Gross salary, net salary and remuneração
The gross salary is the amount written in the carteira de trabalho (work card). The net salary is what is left after deductions and reaches your account.
The law also uses a third word, remuneração (total pay). It adds the salary and everything you earn from the work, such as commissions, extra pay for night work and tips. INSS, FGTS, férias (annual vacation) and the 13º are calculated on the remuneração.
What the law says
Integram o salário a importância fixa estipulada, as gratificações legais e as comissões pagas pelo empregador.
In English
The salary is not only the fixed amount. Bonuses set by law and commissions also count as salary. That is why they enter the calculation of deductions and rights.
So overtime, night pay and commissions raise the INSS of the month. They also raise the FGTS, the férias and the 13º.
What the employer can deduct
The rule is to protect the salary. The employer only deducts what the law orders, what you authorized, or what the collective agreement of your trade allows.
What the law says
Ao empregador é vedado efetuar qualquer desconto nos salários do empregado, salvo quando este resultar de adiantamentos, de dispositivos de lei ou de contrato coletivo.
In English
The employer cannot take money out of your salary on its own. It can only deduct an advance it already paid you, what a law orders and what the collective agreement of the trade allows.
These are the most common deductions on the contracheque, the monthly pay slip.
- INSS, always, by the 2026 table.
- Income tax, when the salary goes past the tax-free bracket.
- Vale-transporte, up to 6% of the base salary, if you asked for the benefit.
- Advance, the mid-month payment.
- Absences without a valid reason, with the paid weekly rest of the same week.
- Child or spousal support, when a judge orders it.
- Health plan, payroll loan and others you authorized in writing.
Damage you caused by accident can only be deducted if the contract says so. If it was on purpose, the law allows the deduction even without that clause.
How INSS is calculated, bracket by bracket
INSS does not apply a single rate to the whole salary. The table has four brackets, and each slice of the salary pays the rate of the bracket it falls in.
- Split the salary into the brackets of the 2026 table.
- Apply each bracket rate only to the slice that falls in it, from 7,5% to 14%.
- Add the four amounts. Above the ceiling of R$ 8.475,55, the deduction stops growing.
INSS on a salary of R$ 5.000,00 in 2026
- First bracket, R$ 1.621,00 × 7,5%
- R$ 121,58
- Second bracket, R$ 1.281,84 × 9%
- R$ 115,37
- Third bracket, R$ 1.451,43 × 12%
- R$ 174,17
- Fourth bracket, R$ 645,73 × 14%
- R$ 90,40
- INSS for the month
- R$ 501,51
INSS takes 10% of the salary, much less than the 14% of the top bracket. This is the effective rate, the real weight of the deduction.
The INSS you pay is your contribution to Brazil's social security. It counts for retirement, sick pay, the salário-maternidade (maternity pay) and the family pension.
How income tax is calculated in 2026
The tax comes from the salary minus INSS and dependents. If it is better for you, the law swaps those deductions for a standard deduction of R$ 607,20.
- Take the larger of two deductions off the salary. One is INSS plus R$ 189,59 per dependent. The other is the standard deduction.
- Apply the monthly tax table to what is left, the tax base.
- Take off the cut of Law 15.270 of 2025, which brings the tax to zero up to R$ 5.000,00 and shrinks step by step until R$ 7.350,00.
Income tax on a salary of R$ 5.000,00
- Salary
- R$ 5.000,00
- Standard deduction, worth more here than INSS and dependents
- − R$ 607,20
- Tax base
- R$ 4.392,80
- Tax by the table
- R$ 312,89
- 2026 tax cut
- − R$ 312,89
- Tax for the month
- R$ 0,00
People who earn a little more than R$ 5.000,00 pay much less than before 2026. The cut gets smaller with each real of salary and ends at R$ 7.350,00.
What you get in a year, beyond the monthly salary
The contracheque shows only one month. But the Brazilian Constitution guarantees three rights that raise what the job is worth over the year.
What the law says
III - fundo de garantia do tempo de serviço; [...] VIII - décimo terceiro salário com base na remuneração integral ou no valor da aposentadoria; [...] XVII - gozo de férias anuais remuneradas com, pelo menos, um terço a mais do que o salário normal;
In English
Each year you get a 13º salário and a month of férias paid with one third more. Each month, the employer deposits the FGTS into an account in your name.
Adding it all up, the year has 13 salaries and a third. That is 11 months of salary, the férias month with the 1/3 and the 13º. Divided by 12, a salary of R$ 5.000,00 becomes R$ 5.555,56 a month.
A salary of R$ 5.000,00, monthly average over the year
- Salary
- R$ 5.000,00
- 13º, divided by 12
- R$ 416,67
- 1/3 de férias, divided by 12
- R$ 138,89
- Average INSS
- − R$ 562,75
- Average income tax
- − R$ 52,63
- Money in hand, without the FGTS
- R$ 4.940,18
- FGTS deposited
- R$ 444,44
- What the job is worth to you, with the FGTS
- R$ 5.384,62
The reserve for the FGTS fine, R$ 177,78 a month, is left out of this sum, because it only comes on dismissal without justa causa (serious misconduct).
