What goes into the cost of an employee
The salary on the carteira is only the largest part of the cost. An employer who hires with carteira assinada (formal employment, registered in the work card) also pays rights that come once a year and taxes that go to the government and to the FGTS.
To compare different months, the calculation gathers everything paid in the year and divides it by 12. That way the December 13º and the 1/3 de férias show up as a slice of each month.
- The salary for the 12 months, counting the month the person is on férias (annual vacation).
- The 13º salário, worth one more salary a year.
- The extra 1/3 on férias, guaranteed by the Constitution.
- The FGTS of 8% on the salary, the 13º and the férias, deposited into a Caixa (federal savings bank) account in the employee's name.
- The reserve for the 40% FGTS fine, which the employer pays on dismissal without justa causa (serious misconduct).
- Employer INSS and contributions on the payroll, 27,8% outside the Simples Nacional (simplified tax regime for small businesses).
- Any benefits the employer chooses to give, such as vale-refeição (meal voucher) and a health plan.
In all, a year has 13 salaries and a third. That is 11 months of work, 1 month of férias with the extra 1/3 and the 13º.
What the law says about employer and employee
The CLT (Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho, Brazil's labor code) defines who the employer is. That definition makes the company pay all the rights of the carteira.
What the law says
Considera-se empregador a empresa individual ou coletiva, que, assumindo os riscos de atividade econômica, admite, assalaria e dirige a prestação pessoal de serviços.
In English
The employer is whoever hires, pays the salary and directs the work. The business risk is theirs. If the company loses money, the salary is still owed.
The employer INSS comes from Law 8.212 of 1991. It is separate from the INSS deducted on the employee's contracheque (pay slip).
What the law says
A contribuição a cargo da empresa, destinada à Seguridade Social, além do disposto no art. 23, é de: I - vinte por cento sobre o total das remunerações pagas, devidas ou creditadas a qualquer título, durante o mês, aos segurados empregados e trabalhadores avulsos que lhe prestem serviços, destinadas a retribuir o trabalho, qualquer que seja a sua forma, inclusive as gorjetas, os ganhos habituais sob a forma de utilidades e os adiantamentos decorrentes de reajuste salarial, quer pelos serviços efetivamente prestados, quer pelo tempo à disposição do empregador ou tomador de serviços, nos termos da lei ou do contrato ou, ainda, de convenção ou acordo coletivo de trabalho ou sentença normativa.
In English
The company pays the INSS 20% of everything it pays its employees for their work in the month. That money comes out of the company's pocket and is not deducted from the employee.
On top of that 20%, the company pays work accident insurance, 1% to 3% depending on the risk of the activity. It also pays contributions to other bodies, which the law calls third parties. The calculation starts from 27,8% in total, the usual case of a retail company, and you can change that number in the calculator.
How the calculation works, step by step
- Add 11 salaries, the férias month salary with the extra 1/3 and the 13º. Divide by 12 to get the monthly average.
- Work out the FGTS, which is 8% of that average, and the reserve for the fine, which is 40% of the FGTS.
- Work out the employer payroll taxes on the average, 27,8% in this calculation. In the Simples Nacional that amount goes inside the DAS and leaves the calculation.
- Add the monthly benefits, such as meal and transport vouchers and a health plan.
- To find what reaches the hand, take the employee INSS and income tax off the average, worked out on each payment.
The employee INSS and income tax come from the 2026 tables. The salary, the férias and the 13º each have their own calculation, as on a real contracheque.
Example with the salary you typed
Employer cost on a salary of R$ 3.000,00, monthly average
- Salary
- R$ 3.000,00
- 13º salário, divided by 12
- R$ 250,00
- 1/3 de férias, divided by 12
- R$ 83,33
- Employer INSS and contributions
- R$ 926,67
- FGTS
- R$ 266,67
- Reserve for the FGTS fine
- R$ 106,67
- Employer cost per month
- R$ 4.633,34
Over the year, the cost reaches R$ 55.600,08. The employee keeps R$ 3.054,01 a month in hand, after INSS and income tax.
Where each real the employer spends goes
The employer cost splits three ways. One part reaches the employee's hand, another stays saved in the employee's FGTS and the rest goes to the government.
| Destination | Per month | Share of the cost |
|---|---|---|
| In the employee's hand | R$ 3.054,01 | 66% |
| FGTS and fine reserve | R$ 373,34 | 8% |
| Government | R$ 1.205,99 | 26% |
So for each real that reaches the employee's hand, the employer spends R$ 1,52. The FGTS is also the employee's money, but it stays locked and only comes out in the cases the law allows, such as dismissal without justa causa.
