Sports Incentive Law donation deadline: the dates that count

To deduct a donation to sports on next year’s Imposto de Renda (income tax) return, the money must reach the project’s account by December 31 of this year, and within the fundraising window authorized for the project. There is no donation to sports “on the return”, as there is for the FIA (Fundo da Infância e Adolescência, the Children and Adolescents Fund). This is how taxpayers in Brazil do it; readers abroad do not pay tax in Brazil, but the calendar shows when Brazilian supporters can act. This article lays out the full calendar: calendar year, project window, filing deadline and the DARF (federal tax payment slip) for the funds.

The four deadlines that matter

Deadline	What it is	Where it comes from
December 31	End of the calendar year: donations up to this date go on the following return	LC 222/2025, art. 9
Fundraising window	Period in which the project may receive incentivized donations	LC 222/2025, art. 10
Filing deadline	Filing period set by the Receita Federal every year	Receita Federal website
First installment	Last day to pay the DARF for a donation to the FIA or the elderly fund made on the return	ECA, art. 260-A, § 3

1. The calendar year closes on December 31

LC 222/2025, a Lei Complementar (complementary law), in art. 9, allows amounts spent on sponsorship of or donations to approved projects to be deducted from imposto devido (tax due), as calculated on the annual adjustment return. That return covers the previous calendar year. A donation made in January already counts for the following year.

What counts is the date the money reaches the project’s dedicated account. A transfer scheduled for January 2 is a donation of the following year.

2. The project’s fundraising window

Art. 10 of LC 222 requires the project’s approval to be published in an official act with the title, the responsible institution, the authorized amount and the fundraising deadline. The applicant cannot raise more than the amount or outside the window. Decreto nº 12.861/2026, a federal decree, regulates these acts.

In practice: a project may have a fundraising window that ends in June; a donation in August, even within the calendar year, generates no deduction. Always ask for the act and check the date. See how in approved projects.

3. The filing deadline

The Receita Federal sets the filing period for the income tax return every year. We do not state the date here because it changes: check that year’s deadline on the Receita Federal website. Filing late incurs a fine, and a donation to the FIA on the return is not allowed on a return filed late (ECA, art. 260-A, § 1, I).

4. The first installment, for those who donate on the return

Anyone who did not donate to sports during the year can still allocate up to 3% of tax due to the FIA or to the Fundo do Idoso (Elderly Fund) on the return itself. The ECA (Brazil’s Child and Adolescent Statute), art. 260-A, § 3, requires the DARF to be paid by the due date of the first installment; § 4 says an unpaid donation is disregarded.

In 2026, the Balneário Camboriú finance department advised taxpayers to pay the FIA DARF by May 29, according to Página 3. In other years, the date changes with the Receita Federal calendar.

A practical calendar for donors

1. January to October: choose the project, check the approval act and the fundraising window, donate and keep the receipt.
2. November: add up what you have already donated and work out how much still fits within the 7%. See how much I can allocate.
3. By December 31: complete your donation to sports, if you want to use the 1% reserved for it.
4. Filing period: report your donations, decide whether to give 3% to the FIA on the return and pay the DARF the same day.

An example with round numbers

Someone with R$ 10,000 of tax due can allocate up to R$ 700 across sports and the funds combined. Suppose they donated R$ 400 to a sports project in September, within the fundraising window. In December, R$ 300 more still fits. If they do nothing by December 31, they can still donate R$ 300 to the FIA on the return (3% of R$ 10,000), paying the DARF by the first installment. Sports, however, closed on December 31.

Common mistakes

• Donating on the night of December 31 through a scheduled bank transfer that only clears the following year.
• Donating to a project whose fundraising window has already closed.
• Thinking you can donate to sports on the return: you cannot.
• Filing the return late and trying to donate to the FIA on it.
• Paying the DARF for the donation after the first installment.

And Muaythai in Balneário Camboriú?

Here is the usual notice: Projeto Campeões do Futuro (“Future Champions”), Mestre Paulo Ribeiro’s free project for children after school hours, and FECAMTT, the Santa Catarina Traditional Muaythai Federation, do not receive Imposto de Renda, under any deadline. Muaythai nas Escolas (“Muaythai in Schools”) is under PIE/SC (Santa Catarina’s Sports Incentive Program), which uses ICMS (state tax on goods and services) from Santa Catarina companies and has its own fundraising calendar: see Muaythai nas Escolas and the PIE fundraising letter.

For individuals, the real paths are on the Support page.

How to do it today

1. Check the calendar: what month is it and which deadline is closest?
2. If the calendar year is still open, choose an approved project and check its fundraising window.
3. Donate from your own account and ask for the receipt.
4. Put it in your diary: December 31 for sports, first installment for the FIA.

This is how taxpayers in Brazil do it. If you live abroad, you do not pay tax in Brazil, but you can still support the project. Want to know how Campeões do Futuro receives support beyond tax? Talk to the Mestre.

This content is for information only and does not replace advice from your accountant. Rules may change: always check the wording currently in force.