exact deadline and route printed in the document received.

A challenge can be total or partial. Amounts and infringements that are not challenged continue in collection. Receita states that paying or parcelling the uncontested portion within the legal 30-day period preserves the applicable penalty discounts for that portion.

How to choose between correcting, proving, paying and challenging

Finding	Likely route	Decision point
Return is wrong; no intimation	Rectifying return	Replace the complete declaration and reconcile any additional tax.
Return is correct; no intimation	Advance supporting documents when available	Submit a complete package rather than changing correct information.
Intimation received	Respond to the intimation	Provide all requested evidence by the document deadline.
Assessment is fully correct	Payment or parcelment	Compare cash flow and interest while preserving any timely penalty discount.
Automatic assessment contains a correctable error and SRL is expressly allowed	SRL	Use the signed request and supporting evidence through the digital process.
Assessment is legally or factually wrong	Impugnação	Build a formal challenge and respect the exact deadline.
Assessment is partly correct	Partial challenge plus payment or parcelment of uncontested portion	Separate the calculations and protect the applicable discount on the uncontested amount.

Multiple years and linked errors

Malha is shown by exercise, but international errors often cross years. A wrong residence date can affect the first return and every later asset balance. An omitted foreign account can create inconsistencies between opening and closing values. A foreign company distribution may depend on entity profits calculated in an earlier year.

Respond to the official document for the specific exercise by its deadline, while separately mapping the effect on other years. Do not delay an active intimation while waiting to perfect a multi-year reconstruction. Equally, do not transmit unrelated rectifications without checking whether they change the evidence being presented in the active process.

Worked examples

Example 1: portal pending item, return genuinely wrong

Ana’s Brazilian employer corrected its income report after she filed. Meu Imposto de Renda shows a salary mismatch, but no fiscal intimation has been issued. She verifies the corrected employer statement and submits a complete rectifying return. Any additional tax is paid with the applicable late-payment additions.

Example 2: foreign tax credit is correct but needs proof

Michael reported foreign salary and claimed a credit for income tax paid abroad. The figures are correct, but the Brazilian return remains in malha. He prepares a schedule linking each foreign payment, exchange conversion, tax certificate and Brazilian calculation. Once the advance-document route is available, he sends the complete supporting package rather than deleting the valid credit.

Example 3: residence-date question after an intimation

Priya moved to Brazil during the year and excluded foreign income received before Brazilian residence began. Receita issues an intimation. Her response includes travel records, immigration documents, employment dates, a residence memo and a receipt-date reconciliation. Because the intimation started the fiscal procedure, she uses the formal document-response process rather than an ordinary rectifying return.

Example 4: partially correct assessment

Thomas receives a Notificação de Lançamento covering medical deductions and foreign salary. He accepts the medical adjustment but disputes the salary assessment because Receita used gross annual income rather than the resident-period receipts. The response separates the uncontested amount from the challenged item, follows the notice instructions and considers timely payment of the uncontested portion.

Common mistakes after entering malha fina

1. Assuming malha automatically means fraud or a final tax debt

2. Responding to an email without verifying the issue in an official portal

3. Missing the date of science or the deadline in the document

4. Calling every communication a “notice” and using the wrong service

5. Changing correct figures merely to clear a pending item

6. Filing an ordinary rectifying return after a fiscal intimation

7. Sending only the one statement highlighted by the portal when Receita requests a complete proof package

8. Uploading unlabelled foreign documents without a reconciliation to reais

9. Opening several digital processes for the same intimation

10. Mixing documents from unrelated years or issues

11. Ignoring monthly Carnê-Leão or capital-gains calculations behind the annual figures

12. Applying the Notificação de Lançamento penalty discount to the MAED

13. Failing to monitor the digital process after submission

14. Correcting other years without checking how the active process is affected

How Brasil Tax can help

Brasil Tax can assist with the tax and evidence analysis before a response is submitted. Depending on the stage, this can include:

identifying the exact procedural stage and deadline;
reviewing the original and rectifying returns;
reconstructing foreign income, Carnê-Leão and tax credits;
preparing residence-date and asset-history reconciliations;
organizing the document index and explanatory schedules;
assessing whether payment, SRL or challenge needs specialist legal support; and
reviewing linked years for consistency.

Received a malha intimation or assessment? Book an online consultation with Brasil Tax and provide the complete document, the date of science, the filed return and the foreign records involved.

Frequently asked questions

Does malha fina mean my return is wrong?

No. Receita states that malha does not necessarily mean an error exists. The return may require proof because its information differs from data reported by another entity or needs deeper analysis.

Will I receive my refund while the return is in malha?

No. Receita states that the refund is not paid while the declaration remains under malha analysis. After release, the return continues through normal processing.

Where can I see the reason for the pending item?

Use Meu Imposto de Renda on the web or the Receita Federal app, select the exercise and open “Pendências de malha”.

Can I rectify before receiving an intimation?

Yes, when the declaration is actually wrong. A return in malha can still be rectified until the taxpayer receives a fiscal intimation.

Can I rectify after receiving a Termo de Intimação Fiscal?

No ordinary rectifying return should be used. Receita states that the fiscal procedure begins with receipt of the intimation, which blocks rectification. Respond through the formal document route.

Can I send documents before Receita issues an intimation?

When the return is correct, Receita permits advance submission from the year following the filing exercise. The taxpayer should submit documents supporting all declared information, not only the displayed pending item.

Must I send every document in one PDF?

Receita’s service instructs taxpayers to upload files separately and classify them by type. Use one digital process per intimation and keep a clear index.

What if my documents are in English or another language?

Add a clear explanation that links the record to the Brazilian figure. Whether a formal Portuguese translation is necessary depends on the document, the request and the procedure, so follow the intimation and obtain technical advice.

What happens when Receita accepts my evidence?

The return is released from malha and resumes ordinary processing. Continue monitoring the portal because release does not guarantee immediate refund payment.

What happens when Receita rejects or considers the evidence insufficient?

Receita may issue a Notificação de Lançamento assessing tax and penalties. The notice will state the available payment and defence routes.

What is the difference between SRL and impugnação?

SRL asks Receita to correct certain automatic assessments and is available only when the notice expressly permits it. Impugnação is the formal administrative challenge to an assessment.

How long do I have to respond to a Notificação de Lançamento?

Receita’s main malha guidance refers to a 30-day period from receipt for payment, parcelment and the initial response. Later decisions can carry a different period. The exact deadline printed in the document controls.

Can I challenge only part of an assessment?

Yes. Receita allows a total or partial impugnação. The unchallenged part continues in collection, and timely payment or parcelment of that part can preserve the applicable penalty discount.

Can Brasil Tax act without access to my complete notice?

A reliable review requires the full document, not a cropped screenshot or paraphrase. Include every page, annex, document number, date of science and the return involved.

Official Brazilian sources

Professional and legal notice

This article provides general information based on the official services available on the review date. It is not a substitute for reading the complete official document or obtaining advice on the facts. The correct response, deadline, evidence and professional representation depend on the procedural stage and the notice received. Administrative litigation or complex assessments may require a Brazilian tax lawyer in addition to tax-return support.