After all, does life insurance VGBL integrate the calculation base of ITCMD in Brazil? Understand the STJ jurisprudence

The Tax on Transmission of Property due to Death or Donation of Any Assets or Rights (ITCMD) is a tax within the jurisdiction of the States and the Federal District, established in art. 155, I, of the Brazilian Federal Constitution. Its triggering event is the transmission of assets or rights due to death (inheritance or legacy) or by donation.

Many wonder if life insurance VGBL integrates the calculation base of ITCMD. The answer, according to the jurisprudence of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) in Brazil, is NO. VGBL is considered insurance, and the Civil Code expressly states that insurance is not inheritance (art. 794).

The Superintendency of Private Insurance (SUSEP), a federal agency linked to the Ministry of Finance, responsible for the control and supervision of insurance, open private pension, capitalization, and reinsurance markets, classifies VGBL as life insurance. The STJ has also adopted this position in its decisions.

It is important to emphasize that the amounts to be received by the beneficiary of a VGBL plan, as a result of the death of the contracting insured, are not considered inheritance for all legal purposes, as provided in art. 794 of the Civil Code. In addition, art. 79 of Law no. 11.196/2005 states that, in the event of the insured's death, their beneficiaries may choose to redeem the quotas or receive a continuous benefit provided for in the contract, regardless of the opening of an estate inventory or similar procedure.

Therefore, according to STJ jurisprudence and current legislation, life insurance VGBL does not integrate the calculation base of ITCMD, and it is not necessary to pay this tax on the amounts received by beneficiaries as a result of the insured's death.