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🇧🇷 Mercado Libre in Brazil

The region's largest market and its most complicated tax system. The ceiling on turnover is the highest here — and so is the price of a mistake in your numbers.

213.6 Mpopulation
#1marketplace in the country
11–19%ML fee
R$19free-shipping threshold

Mercado Libre fees and charges

What the marketplace withholds on every sale. Check the exact rate for your category in your seller dashboard.

Clássico fee
about 11–14%
The basic listing type. The rate depends on the product category.
Premium fee
about 16–19%
More expensive, but the buyer gets interest-free instalments and the listing ranks better. In Brazil instalments move conversion a great deal.
Flat fee on cheap items
Discontinued
The tiered fee on items under R$79 was removed on 2 March 2026. Older calculations that still include it overstate your costs.
Mercado Ads
Pay per click
Charged separately from the fee — put it in your unit economics as its own line.

Shipping

The biggest cost after the fee — and the main reason cheap products go into the red.

Free-shipping threshold
from R$19 (≈ USD 3.7)
A very low threshold: almost any product falls under free shipping, and you are the one paying for it. This is Brazil's key difference from the rest of the region.
Fast shipping
from R$79 (≈ USD 15.5)
From this price expedited free shipping kicks in — more expensive for the seller, but it lifts conversion noticeably.
Volumetric weight
L×W×H ÷ 6000
Bulky light goods are charged by volume. The divisor is gentler than Argentina's, so volume is penalised less.
What the rate depends on
Weight and price of the item
Mercado Envíos uses both at once, so the same weight costs differently depending on the item's price.

Work out the exact cost for your product and price in the free calculator — it has the rates and thresholds of all six countries built in.

Taxes: two routes

The regime you pick determines both your tax burden and whether you can import goods at all.

For an individual or sole trader: MEI

A flat DAS of about R$82 a month. The turnover limit is R$81,000 a year. It does not work for importing — only for the very beginning with locally sourced goods.

For a company: Simples Nacional / Lucro Real

Simples is a single percentage of turnover, starting at about 4% and rising. For an importer working at volume, Lucro Real is better: nearly the whole tax cascade is recoverable.

Imports and customs

Two import channels with different economics. Picking the wrong channel costs more than picking the wrong product.

Air parcel

Up to USD 50 the duty is 0% for an individual buying through a certified marketplace. From USD 50 to 3,000: 60% minus a USD 30 deduction (Portaria MF 1.342/2026), plus ICMS of 17–20% depending on the state.

Container

II duty by NCM code + IPI + PIS 2.1% + COFINS 9.65% + ICMS calculated inside the price + AFRMM at 8% of the ocean freight.

What comes back

On Lucro Real: IPI, PIS, COFINS and ICMS. On Simples nothing is recoverable — the entire cascade lands in your cost.

The trap

AFRMM is not included in freight quotes — people forget it and get a surprise at customs.

What you need to start

The order of steps specific to Brazil — it differs from the rest of the region.

  1. Choose your regime: Simples to start, Lucro Real to import at volume
  2. Get a CNPJ and appoint a resident representative
  3. Check your product's NCM code — II and IPI depend on it, and neighbouring codes can differ several times over
  4. Budget for your state's ICMS: it ranges from 17% to 20%
  5. Work out your landed cost including AFRMM before signing a freight contract

Useful reading

Breakdowns from our blog, with examples and numbers.

All blog posts → (RU)

Frequently asked questions

How much tax is there on a parcel from China to Brazil?

Up to USD 50, when bought by an individual through a certified marketplace, the duty is zero. From USD 50 to 3,000 it is 60% minus a fixed USD 30 deduction, plus ICMS of 17–20% depending on the state. A USD 100 parcel works out at roughly 62% in taxes.

Simples or Lucro Real for importing?

Simples is the worst regime for an importer: nothing is recoverable and the whole cascade goes into your cost. On Lucro Real the only real tax is the duty and AFRMM; everything else comes back as credit. On a shipment the difference can be several times over.

What is AFRMM and why does everyone forget it?

It is a maritime levy — 8% of the ocean freight cost under Lei 14.301/2022. Carriers do not include it in their quotes, so it surfaces at customs.

Tools for Brazil

🧮 Profit calculator

Fees, shipping, instalments and taxes in Brazil — it works out net profit and margin. Free.

Open →

📦 PRO bundle

A unit-economics sheet for the country, a customs calculator, an import guide and a country handbook — 19 files.

View →

🏬 Warehouse in Argentina

Receiving, storage and dispatch into Full. No contract, no minimum volume.

Terms →

Let us look at your case

Tell us what your product is and where you plan to sell — we will run the economics and tell you whether Brazil makes sense for you.