Employee Cost (CLT)
Full monthly, yearly and hourly cost of a CLT employee: salary, 13th salary, vacation bonus, INSS, RAT, third parties, FGTS and benefits.
These calculations follow Brazilian labor and tax law (CLT, INSS, IRRF, FGTS) and are valid only for employment contracts in Brazil. Amounts are in Brazilian reais (R$).
Legislation and tables in force on 10/17/2026: 2026 minimum wage, 2026 INSS and IRRF tables and the income tax reduction of Lei 15.270/2025.
This is an estimate for guidance. Collective agreements and individual situations may change the amounts; it does not replace the payslip or advice from an accountant or lawyer.
How the cost is built
The cost assumes 12 monthly salaries (one of them paid during the vacation), plus the 13th salary and the one-third vacation bonus, spread over 12 months. INSS, RAT, third parties and FGTS are also charged on the 13th salary and on the vacation pay.
The 5.8% of third parties is 2.5% salário-educação, 0.2% INCRA, 1.0% SENAI or SENAC, 1.5% SESI or SESC and 0.6% SEBRAE. Other activity codes (FPAS) can have different rates.
Payroll relief (desoneração, Lei 14.973/2024): companies of the 17 sectors that opted for the contribution on revenue (CPRB) pay in 2026 an employer INSS (CPP) of 10% of the payroll instead of 20%, not charged on the 13th salary, plus a reduced CPRB of 0.6% to 2.7% of gross revenue; the CPP rises to 15% in 2027 and is 20% for everyone from 2028. This page always uses 20%, so for those companies the cost shown is higher than the payroll part they pay. Overtime, night work, hazard pay and dismissal costs are also not included.
To see the INSS withheld from the employee or the plans of self-employed workers, use the INSS contribution calculator
Frequently asked questions
How much does an employee cost compared with the salary?
Before benefits, the 13th salary, the vacation bonus and the charges add about 50% to the salary in Lucro Presumido or Lucro Real companies (20% INSS, RAT, 5.8% third parties and 8% FGTS) and about 20% in the Simples Nacional annexes I to III and V, where the employer INSS is inside the DAS.
Why is the vacation counted as only one-third?
During the vacation the employee receives the normal salary, which is already one of the 12 monthly salaries. The extra cost is the one-third bonus and the charges on it.
Are vouchers and the health plan subject to INSS and FGTS?
Transport voucher, meal and food vouchers within the rules of the worker food programme (PAT) and the health plan offered to all employees are not part of the salary, so no INSS or FGTS is charged on them.
Where do I find the RAT and the FAP of my company?
The RAT rate depends on the main activity code (CNAE) in Annex V of Decreto 3.048/1999; the FAP is published every year for each company and can be consulted on the government portal.
How the employee cost calculation works
This calculator shows how much a CLT employee really costs the company, far beyond the salary written in the work card. It is made for Brazilian employers, accountants, HR teams and entrepreneurs who need the full cost of a hire to build a budget, price a service or compare a CLT contract with other options. You enter the gross salary, the tax regime of the company, the RAT and FAP when they apply, and the benefits you pay. The page returns the average monthly cost, the yearly cost and the cost of each paid hour and each worked hour, with a table that shows every component and a chart of where the money goes.
The method adds the monthly provisions of the 13th salary (1/12 of the salary, Lei 4.090/1962) and of the vacation one-third bonus (1/36, Constituição Federal art. 7, XVII) to the salary. On that payroll the employer pays the CPP of 20% and the RAT of 1% to 3% multiplied by the FAP (Lei 8.212/1991 art. 22 and Lei 10.666/2003), third parties of 5.8% (IN RFB 2.110/2022) and FGTS of 8% (Lei 8.036/1990). In the Simples Nacional the charges follow LC 123/2006 (art. 13 and art. 18, §5-C), and the transport voucher keeps the 6% share of the employee (Lei 7.418/1985).
Example: a salary of R$ 3,000.00 in a Lucro Presumido company, with RAT of 2%, FAP of 1, third parties of 5.8%, a transport voucher of R$ 300.00, meal vouchers of R$ 600.00 and a health plan of R$ 400.00. The monthly cost is R$ 5,646.67, the yearly cost is R$ 67,760.04 and each paid hour costs R$ 25.67. The result is an estimate and leaves out overtime, dismissal costs, the contribution on revenue (CPRB) and benefits set by collective agreements, so confirm it with your accountant before you rely on it.