Question 1

How do I calculate a salary raise in percent?

Accepted Answer

Multiply the salary by 1 plus the percentage divided by 100. For R$ 3,000 with 5%: 3,000 x 1.05 = R$ 3,150, a difference of R$ 150 per month. For a cut, use a negative percentage: R$ 5,000 with -10% gives R$ 4,500.

Question 2

How do I find out what raise percentage I got?

Accepted Answer

Divide the new salary by the old one and subtract 1. From R$ 2,500 to R$ 3,000: 3,000 / 2,500 = 1.20, so 20%. To find the earlier salary from the current one and the percentage, divide the current by 1 plus the percentage: R$ 3,000 after 20% came from R$ 2,500.

Question 3

Is 5% plus 3% equal to 8%?

Accepted Answer

No. The second raise applies to the already raised salary: 1.05 x 1.03 = 1.0815, which is 8.15%. The gap is small with low percentages and grows with high ones: three raises of 10% give 33.1%, not 30%. It works the other way too: rising 10% and then falling 10% leaves you 1% below.

Question 4

Did my raise beat inflation? How do I check?

Accepted Answer

Compare your percentage with the inflation accumulated since your last raise, not with a sum of months. The real gain is (1 + raise) / (1 + inflation) - 1. In the Beat inflation? tab, enter the month of your last raise and the end month: the calculator compounds IPCA or INPC month by month, shows the table for checking and tells you how much was left over or missing in reais.

Question 5

Should I use IPCA or INPC?

Accepted Answer

IPCA is the country's official inflation index and covers households earning 1 to 40 minimum wages. INPC covers households earning 1 to 5 minimum wages with a wage-earning head and is the one most often used against pay raises. When the two diverge the tool shows the other as a reference. Neither measures your personal inflation.

Question 6

How much of a raise should I ask for to keep my purchasing power?

Accepted Answer

At least the inflation accumulated since your last raise. If it was 4.6%, asking for 4.6% only restores purchasing power. To gain 2% in real terms, compound: 1.046 x 1.02 = 1.0669, about 6.7%. The How much to ask tab does the math and shows the matching salary. It is a negotiating argument, with no guarantee the employer will agree.

Question 7

Does a raise change the 13th-month pay and vacation?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The 13th-month pay is based on the December pay, so a raise during the year changes the whole 13th. Vacation with the 1/3 bonus uses the salary at the time it is taken: if it comes after the raise, the bonus rises too. That is why the yearly effect of a raise is up to 13.33 times the monthly difference (12 salaries, the 13th and the 1/3 vacation bonus).

Question 8

What are dissídio and data-base?

Accepted Answer

The data-base is the month when a sector renegotiates pay and conditions each year, by collective agreement with the union; a collective dissídio is the labor-court case when talks fail. Brazilian Law 10.192/2001 provides for free negotiation at the data-base and forbids automatic raise clauses tied to a price index. So your sector percentage comes from that year's agreement, and this tool does not predict it: enter what was agreed.

Question 9

Why is the net raise smaller than the gross raise?

Accepted Answer

Because INSS and income tax withholding also grow with salary. INSS is progressive up to a ceiling, and withholding starts or rises as pay goes up: in the gradual reduction band, between R$ 5,000 and R$ 7,350 under the rules used here, the deduction climbs fast. The Gross vs net tab shows how much of each R$ 100 of raise reaches your pocket.

Question 10

Where does the inflation data come from, and why does it not reach the current month?

Accepted Answer

It comes from the IBGE monthly IPCA and INPC series, fetched through the central bank public API and refreshed with each site release. A month index is only released the following month, and the tool shows the last month with data. If your period goes past it, the calculation is cut at the last released month and the result is marked partial: nothing is estimated.

Unit	Before	After
Per hour	R$13.64	R$14.32
Per day (month / 30)	R$100.00	R$105.00
Per month	R$3,000.00	R$3,150.00
Per year (12 salaries)	R$36,000.00	R$37,800.00
Per year with 13th and vacation	R$40,000.00	R$42,000.00

Unit	Before	After
Per hour	R$13.64	R$14.32
Per day (month / 30)	R$100.00	R$105.00
Per month	R$3,000.00	R$3,150.00
Per year (12 salaries)	R$36,000.00	R$37,800.00
Per year with 13th and vacation	R$40,000.00	R$42,000.00

Salary Raise Calculator