🇧🇷 Hire in Brazil: cost, rules and best EOR options
Large pool of software engineers, designers and customer-support staff, with strong English among senior tech talent. Time zone is 1-5 hours ahead of US Eastern (UTC-3 for most of the country), making it a popular nearshore choice for US teams.
- Employer on-costs: 47–70% of gross salary (on a $60,000 salary, about $88,200–$102,000 total)
- EOR onboarding: 5-10 business days (Deel claim); own entity: About 4-6 months for CNPJ registration (Deel claim), plus ramp-up for payroll/eSocial
- Probation: Experience contract (contrato de experiencia) up to 90 days total (one extension allowed within that cap).
- Currency: Brazilian real (BRL)
- Data confidence: medium, verified 2026-10-05
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What it costs to employ someone in Brazil
Employer on-costs run roughly 47–70% on top of gross salary. Recomputed 5 Oct 2026 as % of base salary over a year of 12 months' pay. Annual pay = 12 months + 13th salary (1 month) + 1/3 vacation bonus (0.33 month) = 13.33/12 = 1.111 x base. Charges on that pay: INSS employer 20% (PwC: 20% or 22.5% by sector) + RAT 1-3% (assume 2%) + third-party/Sistema S up to 5.8% (industry/commerce; some service FPAS codes lower, about 2.7-3.3%, unverified) + FGTS 8%. Upper case: 20 + 2 + 5.8 + 8 = 35.8% -> 1.111 x 1.358 = 1.509 = about 51% over base. Lower case (services, RAT 2%, third-party 2.7%): 20 + 2 + 2.7 + 8 = 32.7% -> 1.111 x 1.327 = 1.474 = about 47%. High end of 70% adds FGTS 40% dismissal-fine provision (8% x 1.111 x 0.4 = 3.6%), employer vale-transporte/meal vouchers and health plans commonly set by collective agreements (roughly 10-15%). Earlier note double-counted the 13th salary and vacation (8.33% + 11.1%) and gave 62% for what is about 51% under its own assumptions. Provider quotes of 70-100% include benefits and provisions. Simples Nacional entities pay differently.
| Contribution | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| INSS (employer social security) | 20% of payroll (22.5% for some sectors such as financial institutions) | Employer contribution on total remuneration with no ceiling. PwC: 'flat rate of 20% or 22.5%, depending on the industry's sector'. |
| RAT / SAT (work accident insurance) | 1%-3% (often 2% for tech) | Set by activity risk grade; adjusted by FAP multiplier. |
| Sistema S / third-party levies (Salario-Educacao, SENAI/SESI/SENAC/SESC, SEBRAE, INCRA) | up to ~5.8% in total (varies by sector) | Exact total depends on FPAS code / sector. |
| FGTS (severance guarantee fund) | 8% of gross monthly pay | Deposited into employee's account monthly, including on 13th salary and vacation pay; 40% fine on balance if dismissed without cause. |
Employer withholds the employee's INSS share (progressive 7.5%-14% up to the INSS ceiling) and income tax (IRRF) from salary and remits both; employee also contributes through vale-transporte deduction (up to 6% of base) if used.
Mandatory benefits
- 13th salary (paid in two instalments, by 30 Nov and 20 Dec)
- Vacation pay plus 1/3 constitutional bonus
- FGTS deposits (8%)
- Vale-transporte (commuting allowance) for employees who commute
- Maternity leave 120 days (180 if Empresa Cidada); paternity leave 5 days in 2026 (Law 15.371 of 31 Mar 2026 raises it to 10 days from 2027, 15 from 2028 and 20 from 2029 with a paid 'salario-paternidade', per secondary sources)
- Meal vouchers, health plans, etc. are usually required by collective bargaining agreements (CCT) rather than statute
Employment rules at a glance
| Payroll | monthly (salary due by the 5th business day of the following month); 13th salary paid in two instalments |
|---|---|
| Probation | Experience contract (contrato de experiencia) up to 90 days total (one extension allowed within that cap). |
| Notice & severance | Dismissal without cause: notice (aviso previo) of 30 days plus 3 days per completed year of service beyond the first, capped at 90 days (Law 12.506/2011) (worked or paid in lieu); FGTS balance released plus 40% fine paid by employer; proportional 13th salary and vacation pay. Resignation: employee gives 30 days' notice. Mutual agreement termination: 20% FGTS fine and 80% FGTS withdrawal. |
| Working time | 8 hours/day, 44 hours/week. Overtime at least +50% (collective agreements often higher); 100% on rest days/holidays. Time-bank (banco de horas) permitted by agreement. Remote workers may be excluded from hour control only in defined cases. |
| Paid leave | 30 calendar days of paid vacation after each 12-month accrual period (may be split into up to 3 periods), paid with an extra 1/3. About 9-12 national/state/municipal public holidays depending on location. |
| Minimum wage | R$1,621 per month from 1 January 2026 (Decree 12.797/2025, published in the Diario Oficial on 24 Dec 2025 per news reports; PwC's 2026 INSS table also tops its first bracket at R$1,621). Some states and unions set higher floors. |
Termination
Just-cause dismissal (art. 482 CLT) forfeits notice and the fine but is closely scrutinised by labour courts and often reversed if poorly documented. Pregnant employees, workers on work-accident leave and CIPA representatives have job stability. Collective agreements may add protections. Labour litigation is common and employer-unfavourable; document everything.
