COFINS is the acronym for Contribution to Social Security Financing, That is a social contribution applied on the gross value presented by a company.
As its name indicates, COFINS aims to finance Social Security, that is, fundamental areas such as Social Security, Social Assistance and Public Health.
There are two COFINS regimes: the cumulative regime and the non-cumulative regime. When the fee is not billed cumulatively, it is not billed every month. However, in companies that adopt the presumed profit system, COFINS is in the cumulative regime. The non-cumulativeness of the collection of this contribution came with the law 10,833 of 2003, which indicates that companies that choose the real profit system must deduct their revenue contribution gross.
COFINS is a federal tax, whose taxpayers are legal entities governed by private law in general, including persons equivalent to them under the Income Tax law. There is an exception for small and micro-enterprises, which opt for the Simples Nacional regime (regime established by Complementary Law 123 of 2006).
The COFINS calculation is made according to all the revenues of the legal entity in question, regardless of the type of activity performed or the classification attributed to accounting revenues. The calculation is based on monthly billing and total revenue.
Rates
The COFINS rate can be 7.6% for legal entities under a non-cumulative regime and 3% for individuals under a cumulative regime.
In some cases, the rate can be zeroed, which does not imply exemption or non-application, it is a indicator of an interim policy that aims to purchase a particular service or product.