What it is
The CLT vs PJ Calculator compares a formal Brazilian employment offer with a contractor offer, and tells you what the contractor rate would have to be for the two to actually match.
It exists because the two numbers are never comparable as quoted. A CLT salary of R$ 8,000 and a PJ rate of R$ 8,000 are not the same job with a different label: one carries a pile of paid-for benefits and the other does not.
What CLT includes that PJ does not
The gap people forget is made of specific, countable items:
- 13th salary, an extra month every year.
- Holiday pay plus one third, on top of the month itself.
- FGTS, 8% deposited monthly by the employer, plus a 40% penalty if you are dismissed without cause.
- Unemployment insurance and the safety net around dismissal.
- Paid leave, sickness and parental.
As a contractor you also pay costs the employer used to cover: your own social security contribution, an accountant, and the tax on the company itself.
How to use it
- Enter the CLT salary being offered.
- Enter the PJ rate you are considering.
- Read the comparison, which shows the equivalent figure once the benefits and the extra costs are on the same side of the table.
Reading the result honestly
A higher take-home as PJ is not automatically better. The CLT column includes protections that only show up on the day something goes wrong: dismissal, illness, a pregnancy. The PJ column asks you to fund those yourself, and to keep discipline about it.
This is a simulation, not tax advice. Rates, deductions and the right company structure depend on your case, and an accountant will get closer than any calculator.
Related: the net salary calculator and the MEI simulator.