Social Security Contribution Table: INSS Rates for 2026

This page is a translation of the original Portuguese text, provided for convenience. It deals with Brazilian law. If there is any discrepancy, the Portuguese version prevails. Read the original in Portuguese

The 2026 social security contribution table sets progressive rates on workers’ pay, ranging from 7.5% to 14% depending on the salary bracket, following the increase of the minimum wage to R$ 1.621,00.

How the INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute) Contribution Table Works

Social security contributions for employees, domestic workers, and casual (avulso) workers follow a progressive table established by Constitutional Amendment 103/2019 and updated every year by ordinance of the Ministry of Social Security. The rates apply to each salary bracket in tiers, much like Brazil’s income tax.

The progressive table means each salary bracket is charged a different rate; no one pays the top rate on their entire salary.

This means a worker with a higher salary does not pay the top rate on all of their pay. The charge is applied bracket by bracket: the first portion of the salary is charged the lowest rate, the second portion is charged the intermediate rate, and only the amount that exceeds the earlier brackets is charged the highest rate.

The employer is responsible for collection. It withholds the contribution from your salary and sends it to the INSS through the Social Security Payment Slip (GPS) or through eSocial (Brazil’s electronic payroll reporting system). Self-employed contributors and optional contributors pay directly, using a GPS issued on the INSS portal or through the Meu INSS app.

2026 INSS Contribution Table

The following table shows the brackets and rates that apply to employees, domestic workers, and casual workers in 2026:

The ceiling on the contribution salary base (salário de contribuição) in 2026 is R$ 8.475,55. Pay above that amount does not generate additional social security contributions, but it also does not raise the benefit calculation base (salário de benefício) of your retirement beyond the ceiling.

Rates for Self-Employed and Optional Contributors

Self-employed workers, service providers, and independent professionals classified as individual contributors pay a rate of 20% on the declared amount, up to the contribution salary ceiling. There is, however, a reduced rate of 11% for those who do not plan to retire based on contribution time and are willing to retire by age only.

The Individual Microentrepreneur (MEI) pays an even lower rate: 5% of the minimum wage (R$ 81,05 in 2026). This covers only retirement by age and disability retirement, not retirement based on contribution time. To qualify for retirement based on contribution time, the MEI must top up the rate to 20% by paying the 15% difference.

The optional contributor, who does not carry out paid work, may contribute 20% (the full rate) or 11% (the reduced rate, with no right to retirement based on contribution time) on any amount between the minimum wage and the ceiling. A low-income homemaker may choose a 5% rate on the minimum wage, with the same rights as the MEI.

How Your Contributions Affect Your Retirement Benefit

Your retirement benefit is calculated from the average of the highest contribution salaries, covering 80% of your contribution period since July 1994. The higher your contribution salaries over your career, the higher your benefit, up to the INSS ceiling.

If you earn above the INSS ceiling, supplementary private pension plans can be an important tool for maintaining your standard of living in retirement. If you earn close to the minimum wage, the priority is to regularize your contributions and make use of every contribution period.

For detailed planning on how your contribution history affects your retirement, see our article on how to correct employment records in the CNIS (National Registry of Social Information), since registry errors can artificially reduce your benefit calculation base.

Late Contributions and Social Security Regularization

If you stopped contributing during certain periods, you may regularize your situation by paying the contributions late. For self-employed and optional contributors, retroactive payment is possible as long as you can prove you carried out paid work during the relevant period. The late amount includes interest and a penalty, and it must be calculated through a specific request to the INSS, which will issue the payment slip with the updated amounts.

Paying late contributions can be especially valuable if you are close to reaching the contribution time required for retirement. A gap of just a few months without contributions can be the difference between retiring under the current rules and having to wait longer. When weighing the costs and benefits of retroactive payment, consider the amount of the late contributions, the accrued interest, and the effect on your average salary calculation.

If you are an employee whose employer failed to pay the contributions due, the employer is fully responsible for the payment, and you cannot be harmed by the employer’s default. In these cases, the INSS must count the period as contribution time once the employment relationship is proven, regardless of whether the company actually paid the contributions. The entry in your work booklet (carteira de trabalho) is sufficient proof of employment for this purpose.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate how much INSS I pay each month?

You apply the 7.5% rate to the portion of your salary up to R$ 1.621,00; 9% to the difference up to R$ 2.902,84; 12% to the difference up to R$ 4.354,27; and 14% to the remainder up to R$ 8.475,55. Add up the amounts from each bracket to get the total deduction. The Meu INSS simulator also does this calculation automatically.

Is the employer’s INSS contribution different from the employee’s?

Yes. The employer pays a separate employer contribution, usually 20% of the payroll for companies under the standard regime. It may differ for companies under the Simples Nacional (Brazil’s simplified tax regime for small businesses) and for sectors with substitute taxation. This employer contribution is not deducted from the employee’s salary; it is an additional cost to the company.

Does contributing at the INSS ceiling guarantee a retirement benefit at the maximum amount?

Contributing at the ceiling throughout your career maximizes your benefit calculation base, but it does not necessarily guarantee a retirement benefit equal to the full ceiling. The benefit is calculated from the average of the highest salaries over 80% of your contribution period, with a percentage applied based on your contribution time. To receive the ceiling as your benefit, you need a sufficiently high average contribution salary and enough contribution time to produce a percentage close to 100%.

As informações deste artigo são de caráter informativo e não substituem consulta jurídica individualizada. Cada caso possui particularidades que exigem análise específica.