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Brazil Payroll Compliance Calendar 2026: Every Deadline in One Page

Updated August 19, 2026 · 2026 figures — Brazil revises payroll tables every January

Brazilian payroll runs on a fixed monthly drumbeat — salary by the 5th business day, eSocial by the 15th, FGTS and federal taxes by the 20th, the DCTFWeb return by the last business day — punctuated by event deadlines as tight as the day before a new hire starts, plus a year-end cluster around the 13th salary. This page lays out all of it for 2026, including the exact dates where a weekend or holiday moves a deadline.

An .ics version of this calendar is available — download it once and the recurring deadlines (plus the 2026 weekend adjustments) land in Outlook or Google Calendar.

Key numbers (2026)

  • 5th business day — the deadline to pay monthly salaries; Saturday counts as a business day. (CLT art. 459, §1º; IN SRT 01/1989)
  • 15 → 20 → last business day — the monthly rhythm: eSocial closing, then FGTS deposit and DARF payment, then the DCTFWeb return. (eSocial MOS S-1.3; Lei 8.036/1990; Lei 11.933/2009; IN RFB 2.248/2025)
  • The day before start — the deadline to report a new hire to eSocial (event S-2200). (eSocial MOS S-1.3)
  • 10 calendar days — to pay severance, deposit rescissory FGTS, and report a termination. (CLT art. 477, §6º; Lei 8.036/1990 arts. 17–18)
  • R$ 1,621.00 — the national minimum wage from January 1, 2026, up 6.79% from 2025. (Decreto 12.797/2025)
  • December 18, 2026 — the effective date for the 13th-salary second installment, the eSocial annual closing, and the DCTFWeb Anual, because December 20 falls on a Sunday. (Lei 4.749/1965; TST; CRCSP)

Maintenance note: Brazil re-publishes its payroll parameters every January — minimum-wage decree in late December, contribution tables in mid-January, retroactive to the January competência (the reference month an obligation refers to). This page is updated every January to match; the figures below are the 2026 values.

The monthly cycle: four beats, every month

Direct answer: every competência triggers the same sequence in the following month — pay salaries by the 5th business day, close eSocial by day 15, pay the FGTS deposit and the federal DARF by day 20, and file the DCTFWeb declaration by the last business day.

When (following month) Obligation Details Weekend/holiday rule Legal basis
5th business day Salary payment Prior month's wages Saturday counts as a business day; only Sundays and holidays are skipped CLT art. 459, §1º; IN SRT 01/1989
(no fixed date) Mid-month advance (adiantamento quinzenal, the "vale") Customary ~40% around day 15–20 Mandatory only via collective agreement (CCT/ACT) or established practice, which then cannot be withdrawn CLT arts. 459 and 468
Day 15 eSocial monthly closing Pay-slip events (S-1200) + closing (S-1299) Postponed to the next business day eSocial MOS S-1.3
Day 20 FGTS deposit Via FGTS Digital (mandatory since March 2024); payable until 21:59:59 Brasília time Anticipated to the preceding business day Lei 8.036/1990 art. 15; Lei 14.438/2022
Day 20 DARF payment (INSS + IRRF) Social-security contributions plus payroll income-tax withholding, in the single DARF generated by DCTFWeb Anticipated when there is no banking service on day 20 Lei 11.933/2009; Lei 11.196/2005 art. 70
Last business day DCTFWeb declaration The return that declares those contributions IN RFB 2.237/2024, art. 6º, as amended by IN RFB 2.248/2025

Three rules that keep foreign controllers out of trouble:

Out of scope: ISS withheld from service providers and IRRF on third-party services follow the fiscal (accounts-payable) agenda, not this calendar. For how the eSocial closing feeds the DARF and the FGTS slip, see eSocial explained in English and the FGTS guide.

Event-driven deadlines: the clock starts when something happens

Direct answer: hires, terminations, accidents, and leaves each start their own countdown. The tightest is hiring — reported by the eve of day one — and the most expensive to miss is termination, fined at one full monthly salary.

