What the FGTS is
The FGTS, Fundo de Garantia do Tempo de Serviço, is an account in your name at Caixa, the public bank. The employer deposits an amount into it every month, on top of your salary. The money stays there for when you lose your job through no fault of your own, retire or buy your home.
What the law says
III - fundo de garantia do tempo de serviço;
In English
The FGTS is on the list of rights of every worker with carteira assinada (formal employment, registered in the work card), in the city and in the countryside. Domestic workers also have FGTS, under Complementary Law 150 of 2015.
Each job opens a separate account, called conta vinculada. Accounts from old jobs stay in your name, with the balance still earning. You can see them all in the FGTS app.
What the law says about the 8% deposit
What the law says
Para os fins previstos nesta Lei, todos os empregadores ficam obrigados a depositar, até o vigésimo dia de cada mês, em conta vinculada, a importância correspondente a 8% (oito por cento) da remuneração paga ou devida, no mês anterior, a cada trabalhador, incluídas na remuneração as parcelas de que tratam os arts. 457 e 458 da Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho (CLT), aprovada pelo Decreto-Lei nº 5.452, de 1º de maio de 1943, e a Gratificação de Natal de que trata a Lei nº 4.090, de 13 de julho de 1962.
In English
By the 20th of each month, the employer deposits 8% of all it paid you, or owed you, in the month before. The whole remuneração (total pay) counts, not only the fixed salary. Gratificação de Natal is the name the law gives to the 13º salário.
Remuneração is the salary plus the other amounts paid for the work, such as overtime, commissions and tips.
The words "paga ou devida", paid or owed, matter. If the employer did not pay some overtime, it also owes the FGTS on that overtime.
What counts and what does not count for the deposit
- The salary, overtime, night pay and the extras for unhealthy or dangerous work all count.
- Commissions, tips and bonuses set by law count.
- The 13º salário and the férias, with the extra 1/3, count.
- Vale-transporte (commuting allowance), meal allowance, travel allowances, prizes and expense allowances do not count.
What the law says
As importâncias, ainda que habituais, pagas a título de ajuda de custo, auxílio-alimentação, vedado seu pagamento em dinheiro, diárias para viagem, prêmios e abonos não integram a remuneração do empregado, não se incorporam ao contrato de trabalho e não constituem base de incidência de qualquer encargo trabalhista e previdenciário.
In English
These amounts are not remuneração, even when paid every month. So they create no FGTS deposit and no INSS (Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social, Brazil's social security) contribution. The meal allowance only stays out if it is not paid in cash.
In an apprentice contract, the deposit is 2%. For an apprentice with a salary of R$ 3.000,00, that would be R$ 60,00 a month. An apprentice is a young person hired to learn a trade while studying.
How to work out the FGTS for the month and the year
- Add up everything that counts as remuneração in the month, on the contracheque (pay slip).
- Work out 8% of that amount. The result is the deposit for the month.
- For the year, multiply the monthly deposit by 12.
- Add the deposit on the 13º and the deposit on the 1/3 de férias (one-third vacation bonus).
One year of FGTS on a salary of R$ 3.000,00 with no overtime
- Monthly deposit, 8% of R$ 3.000,00
- R$ 240,00
- 12 months of deposits
- R$ 2.880,00
- Deposit on the 13º
- R$ 240,00
- Deposit on the 1/3 de férias
- R$ 80,00
- Deposits for the year
- R$ 3.200,00
The salary for the férias month is already in the 12 months. That is why only the extra 1/3 has its own line.
If you get overtime or commissions, use the total on the contracheque, not only the fixed salary. Then the deposit changes from month to month.
With interest, the account goes beyond that. In the calculator example, over 2 years, the deposits add up to R$ 6.400,00 and the balance reaches R$ 6.827,66.
How much the FGTS money earns
What the law says
Os depósitos efetuados nas contas vinculadas serão corrigidos monetariamente com base nos parâmetros fixados para atualização dos saldos dos depósitos de poupança e capitalização juros de (três) por cento ao ano.
In English
Each month the balance gets the same adjustment as savings accounts, the TR, plus interest of 3% a year. TR is the Taxa Referencial, an index set by the Central Bank. The adjustment makes up for part of inflation.
On top of that, the Conselho Curador do FGTS shares part of the fund's profit among the accounts each year. Adding the TR, the interest and the profit, the accounts earned 6,9% a year in the year announced in July 2026. The calculator uses that number.