Employee or contractor in Brazil?
High risk. Courts apply the CLT employment test (personal service, subordination, habitual service, pay). Misclassified 'PJ' contractors can claim retroactive INSS, FGTS, 13th salary, vacation and overtime, plus the 40% FGTS fine. The Supreme Court (STF) has been reviewing the legality of 'pejotizacao'; status of that ruling should be checked with local counsel.
Compare contractor vs employee cost →
Hiring through an EOR in Brazil
A foreign company cannot directly employ staff in Brazil without a local entity (Ltda/CNPJ registration, eSocial, bank account). EOR is commonly used to avoid the multi-month entity setup and to handle eSocial, FGTS, INSS and Sistema S filings. Deel states most EOR hires complete in 5-10 business days; own-entity setup is cited as roughly 4-6 months for CNPJ registration.
Typical onboarding: EOR 5-10 business days (Deel claim); own entity About 4-6 months for CNPJ registration (Deel claim), plus ramp-up for payroll/eSocial. Brasilia time is UTC-3 year-round (DST abolished 2019); 1 hour ahead of US Eastern in winter, 2 in summer; Manaus/Acre zones are UTC-4/-5.
Providers worth shortlisting
| Provider | Best for | EOR pricing | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deel | Companies that want one platform for contractors, EOR and a US PEO, with transparent per-seat list prices. | $599 per EOR employee per month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05) | 150+ countries (vendor claim, per Deel's own and third-party descriptions) | Visit Deel |
| Remote | Teams that want a published price for each product (EOR, global payroll, contractors, contractor of record, US PEO) and an affiliate program with 12-month revenue share. | $699 per employee/month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05) | 90+ countries for EOR (vendor pricing page claim) | Visit Remote |
| Rippling | Companies already running (or willing to adopt) a unified HR, IT and finance platform who want global hiring as an add-on module. | — | Visit Rippling | |
| Oyster | Distributed teams that want published EOR and contractor prices and a long-running affiliate program with tiered revenue share. | $699 per employee/month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05); annual discounts available; refundable deposit required | 120+ countries EOR; contractors in 180+ countries (vendor claim) | Visit Oyster |
| Papaya Global | Mid-size and larger companies that need multi-country payroll orchestration and workforce payments, and will go through a sales process. | 160+ countries (vendor claim as repeated on FlexOffers listing and third-party pages) | Visit Papaya Global | |
| Multiplier | Cost-conscious teams that want EOR priced below $500 per employee with an annual discount. | Third-party summary of Multiplier's pricing: EOR from $459/employee/month on annual contracts and $499 on monthly contracts (not confirmed; multiplier pricing page returned 403 to our fetch) | — | Visit Multiplier |
| Remofirst | Small teams that want the lowest published EOR starting price and a free contractor tier. | Starting at $199 per person/month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05); 'no hidden fees, setup fees, or minimum contract terms' per vendor page | 185+ countries for EOR (vendor claim) | Visit Remofirst |
| Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) | Companies that want an EOR with a tiered reseller/partner program and are comfortable with a recently rebranded vendor. | Third-party reports a flat $399 per employee/month (not confirmed on vendor page; hellopebl.com/pricing returned 404) | 185+ countries (third-party report) | Visit Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) |
Paying and covering your team in Brazil
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FAQ
Do I need a local entity to hire in Brazil?
To employ staff directly, yes: you need a registered Brazilian company (CNPJ). An employer of record lets you hire without your own entity.
What is the total cost of an employee in Brazil?
Roughly 62%-100% on top of base salary once 13th salary, vacation bonus, FGTS, INSS and sector levies are annualised, with the upper end including voluntary and collective-agreement benefits.
How much notice must be given for dismissal?
30 days plus 3 days per full year of service, up to 90 days, plus a 40% fine on the FGTS balance for dismissal without cause.
Can I hire Brazilians as contractors instead?
Possible for genuinely independent PJ providers, but misclassification risk is high and the consequences include back-pay of social charges and benefits.