Trigger What is due Deadline Legal basis
New hire eSocial admission event (S-2200) No later than the day before work starts eSocial MOS S-1.3
Termination Severance amounts (verbas rescisórias) + termination documents Within 10 calendar days of contract end; missing it costs one monthly salary to the employee, plus an administrative fine CLT art. 477, §§6º and 8º
Termination Rescissory FGTS via the GFD slip (termination-month deposit, indemnified prior-notice deposit, 40% fine) By the 10th calendar day from the day after termination; for terminations on days 1–9, FGTS Digital re-dates the prior month's deposit to fit this window Lei 8.036/1990 arts. 17–18
Termination eSocial termination event (S-2299) Within 10 calendar days, and never after that worker's S-1200 for the competência; succession by day 7, transfer/CPF change by day 15 of the following month eSocial MOS (per Contmatic)
Work accident CAT communication (eSocial S-2210) By the first business day after the accident; immediately in case of death Lei 8.213/1991, art. 22
Leave > 15 days (accident/illness) eSocial leave event (S-2230) By the 16th day of the leave eSocial MOS (per Senior)
Leave ≤ 15 days (accident/illness) eSocial leave event (S-2230) By day 15 of the following month, with the monthly batch — the general rule for other leave types too eSocial MOS (per Senior)

A termination is a sprint with three finish lines inside the same 10 days: the money, the FGTS, and the eSocial event. Model the cost with the severance calculator; field detail is in the eSocial events catalog.

The 2026 annual calendar, month by month

Direct answer: beyond the monthly loop, 2026 has a fixed annual skeleton — new tables in January, pay-transparency cycles in March–April and August–September, the 13th salary on November 30 and December 18 — plus category-specific wage adjustments spread across the year.

Month Date (2026) Obligation
January Jan 1 Minimum wage R$ 1,621.00/month in force (daily R$ 54.04; hourly R$ 7.37) — Decreto 12.797/2025, published Dec 23, 2025
January Jan 1 New income-tax rule (Lei 15.270/2025): zero IRRF up to R$ 5,000.00/month via a full rebate; decreasing partial rebate up to R$ 7,350.00
January Jan 12 (DOU) Portaria MPS/MF 13/2026: INSS employee table (7.5% / 9% / 12% / 14%, ceiling R$ 8,475.55) and salário-família (family allowance) of R$ 67.54 per child for wages up to R$ 1,980.38 — retroactive to January, collected in February
February Feb 1 Window opens for the 13th-salary first installment (Feb 1 – Nov 30)
February Mon Feb 16 eSocial closing for the January competência — postponed (Feb 15 is a Sunday)
February Last business day Informe de Rendimentos (annual earnings statement) delivered to each worker
February Feb 28 Salary Transparency Report, 1st-semester cycle: employers with 100+ employees validate data on the Emprega Brasil portal
March Mon Mar 16 eSocial closing for the February competência — postponed (Mar 15 is a Sunday)
March Mar 20 5th Salary Transparency Report available for employer download
March March payroll Union contribution (contribuição sindical, one day's pay) withheld only with the employee's prior, express, written individual authorization — optional since Lei 13.467/2017, upheld by the STF (ADI 5794)
April Apr 6 Deadline to publish the 5th Transparency Report (extended by the MTE from Mar 31)
April April Authorized union contributions remitted to the unions (CLT art. 583)
February–June Per category Dissídio season: most collective adjustments are negotiated now, each effective on its category's data-base (annual adjustment month) — no single national date
June Fri Jun 19 FGTS + DARF for the May competência — anticipated (Jun 20 is a Saturday)
August Aug 31 Transparency Report, 2nd-semester cycle: employer data-update window closes (opened early August)
September September 6th Transparency Report published (recurring cadence: March and September)
September Fri Sep 18 FGTS + DARF for the August competência — anticipated (Sep 20 is a Sunday)
November Mon Nov 16 eSocial closing for the October competência — postponed (Nov 15 is a Sunday)
November Thu Nov 19 FGTS + DARF for the October competência — anticipated (Nov 20, the Zumbi/Black Consciousness national holiday under Lei 14.759/2023, is a Friday)
November Mon Nov 30 13th-salary first installment (50%) — a business day in 2026, no shift
December Fri Dec 18 13th-salary second installment; eSocial annual closing (13th payroll); DCTFWeb Anual + DARF for competência 13 — all anticipated (Dec 20 is a Sunday)
January 2027 Jan 20 Adjustment differences on the 13th from December variables settle with the December competência

Notes on the two heaviest rows:

Recurring obligations without a calendar date

Direct answer: three obligations recur on clocks of their own — occupational exams keyed to each employee's exam anniversary, the CIPA election keyed to the mandate's end, and wage adjustments keyed to each union's data-base.

