The décimo terceiro is worth almost exactly one extra month of net pay. On a pleno salary of R$20,500 it nets R$15,054.86, which matches an ordinary month's net to the centavo.
What confuses people is the split. The first instalment, due by 30 November, arrives gross with nothing withheld. All the tax for both instalments then comes out of the second, due by 18 December this year, which is why December looks so much smaller.
Worth, after tax
One month's net
R$15,054.86 at pleno level
First instalment
By 30 November
a Monday; paid gross, no withholding
Second instalment
By 18 December
the 20th is a Sunday; carries all the tax
Split your own 13th into both instalments.
Open the 13th Salary Calculator13º salário 2026 payment dates (datas de pagamento)
First instalment (primeira parcela): by Monday 30 November 2026. Half of the 13º, paid gross. Your employer can pay it any time from February, and you can ask for it with your férias if you request it in January.
Second instalment (segunda parcela): by Friday 18 December 2026. The law sets 20 December, but that is a Sunday this year, so payment has to come forward, not slip to Monday 21. This instalment carries the INSS and IRRF on the whole 13º.
Paying it in one go is allowed only if it lands by the first deadline, 30 November. If you leave the company, the proportional 13º is paid with your rescisão instead.
How to calculate your 13º salário (como calcular)
Divide your monthly salary by 12 and multiply by the months in which you worked at least 15 days. A full year gives one month's salary. Include regular overtime, commissions and night premiums averaged over the year; your employer adds them to the base.
The first instalment is half of that, with nothing deducted. For the second, INSS and IRRF are worked out on the whole 13º as if it were a month of pay on its own, then taken from the second half. Someone on R$3,000 a month who started in July has six twelfths: R$1,500.00 gross and R$1,387.50 received.
| Monthly salary | 1st (Nov) | INSS | IRRF | 2nd (Dec) | Total received |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R$1,621.00salário mínimo | R$810.50 | R$121.57 | R$0.00 | R$688.93 | R$1,499.43 |
| R$3,000.00 | R$1,500.00 | R$248.60 | R$0.00 | R$1,251.40 | R$2,751.40 |
| R$5,000.00 | R$2,500.00 | R$501.51 | R$0.00 | R$1,998.49 | R$4,498.49 |
| R$6,500.00 | R$3,250.00 | R$711.51 | R$569.93 | R$1,968.55 | R$5,218.55 |
| R$10,000.00 | R$5,000.00 | R$988.09 | R$1,569.55 | R$2,442.36 | R$7,442.36 |
PayMetric Labs' own modelled estimate: twelve months worked, no dependants, 2026 INSS and IRRF with the Lei 15.270/2025 reduction. Up to R$5,000 the 13º pays no income tax; between R$5,000 and R$7,350 it pays less than the table rate.
Why separate taxation makes the Brazilian 13th unusually generous
In Mexico the aguinaldo is added to that month's salary before ISR is worked out. In Vietnam the Tết bonus is stacked onto the month it lands. Both get pushed into bands the employee never normally reaches, so the bonus is taxed harder than ordinary pay.
Brazil does the opposite. The 13th is assessed on its own, as a single month of income, with its own INSS calculation and its own pass through the IRRF table. It therefore faces exactly the rates your ordinary salary faces and nothing worse. That is why the net figures below match an ordinary month so precisely.
| Level | 1st (November) | 2nd (December) | Total net | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JuniorR$13,500.00/mo | R$6,750.00 | R$3,229.86 | R$9,979.86 | 26.08% |
| PlenoR$20,500.00/mo | R$10,250.00 | R$4,804.86 | R$15,054.86 | 26.56% |
| SeniorR$28,750.00/mo | R$14,375.00 | R$6,661.11 | R$21,036.11 | 26.83% |
| LeadR$38,750.00/mo | R$19,375.00 | R$8,911.11 | R$28,286.11 | 27.00% |
December will look wrong, and it is not
At pleno level the November instalment is R$10,250 and the December one is R$4,804.86. The gross halves are identical at R$10,250 each. The whole R$5,445.14 of INSS and IRRF on the full 13th is simply taken from the second payment, because nothing was withheld from the first. Budget for a small December rather than a large one.
The fifteen-day rule decides a partial year
You earn one twelfth of a month's salary for every month in which you worked at least fifteen days. That threshold is what settles the edge cases: starting on the 10th of a month earns that twelfth, starting on the 20th does not. Someone who joins in mid-July and stays to the end of the year receives six twelfths, not five and a half.