The profit shared goes into the account, but it does not raise the 40% fine on dismissal.
When you can take the FGTS money out
The balance is not free to take at any time. Law 8.036 lists the cases in which you can withdraw it.
What the law says
A conta vinculada do trabalhador no FGTS poderá ser movimentada nas seguintes situações: I - despedida sem justa causa, inclusive a indireta, de culpa recíproca e de força maior; I-A – extinção do contrato de trabalho prevista no art. 484-A da Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho (CLT) [...] III - aposentadoria concedida pela Previdência Social; [...] XV - quando o trabalhador tiver idade igual ou superior a 70 (setenta anos).
In English
You can withdraw when you are dismissed without justa causa (serious misconduct), including when you leave because of a serious fault by the employer, the rescisão indireta. You can also withdraw when you leave by agreement with the employer, when you retire and from age 70.
- Buying your own home or paying off the home loan, with at least 3 years of FGTS.
- Cancer or HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) of the worker or a dependent, and serious illness at a terminal stage.
- Normal end of a fixed-term contract, such as a trial contract.
- Three years in a row with no deposit in the account.
- Death of the worker, with the balance paid to the dependents.
If you resign or are dismissed for justa causa, you cannot withdraw right away. The balance stays in the account, earning, until another case on the list applies.
Late or missing deposits, and what to do
What the law says
O empregador que não realizar os depósitos nos termos dos arts. 15 e 18 desta Lei responderá pela incidência da Taxa Referencial (TR) sobre a importância correspondente. § 1º Sobre o valor dos depósitos, acrescido da TR, incidirão, ainda, juros de mora de 0,5% a.m. (cinco décimos por cento ao mês) ou fração e multa [...]
In English
An employer that deposits late pays the TR adjustment and interest of 0,5% per month of delay. It also pays a fine, 5% in the month the deposit was due and 10% after that.
On a deposit of R$ 240,00 paid 3 months late, the fine is R$ 24,00 and the interest comes to about R$ 3,60, plus the TR.
- A month with no deposit on the statement.
- A deposit smaller than 8% of the contracheque.
- Overtime and extras left out of the FGTS calculation.
- No deposit on the 13º or on the 1/3 de férias.
These are the most common employer mistakes. Compare the FGTS app statement with your contracheques, month by month, and keep both. If money is missing, ask human resources in writing to fix it.
If the employer does not fix it, go to the union, the Superintendência Regional do Trabalho (regional labor inspection office) or the Justiça do Trabalho (labor courts). The deadline is 2 years after leaving, and you can collect the last 5 years.
How much FGTS does your salary build up?
With a salary of R$ 3.000,00, you build up about R$ 6.827,66 in 2 years. The employer deposits R$ 240,00 a month, plus the FGTS on the 13º and the férias.
The deposits alone add up to R$ 6.400,00. The other R$ 427,66 is the interest earned in the period.
How much FGTS do I have after 5 years of work?
With a salary of R$ 3.000,00, about R$ 18.939,50 in 5 years. The employer deposits R$ 240,00 a month, plus the FGTS on the 13º and the férias.
The deposits alone add up to R$ 16.000,00. The other R$ 2.939,50 is the interest earned in the period.
Can the employer take the FGTS out of my salary?
No. The deposit is the employer's duty, on top of the salary, and nothing comes out of your pay. You can check each deposit in the FGTS app, month by month.
If one is missing, you can complain to the union, to the Superintendência Regional do Trabalho or at the Justiça do Trabalho.
How much FGTS builds up for each salary?
| Salary | Monthly deposit | In 5 years | In 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| R$ 1.621,00 | R$ 129,68 | R$ 10.234 | R$ 24.520 |
| R$ 2.500,00 | R$ 200,00 | R$ 15.783 | R$ 37.816 |
| R$ 3.000,00 | R$ 240,00 | R$ 18.939 | R$ 45.379 |
| R$ 5.000,00 | R$ 400,00 | R$ 31.566 | R$ 75.632 |
| R$ 8.000,00 | R$ 640,00 | R$ 50.505 | R$ 121.011 |
How this calculation works
The calculation adds 8% of the salary each month, plus 8% of the 13º and of the 1/3 de férias, spread over the year.
The return is the last yearly figure published, 6,9% a year, applied month by month.
Pay raises, withdrawals and months without work are left out.
The full method and the data behind this calculation (in Portuguese)