Glossary/FGTS (Brazil)
Pay
FGTS (Brazil)
FGTS is not optional and it is not withheld from the employee. Dismissal without cause generally adds a 40% penalty on the FGTS balance. Fully loaded CLT cost is often around 1.4–1.7× gross before termination reserves, because INSS, FGTS, 13th, and vacation-plus-one-third stack.
Our Brazil salary table is monthly gross and excludes the 13th. FGTS still sits on top of that number.
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FAQ
Questions we get
- What is FGTS?
- An 8% employer deposit each month on CLT remuneration, including the 13th salary. The employee draws it in defined cases, including dismissal without cause, with a 40% penalty on the balance in that case.
Related
Other terms
13th-month salary
A statutory or customary extra month of pay on top of the twelve monthly gross payments, common across Southeast Asia, Latin America, and parts of Europe.
Statutory employer cost
The mandatory amounts the employer pays on top of gross wages: social insurance, funds, levies, and extra-month rules — not a market salary.
Severance
The statutory or contractual payment due when employment ends without a fault dismissal — often a formula of months per year of service, not a negotiation opener.
Reviewed 11 September 2026. Statutory figures follow the country hiring guides. This is a briefing for multinational employers, not legal advice. For Brazil, start with the hiring guide.
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