How much tax do sellers pay on Mercado Livre and Shopee? MEI, Simples, DIFAL, and the tax on each sale

Sellers on Mercado Livre and Shopee pay tax on the amount the customer pays, not on the amount the marketplace transfers to them. Under MEI, it’s R$ 82,05 per month (retail, 2026) on annual revenue up to R$ 81 mil. Under Simples Nacional, Annex I (retail), the effective tax rate starts at 4% and increases with revenue over the past 12 months: 5,32% at R$ 300 mil, 7,19% at R$ 600 mil, and 9,94% at R$ 2 milhões. On a R$ 100 sale, that means R$ 4 to nearly R$ 10 in tax, even if the payout was R$ 73.

The marketplace doesn’t withhold tax from the seller. It shows up once a month on the tax payment form, which is why it’s missing from the margin calculation for anyone who checks their statement order by order. Here’s how much it is under each tax regime.

#Tax regimes available to sellers

For most marketplace stores, the path is MEI and then Simples Nacional.

#MEI: fixed amount

The amount does not change with revenue, as long as it stays below R$ 81 mil per year. It is the cheapest tax regime available, as long as you qualify. Find out what happens when you exceed the limit in the MEI limit for selling online.

#Simples Nacional: the tax rate that rises as your store grows

Under Annex I (retail), the nominal tax rate depends on revenue over the last 12 months. A deduction amount smooths the transition between brackets:

The effective tax rate—the one you pay—is calculated as: (revenue over 12 months × nominal tax rate − deduction amount) ÷ revenue over 12 months.

As your store grows, you pay a higher percentage of each sale. If you set your prices when the tax rate was 4%, they become outdated even if you change nothing. I showed how this works in the tax that goes up on its own.

#The tax base: the sale, not the payout

Simples tax applies to gross revenue, which is the amount the customer pays for the sale. It does not apply to the amount Mercado Livre or Shopee pays out after fees.

The difference may seem small per sale, but at a thousand sales a month, that’s R$ 1.940 in tax your spreadsheet didn’t account for.

#DIFAL: what applies to Simples

DIFAL is the difference in ICMS between the state of origin and the destination state when selling to an end consumer in another state. Two different situations are often confused:

• When selling to a consumer in another state: a business under Simples does not pay DIFAL. The rule that extended this tax to Simples was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Federal Court, and São Paulo’s Treasury Department confirmed in April 2026 that it is not required.
• When buying goods from another state for resale: a business under Simples may have to pay a rate difference or advance tax, charged outside the DAS, depending on state law.

For businesses under Lucro Presumido or Lucro Real, DIFAL is due on sales to consumers in another state and must be paid by the sender.

In practice. A cosmetics seller under Simples calculated tax on the amount deposited into their Mercado Livre and Shopee accounts. Their rate was already 7,4% because their revenue over the previous 12 months had exceeded R$ 600 mil. Their spreadsheet showed R$ 18 mil in tax for the month, but the tax bill came to R$ 25 mil. The R$ 7 mil difference was exactly the portion made up of marketplace fees, which they had also been paying tax on without realizing it.

#Selling as an individual

Selling with a CPF does not mean selling tax-free: your earnings are still subject to personal income tax. For regular sellers, a CNPJ usually costs less and gives you access to Nota Fiscal, marketplace logistics, and Magalu. I explain more in Do you need a CNPJ to sell on Mercado Livre?

#What’s changing with the tax reform

In 2026, CBS and IBS are being tested and do not apply to Simples. Starting in 2027, CBS will replace PIS and Cofins, and by 2033, IBS will replace ICMS. See the overview in Tax reform for marketplace sellers.

#Tax included in each sale’s margin

Tax is a percentage of the price, just like commission. It needs to be included in your pricing and in each order’s margin, not just in your monthly tax bill. Milewa applies your CNPJ’s tax rate to every Mercado Livre and Shopee sale and shows your margin after tax. If you haven’t set a rate, it uses 10% and marks the margin as estimated, so you don’t mistake an estimate for the real figure.

This article summarizes the general rule. Talk to your accountant about which tax regime to choose and the rules specific to your state.