Brazil’s 13th-Salary Payouts Move Up to Nov. 28 and Dec. 19 Because Legal Deadlines Fall on a Weekend

The first installment arrives larger because it is paid on a gross basis with taxes withheld only from the second.

Overview

Employers must deposit the first installment by Friday, November 28, and the second by Friday, December 19, due to the statutory cutoffs of November 30 and December 20 landing on a Sunday and a Saturday.
Eligibility covers workers hired under the CLT as well as INSS retirees and pensioners, apprentices, rural employees, and union-mediated casual workers, while contractors (PJs) and most interns are not covered.
The gross 13th salary is calculated as monthly base pay divided by 12 times the number of months worked, with 15 or more days counting as a full month and recurring overtime incorporated into the average.
Mandatory withholdings include INSS contributions of roughly 7.5% to 14% and income tax in brackets from 7.5% to 27.5%, which are applied when the second installment is paid.
In 2025 the federal government advanced the 13th for INSS beneficiaries, with the first tranche paid between April 24 and May 8 and the second between May 26 and June 6.