Government Proposes Raising MEI Ceiling to R$140,000 with R$8.1 Billion Fiscal Cost

Overview

• The Executive sent a complementary PLP to Congress that would raise the MEI revenue limit from R$81,000 to R$110,000 in 2027 and to R$140,000 in 2028 while allowing up to two employees.
• The government published an official fiscal estimate of R$8.1 billion in lost revenue for 2027–2029, broken down as R$1.57 billion in 2027, R$3.15 billion in 2028 and R$3.38 billion in 2029.
• The proposal frames the change as a monetary recomposition to correct a cap frozen since 2018 and notes about 16.6–17 million MEIs currently exist with 101,216 removed for exceeding the R$81,000 limit between 2025 and 2026.
• The text will be appended to a broader committee bill and has become a bargaining chip in talks with Chamber leaders, but lawmakers and the Finance Ministry disagree over simultaneous revisions to Simples brackets that could raise costs to roughly R$50 billion.
• Key fiscal and policy questions remain open, including a formal estimate of the measure's impact on Social Security contributions and proposals under discussion such as new MEI contribution brackets or shorter exclusion rules for nonpayment.