Obligation Rule
Periodic occupational exams (ASO) Every 1 year — or less, at the responsible physician's discretion — for employees exposed to occupational risks in the PGR risk program or with chronic conditions; every 2 years for the rest (NR-7, in force since January 2022 — the old age-based rule is gone). Specific agents keep shorter cycles under their own rules (e.g., semiannual blood counts for benzene exposure) — confirm each employee's schedule with your occupational-health provider
CIPA election (accident-prevention committee, NR-5) Convene at least 60 days before the current mandate ends; Electoral Commission at least 55 days before; vote at least 30 days before; new members take office on the first business day after the mandate ends
Collective wage adjustment (dissídio / data-base) Each category's CCT/ACT sets its own data-base month; late agreements apply retroactively, so payroll must track the month per union and reprocess when the CCT lands

Two filings you can cross off: RAIS and DIRF

Direct answer: two legacy annual filings no longer exist as separate deliveries — but each left a residue you still own.

FAQ

When must salaries be paid in Brazil?

By the 5th business day of the month following the worked month (CLT art. 459, §1º), and Saturday counts as a business day — only Sundays and holidays are excluded (IN SRT 01/1989). Paying later requires monetary correction; the TST has even invalidated a collective-bargaining clause that tried to allow it.

What happens when a Brazilian payroll deadline falls on a weekend?

It depends: the monthly eSocial closing (day 15) is postponed to the next business day, while FGTS, the DARF, and the December 13th-salary closings are anticipated to the preceding one. In 2026 that produces four anticipations — June 19 (FGTS/DARF for May), September 18 (FGTS/DARF for August), November 19 (FGTS/DARF for October, because November 20 is a national holiday), and December 18 (everything tied to Dec 20) — plus eSocial closings postponed to February 16, March 16, and November 16.

Is the DCTFWeb due on day 20 or on the last business day?

Both — for different things. The DARF payment generated by DCTFWeb is due day 20 (Lei 11.933/2009, anticipated when day 20 is not a banking day); the declaration may be transmitted until the last business day of the following month (IN RFB 2.237/2024, as amended by IN RFB 2.248/2025, which replaced the older day-25 rule).

When is the 13th salary due in 2026?

The first installment (50%) by Monday, November 30, 2026; the second by December 20 under Lei 4.749/1965 — and since December 20, 2026 is a Sunday, in practice by Friday, December 18, 2026. The same December 18 applies to the INSS on the 13th (competência 13), the eSocial annual closing, and the DCTFWeb Anual.

Do we still file RAIS or DIRF in 2026?

No. RAIS is fulfilled automatically by eSocial data for all employer groups since base-year 2023, and DIRF was extinguished for events from January 1, 2025 onward. The surviving annual duty is the Informe de Rendimentos to each worker by the last business day of February.

Is the mid-month salary advance mandatory?

Not by statute — the CLT sets no deadline for the adiantamento quinzenal (commonly ~40% of salary around day 15–20). It becomes mandatory only via collective agreement or the employer's own established practice, which then cannot be withdrawn (CLT art. 468). What the CLT does forbid is a pay period longer than one month (art. 459, caput).

When do the new payroll tables come out each year?

In two waves, both effective January 1: the minimum-wage decree in late December (for 2026, Decreto 12.797 on December 23, 2025), and the Portaria with the INSS table, benefit ceiling, and salário-família in the first half of January, retroactive to the January competência (for 2026, Portaria MPS/MF 13, published January 12; benefits above the floor rose 3.9%, the 2025 INPC). Expect to run January payroll on parameters published mid-month — this page is refreshed every January accordingly.

Put the calendar on autopilot

Every deadline on this page is a payment file or an eSocial batch that has to leave on time, twelve months a year. Garoa runs payroll, eSocial, and time & attendance for foreign-owned subsidiaries in Brazil, with an English interface — the calendar, receipts, and reconciliations above, without the Portuguese. [Talk to Garoa] about taking over your 2026 calendar, or keep reading with the complete Brazil payroll guide and the employee cost calculator.

Sources

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