Law firms and medical clinics face increased tax burden in sight

The combination between PL 1,087, which proposes the taxation of profits and dividends, and the , should reduce the attractiveness of the Presumed Profit regime, especially among service providing companies, according to experts interviewed by the InfoMoney.

These businesses, such as law firms and dental or medical clinics, which have historically benefited from the simplicity and lower rates of Presumptive Profit, must face a significant increase in the tax burden and will need to “put everything on the tip of a pencil” to decide whether it still makes sense to remain in this model.

is a simplified taxation regime used by companies with annual revenue of up to R$78 millionwho choose not to determine the real profit. In it, the government assumes a profit margin on revenue – generally 32% for service providers – and applies the IRPJ (15%) and CSLL (9%) rates on this basis.

Its main advantage is simplicity and predictability: the company does not need to prove all expenses to reduce tax. On the other hand, those who have a low profit margin or high operating costs may end up paying more than they would in Real Profit.

According to Gabriela Miziara Jajah, partner in the tax area at Siqueira Castro, the Presumed Profit was already losing ground after the advance of the Tax Reform, and PL 1,087 tends to worsen the situation.

“The Presumed Profit previously made sense due to the simplicity of calculation and the exemption on the distribution of profits. But with the reform and the new taxation of dividends, the regime loses its main attractions”, he states.

According to the project, which directly affects the partners of companies included in the Presumptive Profit that receive dividends above this limit monthly – a distribution that, to this day, is fully exempt.

Jajah explains that the impact will be more severe among service companies, such as consultancies, offices and private schools, which have little capacity to generate tax credits. “The burden will be double: on revenue and on distributed profit. Many businesses will need to review their structure to remain viable”, he says.

An indirect way of encumbering the Presumed Profit

For Andrea Bazzo, partner at Mattos Filho, PL 1,087 burdened the Presumed Profit without directly changing it. “Messaging the Presumed Profit would be politically unfeasible. The project was intelligent: it took up the discussion and ended up indirectly burdening the Presumed Profit, by taxing the dividend on individuals”, he assesses.

According to Andrea, the technical model of the project is “well structured”, but it was born from a revenue need, and not from a systemic review of the tax system. “The standard in itself is not bad. The problem for me is the lack of overall vision”, he criticizes.

Combined pressure: Reform and PL must increase the load

It is true that the Tax Reform should increase the net profits of industry by up to 10 percentage points and of retail by up to 5 points, but for the services sector, which historically pays less PIS/Cofins and ISS, it represents a shock of complexity and rate increase.

With the creation of IBS and CBS, and reference rates of around 26.5%, service providers that operated with an effective charge of 14% could see this number jump to up to 40%, according to industry calculations.

With PL 1,087, the bill tends to rise even more. “It will be the icing on the encumbrance cake”, says Jajah. “The entrepreneur will pay more in revenue and still lose part of his personal income through taxation on dividends.

Regime planning and migration

The scenario should lead many companies to reevaluate the taxation regime. Depending on the size and profit margin, the migration to Lucro Real may become inevitable.

Andrea notes that the PL can also encourage a review of corporate planning. “Companies will rethink the volume of profits distributed, perhaps retain more results or invest in their own expansion. It is an adjustment that changes business behavior”, he says.

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Call for broader reform

Experts agree that, without a broader and coordinated reform, the tax system tends to penalize those who employ it.

“We are piling up layers of complexity and burden. The Presumptive Profit is going to the ICU”, summarizes Gabriela Jajah.

Andrea Bazzo echoes: “PL 1,087 corrects distortions, but it failed to look at the system as a whole — consumption, payroll and income. Therefore, the risk is that the bill will again weigh on the same sectors.”

The reducer: avoiding excessive double taxation

To prevent the sum of taxes paid by the company, regardless of the chosen taxation regime, and by the shareholder from exceeding the limits stipulated for legal entities, project 1,087 provides for a mechanism called “reduction”. This mechanism takes into account and reduces the personal income tax owed by the shareholder, ensuring that the total tax burden does not exceed 34% for most companies, 40% for insurance companies and non-bank financial institutions, and 45% for banks.

Although equalization is welcomed by experts, the effectiveness of the reduction does not appear to be widespread, since few companies are subject to the maximum rate of 34%.

Context

The , which is now being analyzed by the Senate after being approved by the Chamber, provides for a minimum taxation of 10% on profits and dividends distributed by legal entities, with an exemption for monthly income of up to R$50,000.

The measure is part of the government’s effort to increase revenue and balance the burden between different sources of income. The proposal adds to the changes already approved in the Tax Reform, which creates the Tax on Goods and Services (IBS) and the Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS), replacing taxes such as PIS, Cofins and ISS from 2027.

Another PL targets Presumed Profit

At the end of August, Presumed Profit came into the spotlight, this time directly, with Complementary Bill 182 of 2025, by deputy José Guimarães (PT-CE), government leader in the Chamber of Deputies.

The bill proposes and invoices from R$ 1.2 million per year.

The proposed increase in the rate is in addition to the cut in tax exemptions, considered essential for meeting the 2026 tax target.