How much the employer spends and where the money goes
For the employer, a salary of R$ 5.000,00 costs R$ 92.666,76 a year. That is 1,5 times the salary on the carteira, not double, as people often say.
Besides the 13º, the férias and the FGTS, the employer pays 27,8% on the payroll. That is 20% of employer INSS, the work accident insurance and contributions to other bodies, which the law calls third parties.
Where the employer cost goes on a salary of R$ 5.000,00
- Government, with the INSS of both sides and the tax
- R$ 2.159,83
- FGTS in your name
- R$ 444,44
- Reserve for the FGTS fine
- R$ 177,78
- Money in your hand, without the FGTS
- R$ 4.940,18
- Employer cost per month
- R$ 7.722,23
Of each real the employer spends, 64% reaches your hand and 28% goes to the government.
In a Simples Nacional (simplified tax regime for small businesses) company, the 20% employer INSS usually goes inside the DAS (Documento de Arrecadação do Simples Nacional), the single tax slip. So its cost is lower, and nothing changes for you.
This math shows why an offer to work as a PJ (pessoa jurídica, working through your own company) must pay a lot more than the salary. The CLT and PJ comparison does the full calculation.
When the salary must be paid
What the law says
Quando o pagamento houver sido estipulado por mês, deverá ser efetuado, o mais tardar, até o quinto dia útil do mês subseqüente ao vencido.
In English
The monthly salary must arrive by the fifth business day of the next month. For this rule, Saturday counts as a business day. Sunday and public holidays do not.
The collective agreement can set an earlier date, and so can the contract. Salary that is late again and again can justify a rescisão indireta (constructive dismissal). That means leaving the job with all the rights of someone who was dismissed.
Common mistakes on the contracheque and what to do
- INSS charged at the full rate on the whole salary, without the brackets.
- Income tax without the cut in force since January 2026.
- A dependent reported to the employer and left out of the tax calculation.
- Vale-transporte deducted above 6% of the base salary.
- Overtime or night pay left out of the INSS and FGTS base.
Compare your contracheque with this calculator. If the numbers do not match, ask the human resources team in writing to fix it and keep the answer.
If the employer does not fix it, go to the union of your trade or the Superintendência Regional do Trabalho (regional labor inspection office). You can also file a claim at the Justiça do Trabalho (labor courts) up to 2 years after leaving, covering the last 5 years. The law is the same for Brazilian and foreign workers.
How much of the salary reaches your account?
With a salary of R$ 5.000,00, R$ 4.498,49 reaches your account each month. INSS takes R$ 501,51, and the yearly average, with 13º, férias and FGTS, is R$ 5.384,62 a month.
By the table, the tax would be R$ 312,89. The 2026 tax cut brings it to zero.
Do people who earn up to R$ 5k pay income tax in 2026?
No. Since January 2026, the tax cut of Law 15.270 of 2025 brings the tax to zero on salaries up to R$ 5.000,00 a month.
With a salary of R$ 5.000,00, the monthly tax is zero. By the table, the tax would be R$ 312,89. The 2026 tax cut brings it to zero.
The same cut also applies to the 13º salário, which has its own tax calculation.
Why does the FGTS not show in the net salary?
Because the FGTS does not come out of your salary. The employer deposits 8% on top, into a Caixa (federal savings bank) account in your name, and nothing is deducted from you.
With a salary of R$ 5.000,00, the deposit is R$ 400,00 in the month. With the 13º and férias, the average rises to R$ 444,44 a month. You can only take that money out in the cases the law allows, such as dismissal without justa causa.
How much does your salary cost the employer?
With a salary of R$ 5.000,00, the employer spends R$ 7.722,23 a month on average, 1,5 times the salary. That includes the 13º, the 1/3 de férias, the FGTS, the reserve for the fine and 27,8% of employer INSS and payroll contributions.
Of that total, R$ 2.159,83 goes to the government, adding the employer INSS, your INSS and income tax. Another R$ 622,22 stays in the FGTS, and R$ 4.940,18 reaches your hand.
In a Simples Nacional company, the employer INSS usually goes inside the DAS, the single tax slip, and the cost drops to R$ 6.177,78. Nothing changes for you.
Net salary for each salary in 2026
| Salary | INSS | Income tax | Net pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| R$ 1.621,00 | R$ 121,58 | R$ 0,00 | R$ 1.499,42 |
| R$ 2.500,00 | R$ 200,69 | R$ 0,00 | R$ 2.299,31 |
| R$ 3.000,00 | R$ 248,60 | R$ 0,00 | R$ 2.751,40 |
| R$ 4.000,00 | R$ 368,60 | R$ 0,00 | R$ 3.631,40 |
| R$ 5.000,00 | R$ 501,51 | R$ 0,00 | R$ 4.498,49 |
| R$ 6.000,00 | R$ 641,51 | R$ 385,10 | R$ 4.973,39 |
How this calculation works
INSS and income tax come from the 2026 tables, as explained above. Other deductions come out of the net pay without changing the tax.
The yearly average adds 13 salaries and a third, each with its own INSS and tax.
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.
The employer cost also adds INSS and contributions on the payroll, 27,8% in this calculation, which stay out in the Simples Nacional.
The full method and the data behind this calculation (in Portuguese)