The same rule applies when you leave. The proportional 13th is part of your rescisão, and it is owed whether you resigned or were dismissed. What changes with the type of termination is the FGTS penalty and the notice treatment, not the 13th.
How these figures were produced
PayMetric Labs' own calculations, computed with the portal's Brazilian 13th salary engine at 2026 INSS and IRRF rates, including the Lei 15.270/2025 redutor. The level table uses our Brazilian software engineer benchmark salaries, assuming twelve months worked and no dependants.
What it means for comparing an offer
Because the 13th is statutory and taxed no worse than ordinary pay, a Brazilian CLT salary should be compared on thirteen months, not twelve. Quoting R$20,500 a month against a European annual figure without that adjustment understates the package by about 8%. Add the holiday bonus and the effective multiplier rises again, which is covered in our férias guide.
It also matters when weighing CLT against PJ. A PJ contract has no 13th salary at all, so a PJ rate has to be roughly 8% higher before it even matches the CLT package on this line alone, let alone on FGTS, holiday and notice.
Compare CLT against PJ properly
The 13th, FGTS, holiday and the one third bonus all disappear on a PJ contract. See what the rate has to be before the swap makes sense.
Read the CLT vs PJ comparisonMonthly briefing
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Frequently asked questions
When is the 13º salário paid in 2026?
The first instalment is due by Monday 30 November 2026. The second is legally due by 20 December, which is a Sunday this year, so employers have to pay it by Friday 18 December; it can't slip to the following Monday. Many employers pay the first instalment earlier, and you can ask for it with your holiday pay if you request it in January.
Do I pay income tax on my 13º in 2026 if I earn up to R$5,000?
No. From 2026, Lei 15.270/2025 removes IRRF on monthly income up to R$5,000 and reduces it up to R$7,350, and Receita Federal confirms the reduction applies to the 13º too. INSS is still deducted. On R$5,000 a month the 13º pays R$501.51 of INSS and no income tax, so you receive R$4,498.49.
How much is the 13th salary worth after tax?
Almost exactly one extra month of net pay. On a pleno salary of R$20,500 a month, the 13th nets R$15,054.86, which is the same as an ordinary month's net pay to the centavo. That is because Brazil taxes the 13th separately, as its own single month of income, rather than stacking it onto December's salary.
Why is the second instalment so much smaller than the first?
Because all the tax for both instalments comes out of it. The first instalment, due by 30 November, is paid gross with nothing withheld. INSS and IRRF are then calculated on the full 13th salary and deducted entirely from the second instalment, due by 20 December (by Friday 18 December in 2026). On R$20,500 that means R$10,250 in November and only R$4,804.86 in December. Nothing has gone wrong.
How does proration work if I did not work the full year?
You earn one twelfth of a month's salary for each month in which you worked at least fifteen days. Join in mid-July and work the rest of the year and you have six twelfths. The fifteen-day rule is what decides a partial month, so a start date on the 10th and one on the 20th give different answers.
Why is the 13th taxed so differently from a Mexican aguinaldo or a Vietnamese Tet bonus?
Because of separate taxation. In Mexico and Vietnam the bonus is added to that month's ordinary pay, which pushes the combined amount into higher bands. Brazil assesses the 13th on its own, so it faces the same rates your ordinary monthly salary faces and nothing more. It is a genuinely better structure for the employee.
Do I pay INSS on the 13th as well as on my salary?
Yes, and it is calculated separately on the 13th, which means the INSS ceiling applies to it independently of your monthly contributions. On higher salaries the ceiling caps the INSS on the 13th just as it caps the monthly amount, so most of the deduction you see is IRRF rather than INSS.
Does the 13th count toward FGTS?
Yes. The employer deposits 8% FGTS on the 13th salary as well as on monthly pay, which is part of why Brazilian employment costs so much more than the headline salary. It is an employer cost, not a deduction from you.
What happens to the 13th if I leave during the year?
You receive the proportional amount as part of your rescisão. How the rest of the termination package is built depends on whether you resigned, were dismissed without cause or by agreement, which changes the FGTS penalty and notice treatment rather than the 13th itself.
Worked figures are PayMetric Labs' own calculations using 2026 INSS and IRRF rates, including the Lei 15.270/2025 redutor, for a CLT employee with no dependants. General information only, not personal tax advice.