Self-employed shopkeepers in Brazil and fuel allowance: what counts as a deduction in 2026
How Brazilian self-employed retailers can deduct fuel, maintenance, and vehicle tax in proportion to business use in 2026.
Who this covers
'Self-employed shopkeeper' here means three common Brazilian profiles: the liberal professional with a shop on the side, the *sacoleiro* who buys wholesale and resells, and the MEI with an online store doing personal deliveries.[^rfb-livro-102] In all three, the vehicle is a work input and vehicle costs can hit the Livro-Caixa in proportion to business use.
The Livro-Caixa logic
The Livro-Caixa is the Federal Revenue's instrument for autônomos (RPA) and liberal professionals to monthly record income and deductible expenses. Deductible expenses include rent, utilities, work materials — and the share of vehicle costs proportional to business use.
The share is computed as business km / total km in the period. If the retailer drove 18,000 km in 2026 and 12,000 km were for work (procurement, deliveries, supplier visits), 67% of fuel, maintenance, vehicle tax, mandatory insurance, and third-party insurance enter the Livro-Caixa.
What counts as business use
Federal Revenue accepts:
- Visits to suppliers and wholesalers. - Deliveries to customers. - Travel between shops. - Travel to industry trade shows with proof of registration. - Technical service calls and at-home delivery.
Not deductible:
- Home → shop commute (personal travel). - Leisure trips even if 'checking the competition'. - Family trips in the vehicle.
How to prove mileage
Federal Revenue requires no official form but does require evidence. Three accepted methods: a per-trip logbook, a GPS app with timestamps (most defensible), or odometer readings combined with a detailed commercial calendar.
2026 tax reform — what changes
The 2023 Tax Reform (LC 214/2025) introduced IBS and CBS, progressively replacing PIS, Cofins, ICMS, and ISS between 2026 and 2033. For self-employed retailers, the practical 2026 transition keeps the IRPF regime intact, Livro-Caixa unchanged. Material change starts in 2027 with IBS test phase. MEI stays in Simples Nacional; the per-km deduction follows the same proportionality rule applied to the commercial activity declared on the monthly DAS-MEI.
Worked example: Belo Horizonte reseller
A Belo Horizonte sacoleira buys wholesale in São Paulo every 3 weeks (1,000 km round trip), runs 8 weekly customer deliveries (~25 km/day), and visits 2 local suppliers per week (~30 km).
- SP trips: 17 × 1,000 km = 17,000 km/yr. - Deliveries: 8 × 25 × 50 weeks = 10,000 km/yr. - Local visits: 2 × 30 × 50 = 3,000 km/yr. - Total business: 30,000 km/yr. - Total vehicle: 38,000 km/yr. - Business share: 79%.
Real annual expenses: fuel R$ 18,000, maintenance R$ 4,500, vehicle tax R$ 2,800, insurance R$ 3,500. Total R$ 28,800.
Livro-Caixa deduction: 79% × R$ 28,800 = **R$ 22,752 deductible**, cutting the IRPF base and saving roughly R$ 5,000 to R$ 6,000 in tax depending on bracket.
Errors that trigger malha fina
1. Deducting 100% of vehicle costs with no personal-use share — auto-flagged. 2. Treating the home-shop commute as business. 3. Not keeping fuel and maintenance receipts (5-year minimum). 4. Deducting expenses on a vehicle registered to a spouse without written authorization. 5. Combining Lucro Presumido (PJ) with Livro-Caixa (PF) on the same vehicle, double-counting.
2026 checklist
1. Keep a logbook or app from January. 2. Archive all receipts as PDF with integrity hash. 3. Compute the business share quarterly, not only at year-end. 4. Post the deduction monthly in the Livro-Caixa, not in a March 2027 burst. 5. If the vehicle is financed, also note interest paid (proportional).