PIS/Cofins Credits in the Transition to the CBS: the complete 2027 guide

The PIS/Cofins credit balances not used by the date these contributions are extinguished, on January 1, 2027, are not lost. They remain valid and can be used in three ways — offsetting the CBS, offsetting other federal taxes, or a cash refund —, under article 378 of Complementary Law 214/2025. The entire operation runs through PER/DCOMP Web, which will automatically recover the balance reported in the December 2026 EFD-Contribuições (the PIS/Cofins digital bookkeeping). Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service has already flagged around R$44 billion in credit discrepancies and is advising companies to correct their bookkeeping before the close — because it is the December 2026 balance that migrates to the new system.

This guide brings together the statutory basis, the operational mechanics, the applicable case law and a practical checklist for companies that want to preserve their credit stock as they move into the Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS).

What happens to PIS/Cofins credits from 2027 onward

PIS and Cofins will be extinguished on January 1, 2027 and replaced by the CBS. The question most often raised by tax managers is direct: does the accumulated credit balance disappear together with the contributions?

The rule in one sentence

It does not disappear. Complementary Law 214/2025 dedicated a whole chapter to the topic — “On the Use of the PIS and Cofins Credit Balance” — and guaranteed that booked credits remain valid and usable after the extinction. What changes is how they are used and the system that operates that use.

Why the topic became urgent now

On June 3, 2026, Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service issued an official notice clarifying the rules for using these credits in the transition to the CBS. In the same communication, the agency reported having identified discrepancies in approximately 12,000 companies, involving around R$44 billion in credits. These taxpayers will be advised to regularize the amounts directly through the EFD-Contribuições. Because the balance that migrates to the new system is the December 2026 one, the review stopped being a medium-term project and now has a deadline.

The statutory basis: what CL 214/2025 says (arts. 378 to 383)

The treatment of credit balances is concentrated in articles 378 to 383 of CL 214/2025, within the title on the transition to the IBS and the CBS. It is worth knowing each provision, because they distribute different rights and restrictions depending on the origin of the credit.

Art. 378 — the general rule for credit balances

This is the central provision, cited by the Federal Revenue Service itself as the basis of the transition. It covers PIS/Cofins credits, including presumed credits, not appropriated or not used by the date the contributions are extinguished.

The four guarantees of art. 378

1. Preserved validity. The credits remain valid and usable, keeping the running of the term already underway for their use.
2. Mandatory recording. They must be duly recorded in the bookkeeping environment (the EFD-Contribuições). Whatever is not booked risks not being recognized.
3. Offset against the CBS. They can be used to reduce the amount due under the new contribution.
4. Refund or broad offset. They can be refunded in cash or offset against other federal taxes, provided they meet the requirements for those methods set out in the PIS/Cofins legislation in force on the date of extinction — observing, in addition, the conditions and limits for refund or offset in force on the date of the request.

Reading these items together already delivers the article’s most important message: not every credit has the same destination. The right to offset the CBS is broad; the right to turn the credit into cash or other taxes is conditional.

Art. 379 — credits from returned goods

Goods sold before 2027 and returned afterward generate a CBS credit equivalent to the contributions that were charged on the original transaction. This specific credit can only be used to offset the CBS — a cash refund and offset against other taxes are barred.

Art. 380 — fixed-asset credits (depreciation)

Credits that were being appropriated month by month through depreciation or amortization of fixed assets are not interrupted by the extinction. They continue to be appropriated, now as a presumed CBS credit, following the same criteria as Laws 10.637/2002, 10.833/2003, 10.865/2004 and 11.488/2007. We return to this point in the section on fixed assets and accumulated balances, because it is one of the most frequent questions.

Art. 381 — presumed credit on opening inventory

Companies that were under the cumulative regime, or with goods subject to tax substitution and single-phase taxation, may compute a presumed credit on the inventory existing on January 1, 2027. This credit is appropriated in 12 monthly installments and serves only to offset the CBS. The article expressly bars the presumed inventory credit for fixed assets and real estate.

Art. 382 — the preference rule

When a company has, at the same time, an old PIS/Cofins balance and new CBS credits, the PIS/Cofins balance must be consumed first (the rule expressly gives it preference over the CBS credits of art. 53). The logic is to protect the taxpayer: these are the oldest credits and therefore closest to the statute-of-limitations deadline.

Art. 383 — the 5-year deadline (and the “12/31/2031” controversy)

The article sets a five-year deadline to use the credits of articles 379 to 381, counted from the last day of the assessment period in which the appropriation occurred.

How PER/DCOMP Web works in practice

The Federal Revenue Service confirmed that the entire use will be done through PER/DCOMP Web, which will gain a specific feature for this new purpose.

Automatic recovery of the December 2026 EFD-Contribuições balances

The most relevant operational point: the system will automatically recover the balances reported in the EFD-Contribuições for the December 2026 period. In practice, that bookkeeping works as the snapshot of the credit stock that enters the new regime. Whatever is correctly reported there migrates; whatever has errors, is missing or lacks support tends to be left out or challenged.

