Brazil: from gross salary to net, how to read the payslip

Gross, net and what is left out

The gross salary is what is in the contract and the work card. The net is what reaches your account: the gross minus the INSS, minus the income tax withheld at source and minus what you agreed, such as the transport voucher or the health plan.

Some important things do not appear as deductions, because they do not come out of your salary. The FGTS is a deposit of 8% of salary that the company makes every month into an account in your name (Law 8,036/1990, art. 15). The 13th salary and vacation with the one-third bonus arrive separately.

INSS: each bracket pays its share

The INSS deduction for those with a signed work card is calculated by brackets, like income tax. In 2026, the part of the salary up to R$1,621.00 pays 7.5%; from R$1,621.01 to R$2,902.84, 9%; from R$2,902.85 to R$4,354.27, 12%; from R$4,354.28 up to the R$8,475.55 ceiling, 14%. Whatever is above the ceiling pays nothing: the maximum deduction is R$988.09 a month.

That is why the INSS on a R$5,000 salary is not 14% of R$5,000 (R$700), but R$501.51: R$121.58 from the first bracket, R$115.37 from the second, R$174.17 from the third and R$90.40 from the fourth, only on the R$645.73 part that falls in it.

Income tax in 2026: the exemption up to R$5,000

Income tax at source starts from the gross salary minus the deductions: the INSS and R$189.59 per dependant, or the simplified discount of R$607.20, whichever is greater. The monthly table is applied to that base: exempt up to R$2,428.80, and then 7.5%, 15%, 22.5% and 27.5%, each bracket with its own amount to deduct.

The novelty of 2026 is the reduction in Law 15,270/2025. For taxable income of up to R$5,000 a month it covers all the table’s tax, and the IRRF comes out at zero. From R$5,000.01 to R$7,350.00 the reduction is R$978.62 minus 0.133145 times the salary, and it shrinks gradually until it ends. Above R$7,350.00 there is no reduction.

Four examples, from R$3,000 to R$10,000

• R$3,000: INSS of R$248.60, zero tax (the base, after the simplified discount, falls in the exempt bracket), net of R$2,751.40.
• R$5,000: INSS of R$501.51, zero tax (the table would give R$312.89 and the reduction covers it), net of R$4,498.49.
• R$6,000: INSS of R$641.51, tax of R$385.10 (the table gives R$564.85 and the reduction takes off R$179.75), net of R$4,973.39.
• R$10,000: INSS of R$988.09, tax of R$1,569.55 (no reduction), net of R$7,442.36.

How to check your payslip

1. See whether the gross salary and the days worked match the contract.
2. Find the INSS and check it against the bracket table: it should be between 7.5% and 14% of the gross, and never go over R$988.09.
3. Find the income tax withheld at source: with taxable income of up to R$5,000 it should be zero.
4. Add up the other deductions, such as the transport voucher (at most 6% of base salary) and the health plan, and compare the payslip’s net with what reached your account.

When to ask for help

The payslip may include overtime, extras, absences and other things the calculation does not know, so the result is an estimate. If the net is very different from what you expected, or if the INSS or the tax cannot be explained by the tables, ask HR or the company’s personnel department. If the answer does not settle it, your category’s union or an accountant can check.

Monthly salary must be paid by the fifth working day of the following month (CLT, art. 459, § 1), against a receipt; the deposit slip for an account opened in your name has the force of a receipt (art. 464).