The government share includes the employee INSS. That INSS counts time and value toward retirement, sick pay and the family pension.
In a Simples Nacional company the cost is lower
A Simples Nacional company pays almost all its taxes on a single slip, the DAS (Documento de Arrecadação do Simples Nacional). In Annexes I, II, III and V of the Simples, the employer INSS on the payroll is already inside that slip.
So the same salary of R$ 3.000,00 costs R$ 3.706,67 a month in a Simples company, against R$ 4.633,34 in a regular company. Nothing changes for the employee. The salary, the FGTS, the 13º and the férias are the same.
The exception is Annex IV, for activities such as construction, cleaning and security. There the company pays the INSS on the payroll outside the DAS, like a regular company.
Vale-refeição, vale-transporte and health plan
Benefits add to the employer cost, but they usually carry no INSS or FGTS when they follow the rules of the law. That is the case for vale-transporte (commuting allowance), vale-refeição under an approved program and a health plan for everyone.
For vale-transporte, the employer can deduct up to 6% of the base salary from the employee. Anything above that is paid by the employer.
In the calculator, enter under benefits only the part the employer pays each month. The calculation adds that amount to the cost, without changing INSS, FGTS or income tax.
Common mistakes in working out the cost
- Looking only at the salary. The 13º and the 1/3 de férias add more than 11% a year, before any tax.
- Saying an employee costs double the salary. With the 2026 numbers, the cost is about 1,5 times the salary in a regular company.
- Forgetting that the FGTS fine is only paid on dismissal without justa causa. That is why the calculation keeps a monthly reserve instead of adding the whole fine.
- Adding the employee INSS to the cost. That INSS is already inside the gross salary and comes out of the contracheque.
The employee can check the FGTS deposits month by month in the FGTS app, from Caixa. The salário de contribuição (INSS contribution base) for the INSS shows on the Meu INSS (INSS app and website) statement, called CNIS (record of your contributions to the INSS).
How much does an employee cost per year?
With a salary of R$ 3.000,00, the employer spends R$ 4.633,34 a month on average, or R$ 55.600,08 a year. That is 1,5 times the salary.
The monthly average already spreads the 13º, the férias with 1/3 and the reserve for the FGTS fine over the 12 months.
How much less does a Simples Nacional company pay?
It pays R$ 926,67 less a month on a salary of R$ 3.000,00. The cost drops from R$ 4.633,34 to R$ 3.706,67.
The gap is the INSS and contributions on the payroll, which in the Simples go inside the DAS, the single tax slip.
How much of the cost goes to the government?
With a salary of R$ 3.000,00, R$ 1.205,99 a month goes to the government, 26% of the cost. That covers the employee INSS, the employee income tax and the 27,8% of employer INSS and contributions.
On higher salaries, the employee income tax weighs more, and the share that reaches the employee's hand drops.
What each salary costs in 2026
| Salary | Employer cost | In the employee's hand | Cost per real in hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| R$ 1.621,00 | R$ 2.503,55 | R$ 1.665,35 | R$ 1,50 |
| R$ 2.500,00 | R$ 3.861,11 | R$ 2.553,04 | R$ 1,51 |
| R$ 3.000,00 | R$ 4.633,34 | R$ 3.054,01 | R$ 1,52 |
| R$ 5.000,00 | R$ 7.722,23 | R$ 4.940,18 | R$ 1,56 |
| R$ 8.000,00 | R$ 12.355,55 | R$ 6.701,12 | R$ 1,84 |
| R$ 10.000,00 | R$ 15.444,45 | R$ 8.263,95 | R$ 1,87 |
How this calculation works
The yearly average adds up 13 salaries and a third. That is 11 months of salary, the férias month with the 1/3 and the 13º, divided by 12.
The FGTS is 8% of all that, and the reserve for the fine is 40% of the FGTS, paid only on dismissal without justa causa.
Employer payroll taxes are 27,8% of the average, and zero in the Simples Nacional, where they go inside the DAS.
What reaches the hand takes off the INSS and income tax on each payment, by the 2026 tables. It already includes the cut of Law 15.270 of 2025.
Benefits enter the cost at the amount the employer pays, with no INSS and no FGTS.
The full method and the data behind this calculation (in Portuguese)