The expected step-by-step

Based on the tax authority’s notice and the general PER/DCOMP rules, the flow should be:

1. The company closes the December 2026 EFD-Contribuições with the correct credit balance.
2. PER/DCOMP Web imports that balance automatically.
3. The company chooses the destination: offset the CBS, offset other federal taxes, or request a refund.
4. The system cross-checks the data and processes the request.

What still depends on pending regulation

The specific PER/DCOMP Web feature for the transition has not yet been detailed in its own normative instruction. The confirmed framework is CL 214/2025, RFB Normative Instruction 2.055/2021 (which governs the restitution, refund and offset of credits) and the general rules of the system. Operational details, such as inventory verification and some concepts, depend on lower-level acts still expected. It is worth following.

The three ways to use the credit balance

Art. 378 opens three paths, but they are not equivalent. The table summarizes and the text details.

1. Offset against the CBS

This is the simplest use and the one with the widest reach. Any company that starts to assess CBS may reduce the amount due with the remaining PIS/Cofins balance. Under the preference rule of art. 382, that old balance is consumed before the new CBS credits.

2. Offset against other federal taxes

Here enter IRPJ, CSLL, IPI and other taxes administered by the tax authority, under the cross-offsetting logic of PER/DCOMP.

The catch: not every credit becomes cash or IRPJ/CSLL

This is the point most mainstream coverage does not explain. Art. 378 conditions the refund and the offset against other taxes on the requirements already existing in the PIS/Cofins legislation. In practice, the origin of the credit defines the possible destination.

Refundable credits: exports, untaxed revenue and presumed credits

These are the credits that already allow a refund or broad offset today, typical of companies under the Actual Profit regime with export or exempt revenue. These remain capable of becoming cash or of reducing other federal taxes, subject to the PER/DCOMP rules.

“Ordinary” domestic-market credit: only offsets the CBS

Formed by the accumulation of credits on costs against debits on taxed sales, this balance has historically only served to offset the contribution itself. That limit migrates to the CBS. A relevant part of the R$140 billion stock, therefore, may only be used against the CBS, and not freely converted into cash or other taxes.

3. Cash refund

For credits that allow a refund (typical of companies under the Actual Profit regime with export or exempt revenue), requesting the amount in cash is usually the most liquid route.

Watch the monetary restatement (STJ Theme 1003)

The book credit, as a rule, is not adjusted for inflation. The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) held, in Theme 1003 (REsp 1.767.945/PR, First Panel, DJe of May 6, 2020), that restatement of the refund of a book credit only starts running after the 360-day period that the tax authority has to analyze the request has elapsed (art. 24 of Law 11.457/2007). Before that, there is no default and no restatement. In the same vein, Súmula 411 of the STJ — issued for the IPI credit — recognizes monetary restatement where there is illegitimate resistance by the tax authority to the use of the credit, a logic the court extends to non-cumulative book credits. The practical effect is clear: the longer a company takes to file, the more inflation erodes the value, with no compensation. Filing early and monitoring the 360-day deadline stops being a detail and becomes a financial strategy.

The R$44 billion in discrepancies: what the tax authority is signaling

The official notice of the Federal Revenue Service of June 3, 2026 brought figures that size the stock and the problem.

The disclosed figures

Reading the percentages shows the stock is concentrated: most companies have small balances, and a smaller group concentrates the relevant amounts and, probably, much of the discrepancies.

Guidance, not assessment — but with a deadline

The tax authority classified the initiative as guidance in nature. It is not an immediate assessment, but rather an alert for inconsistencies to be adjusted before they block the offset or refund. The natural deadline is the close of the December 2026 EFD-Contribuições.

What to do if your company was flagged

Companies with a discrepancy should regularize the amounts through the EFD-Contribuições itself. That means reviewing the bookkeeping, identifying the origin of the inconsistency and amending what is necessary, with documentary support. Leaving it until after the turn is to risk the disallowance of the credit at the very moment it should be used.

Can I offset against social-security contributions, IRPJ or CSLL? (cross-offsetting)

This was one of the first questions raised by the market, and the answer requires care.

The rule of Law 13.670/2018 and its restrictions

Cross-offsetting, which allows using credits of treasury taxes (such as PIS, Cofins, IRPJ and CSLL) to settle social-security debts and vice versa, was introduced by Law 13.670/2018, which inserted art. 26-A into Law 11.457/2007. It is not broad: it does not reach assessment periods prior to the use of eSocial and does not allow the use of third-party social-security credits.

The CBS is not a social-security tax

The CBS is a federal contribution on consumption, but it is not a social-security contribution on payroll. It does not replace the employer’s payroll contribution nor the obligations of eSocial, EFD-Reinf and DCTFWeb. Therefore, the possibility of reaching social-security debts with the PIS/Cofins balance remains bound by the same restrictions that already exist today.

What still depends on regulation

Whether and how the PIS/Cofins balance may be directed to social-security debts after the unification is a point that still depends on regulation. CL 214/2025 did not create a new, broad authorization in that sense. Until the tax authority details the procedure in PER/DCOMP Web, the prudent understanding is that the restrictions of art. 26-A of Law 11.457/2007 remain the reference. For those who need to monetize the credit, the refund (where applicable) tends to be the safest route.

