Brazil

Social insurance: 8.5% - 12.5%

Pension 8%

Work accident insurance: 1%-3%

Social security: 7.5% - 14%

Income tax:

HQ country employment & payroll

Independent contractor agreements

Direct local employer setup

Partnering with an Employer of Record Brazil /full-service Professional Employer Organization

Setting up a local company in Brazil is very complicated. It gets even more complicated when you add all the monthly activities such as running and managing payroll for employees, filing taxes, extending and managing employee benefits, and following changes in local labour law rules and regulations. Here is an overview of everything you will find yourself needing to do.

As with every other country, there are certain costs associated with employing a worker in Brazil that come on top of the gross salary you are offering. A Brazilian employer must contribute to social insurance, pension, and work accident insurance, as well as a 13th-month salary, holiday bonus and FGTS penalties. To view the exact percentages and amounts given the salary you are planning to offer, you can use our handy calculator tool.

• informing you about any pre-employment requirements
• ensuring their employment is compliant with Brazilian employment law
• informing you about the length of the maternity leave, paternity leave, public holidays, illness benefits, medical benefits
• providing a locally compliant employment contract
• processing local payroll
• filing employment-related tax returns
• issuing payslips to the employee
• distributing salary payments
• payments to the local tax authorities

• sourcing and recruiting their own workers
• managing the employee’s day-to-day work load
• contributing to the personal / professional development of the employee through their work
• following any guidance we give on employment and HR best practices or legal obligations in Brazil, such as the employment contract, public holidays, annual leave, sick leave, maternity and paternity benefits, probationary periods, overtime pay, statutory redundancy payments, liability insurance and many others
• ensuring that payroll bills relating to their team are paid to Boundless before the cut-off point in each pay cycle

We carefully choose employment lawyers or advisories to partner with in each country we operate in, including Brazil. They ensure the Brazil employment contracts, and any other relevant documents required for new employees comply with the local jurisdiction. We thoroughly discuss specific local laws and key employment aspects such as payroll services, social protection, data protection, notice period, work-from-home employment regulations and clarify how collective bargaining agreements affect them. Whenever a potentially sensitive issue arises in Brazil, our internal team contacts the relevant firm to ensure all steps are taken to resolve it promptly.

In Brazil, both employers and employees have to pay taxes. For employers, these include social insurance, pension, and work accident insurance, as well as a 13th-month salary, holiday bonus and FGTS penalties. Employees pay social security tax as well as income tax. To get a clear overview of both employee and employer taxes, use our salary breakdown calculator, submitting any additional data needed and get a downloadable pdf like this one.