Brazil's 2027 minimum wage: R$1,741 projection and the payroll impact

On August 31, 2026, Brazil's federal government sent Congress the 2027 annual budget bill (PLOA) with a projected minimum wage of R$1,741.00 from January — R$120 more than the current R$1,621.00, a 7.4% increase. The figure is still an estimate: the official amount will be set by presidential decree at the end of the year, after IBGE, Brazil's statistics agency, releases November inflation data.

This article reflects official projections and the data available on its publication date.

How the amount is calculated

Brazil's minimum wage policy is set by Lei nº 14.663/2023. Each adjustment adds two components:

• Inflation: the change in the INPC, a consumer price index published by IBGE, over the 12 months through November of the previous year.
• Real gain: GDP growth from two years earlier. For 2027, that means 2025 GDP, which grew 2.3%, according to IBGE.

If the result includes cents, the amount is rounded up to the next whole real. Since Lei nº 15.077/2024, there is also a limit: from 2025 to 2030, the real gain cannot be lower than 0.6% or higher than the real growth allowed for federal spending under the fiscal framework, which is capped at 2.5% a year.

For 2027, the Ministry of Finance's projection combines an estimated INPC of 4.93% with a 2.3% real gain. In April, the budget guidelines bill (PLDO) pointed to R$1,717; the increase came from higher inflation forecasts.

What could change by December

The final amount depends on the actual INPC. In the 12 months through August, the index stood at 3.98%, according to IBGE data reported by Agência Brasil, below the 4.93% projected for November. Each 0.5 percentage point of INPC changes the minimum wage by about R$8. Scenarios using the legal formula and a 2.3% real gain:

12-month INPC through November	2027 minimum wage
4.00%	R$1,725
4.50%	R$1,733
4.93% (official projection)	R$1,741
5.30%	R$1,747

Timeline

Date	Milestone
Dec 23, 2025	Decreto nº 12.797 sets the 2026 minimum wage at R$1,621.00
March 2026	IBGE reports 2.3% GDP growth in 2025
April 2026	PLDO 2027 projects R$1,717
Aug 31, 2026	2027 budget bill projects R$1,741
December 2026	IBGE releases November INPC; the decree sets the amount
Jan 1, 2027	New minimum wage takes effect

Payroll impact

The direct effect falls on employees who earn the minimum wage or a wage floor pegged to it, but the adjustment spreads to other payroll items:

• Hourly and daily rates: the decree sets monthly, daily (1/30) and hourly (1/220) amounts; in 2026, R$54.04 and R$7.37. Pay for part-time workers and apprentices, who are guaranteed the hourly minimum wage, must be recalculated.
• Unhealthy-work premium (adicional de insalubridade): under the CLT, Brazil's Consolidated Labor Laws (art. 192), it is 10%, 20% or 40% of the minimum wage, the base that generally applies unless a collective agreement sets a more favorable one. At the highest grade, it would rise from R$648.40 to R$696.40.
• Employee INSS contribution: the first bracket of the social security table tracks the minimum wage (in 2026, up to R$1,621.00, at 7.5%).
• Deductions tied to the minimum wage, such as child support set as a percentage of it, change in January.

Cost example

For an employee earning the minimum wage, the projected increase is R$120 a month. Adding 12 monthly salaries, the 13th-month salary and vacation pay with the one-third bonus (13.33 salaries a year), that is R$1,600.00 more per employee, and the 8% deposit to the FGTS (Brazil's severance fund) adds R$128.00. For a team of 100 people in this range, the additional direct cost reaches R$172,800.00 a year, before the employer's INSS contribution and other charges, which depend on the company's tax regime.

State wage floors and collective agreements

States such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul have their own regional wage floors, authorized by Lei Complementar nº 103/2000 for workers without a floor set by federal law or collective agreement. The same law bars states from using this authority in the second half of years with gubernatorial elections, such as 2026, so new state amounts are likely to come in 2027.

In collective bargaining agreements, watch categories whose floor is close to the minimum wage: if the floor falls below the new amount, the minimum wage applies from January 1, even before the next negotiation.