Fixed assets: the credit that crosses 2027

Industrial and infrastructure companies often have relevant portions of PIS/Cofins credit tied to fixed assets — one of the focuses of recovery-of-credits work. The concern is legitimate: these credits are appropriated over years, and the extinction happens midway.

The conversion into a presumed CBS credit (art. 380)

The good news is that no credit is lost through the mere turn. The installments already being appropriated continue, and the installments to be appropriated from 2027 onward come to be recorded as a presumed CBS credit, with the same criteria as Laws 10.637/2002, 10.833/2003, 10.865/2004 and 11.488/2007. The rule applies even to assets acquired while PIS/Cofins was in force that had not yet begun to be depreciated.

The real risk: selling the asset before depreciation ends

The risk is not in the transition, but in the early sale. If the asset is disposed of before the appropriation is completed, the remaining installments of the credit are lost, exactly as already happens under the current regime. There is a mitigation: if the sale of the asset is taxed, the unrecovered credit can be deducted from the CBS base due on the transaction.

The case of 2026 invoices with capitalization in 2027

A concrete situation raised by the market: purchase invoices that entered in 2026, but whose asset is only capitalized and starts depreciating in 2027. The rule of art. 380 was designed precisely to preserve the continuity of the appropriation, including in cases where the right to the credit was still awaiting the fulfillment of requirements on the date of extinction. The point of attention is correct recording: the credit must be duly documented and booked to be recognized as a presumed CBS credit.

What the case law has already settled

Two binding STJ precedents shape the size and liquidity of the credit stock that migrates to the CBS.

STJ Theme 779/780 — the concept of input

In the judgment of REsp 1.221.170/PR (First Panel, DJe of April 24, 2018), the STJ held that the concept of input, for the purpose of a PIS/Cofins credit, must be assessed by the criteria of essentiality or relevance, considering the indispensability or the importance of the item to the taxpayer’s economic activity. This is the yardstick that defines what generates credit. Companies that computed credits conservatively may be entitled to more than they recorded; companies that were aggressive may have fragile credit. Because the balance that migrates is the December 2026 one, reviewing the credit base under the Theme 779 yardstick is part of the transition work.

Theme 1003 and Súmula 411 — restatement of the refund

As seen, Theme 1003 (REsp 1.767.945/PR and others, First Panel, DJe of May 6, 2020) defined that the monetary restatement of the refund of a book credit only runs after the tax authority’s 360 days of analysis. Súmula 411 — established for the IPI credit — guarantees restatement where there is illegitimate resistance by the administration, an understanding the STJ projects onto other non-cumulative book credits. Together, they turn the timing of the request into a financial variable.

Why this matters for your credit stock

The combination is direct: Theme 779 defines how much credit the company really has, and Theme 1003 defines how much of that credit will be restated when it becomes cash. Ignoring either one means arriving in 2027 with a smaller number than possible. It is worth recalling that the thesis of the century (Theme 69 of the STF) also affects the calculation base and, consequently, the stock of credits to recover.

Checklist: how to shield your credits before December 2026

1. Survey the entire stock of unused credits, separating what is offsettable against the CBS, what is refundable and what is offsettable against other taxes.
2. Review the credit base under the Theme 779 yardstick (essentiality and relevance), identifying inputs that may have been left out.
3. Amend the EFD-Contribuições where there is inconsistency, with documentary support, especially if the company is among the roughly 12,000 flagged by the tax authority.
4. Control the age of each credit, mindful of the five-year deadline and the risk of disallowance of old balances.
5. Map the fixed-asset credits that will continue as presumed CBS credits and the situation of assets that may be disposed of.
6. Define the monetization strategy: for refundable credits, consider filing early, thinking of the 360-day restatement deadline.
7. Document everything with a technical opinion and follow the pending PER/DCOMP Web regulation.

“In the transition, the credit a company does not review now becomes a liability later. The December 2026 balance is, in practice, definitive: it is what PER/DCOMP Web will read.”

TaxUp team · Recovery of Credits

Transition timeline (2026–2033)

See the full picture in the reform’s transition period and in the reading of the reform’s impact on companies.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Complementary Law 214/2025, arts. 378–383 (use of the PIS/Cofins credit balance in the transition to the IBS and the CBS); STJ — Theme 779/780 (REsp 1.221.170/PR, First Panel, DJe 4/24/2018, concept of input) and Theme 1003 (REsp 1.767.945/PR, First Panel, DJe 5/6/2020, start date of the refund restatement); Súmula 411 of the STJ (restatement of the IPI credit upon illegitimate resistance by the tax authority); art. 24 of Law 11.457/2007 (360-day deadline); art. 26-A of Law 11.457/2007, inserted by Law 13.670/2018 (cross-offsetting); RFB Normative Instruction 2.055/2021. Stock figures (about R$140bn / 100,000 companies) and discrepancies (about R$44bn / 12,000 companies) per the official notice of Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service of June 3, 2026, also reported by Agência Brasil/EBC. Informational content; it does not constitute a legal opinion or formal advice.