Benefits tied to the minimum wage

• INSS floor: no social security benefit that replaces wages can be lower than the minimum wage; benefits above the floor follow the INPC.
• BPC (Benefício de Prestação Continuada): the continuous cash benefit for low-income older people and people with disabilities equals one minimum wage.
• Unemployment insurance: no installment can be lower than the minimum wage.
• PIS/Pasep salary bonus (abono salarial): worth up to one minimum wage, in proportion to the months worked in the base year. Since Constitutional Amendment No. 135/2024, the income ceiling for eligibility has been adjusted by the INPC rather than by the minimum wage, until it reaches 1.5 minimum wages, which gradually narrows the income range covered.

Outsourcing contracts with the public sector

In continuous service contracts with dedicated labor, the minimum wage increase is a cost that has to reach the contract price. Under Lei nº 14.133/2021, Brazil's Public Procurement Law (art. 135), these contracts are revised through repactuação, which requires an itemized demonstration of cost changes:

• labor costs are tied to the date of the category's collective agreement, convention or labor court ruling;
• the contractor files the request, with the cost and pricing spreadsheet or the new collective instrument;
• there is a minimum interval of one year, and the revision may be split by category;
• the public body should preferably respond within one month (art. 92, § 6).

Timing matters too: requests to restore the contract's economic and financial balance must be made while the contract is in force and before any extension (art. 131, sole paragraph). Map contracts with wages at the minimum or floors tied to it, and have the spreadsheets ready for the decree. In private contracts, review the adjustment clauses and start the conversation with the client early; attendance and coverage data help, as we show in our article on the client portal in outsourcing.

How to plan the 2027 budget

1. Use R$1,741 as the base case and simulate a lower scenario, since the INPC through August is below the projection.
2. List who earns the minimum wage, the floors and premiums calculated on it, and the related deductions.
3. Project the effect on the 13th salary, vacation, FGTS and payroll charges, month by month.
4. Flag the contracts that will require repactuação or renegotiation, with the base dates of the collective agreements.
5. Update the budget in December, when the decree comes out.

With time tracking, shift schedules and hour banks in TIRVU+, the hours of each team and site are organized so the payroll team can recalculate hourly rates, premiums and each contract's cost spreadsheet.

What employees need to know

• The new minimum wage applies from January 1, 2027, and the first adjusted salary is paid by the fifth business day of February.
• Part of the increase goes to INSS (7.5% in the first bracket) and, for those who use transportation vouchers (vale-transporte), the deduction of up to 6% of salary may also rise: on a R$120 increase, that is R$9.00 more in INSS and up to R$7.20 more for transportation.
• Retirees on the floor, BPC recipients and those who receive the salary bonus or unemployment insurance at the minimum amount will also see their payments adjusted.

What to do now

• Include R$1,741 in the 2027 budget, with an alternative scenario
• Map employees at the minimum wage, apprentices and part-time contracts
• Review premiums and deductions calculated on the minimum wage
• Check state wage floors and collective agreements in each region
• Prepare cost spreadsheets to revise public contracts
• Review adjustment clauses in private contracts
• Plan how to communicate the new amount to teams

FAQ

Is the 2027 minimum wage already set?

No. R$1,741 is the budget bill's projection. The official amount depends on the INPC through November and is set by decree, usually at the end of December.

Can part-time workers earn less than the minimum wage?

They can receive the minimum wage in proportion to the hours contracted when the working day is shorter than 8 hours a day or 44 hours a week, according to Orientação Jurisprudencial 358 of the Superior Labor Court (TST). The hourly rate cannot fall below the minimum.

Does the increase guarantee an automatic revision of public contracts?

No. The contractor must request it and demonstrate the cost change with a spreadsheet or a collective instrument.

Conclusion

Brazil's 2027 minimum wage should be close to R$1,741, but the exact figure will only come out in December. For payroll teams, the way forward is to work with scenarios, map everything tied to the minimum wage, from salaries and premiums to deductions and contracts, and have spreadsheets and communication ready for January.

Want your team's hours, schedules and benefits organized for the 2027 adjustment? Talk to the Tirvu team and see TIRVU+ working in your own operation.

Sources

• Chamber of Deputies: Decreto nº 12.797/2025
• Ministry of Finance: 2027 budget bill (Sep 1, 2026)
• Chamber of Deputies: Lei nº 14.133/2021
• Agência Câmara: 2027 budget projects a R$1,741 minimum wage (Aug 31, 2026)
• Agência Brasil: August INPC at 3.98% over 12 months (Sep 11, 2026)

This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace specialized legal advice.