Brazil Unemployment Insurance Calculator 2026
Calculate Brazil's seguro-desemprego for 2026: number of installments and the value of each from the official MTE table (floor R$ 1,621, ceiling R$ 2,518.65).
Média = (S1 + S2 + S3) / 3
Parcela: média ≤ 2.222,17 → 0,8 × média · até 3.703,99 → 1.777,74 + 0,5 × (média − 2.222,17) · acima → 2.518,65
Total = parcela (arredondada para cima) × nº de parcelas (3 a 5)
Tabela MTE 2026 (Res. CODEFAT 957/2022) · Lei 7.998/1990 art. 4º
2026 table from the Ministry of Labour (in force since 11 Jan 2026, Resolução CODEFAT 957/2022): floor R$ 1,621.00, ceiling R$ 2,518.65. Installment count per Lei 7.998/1990 art. 4. The amount paid is rounded up to the next whole real (art. 4 § 4). Estimate; the grant depends on the Ministry's review.
How to use the Brazil Unemployment Insurance Calculator 2026
Enter your valueType the number you want to work with into the Brazil Unemployment Insurance Calculator 2026 input field.
Choose your units or optionsSelect the units or options that match your figure. Calculy handles the conversion or formula for you.
Read the resultThe result updates instantly — there is no button to press and no sign-up required.
What is seguro-desemprego?
Seguro-desemprego is Brazil's unemployment insurance: a federal benefit paid for 3 to 5 months to a formally employed worker dismissed without just cause while they look for a new job. It is governed by Lei 7.998/1990 and paid by Caixa from the FAT fund.
This calculator applies the 2026 table from the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MTE), in force since 11 January 2026, and the installment-count rule in art. 4 of the law. It shows the average salary, the table amount, the amount actually paid (rounded as the law requires) and the total benefit.
How the benefit is calculated
- Average salary: add the last three salaries before dismissal and divide by three. A worker who received only two salaries uses the average of the two; with one, that salary.
- Installment value: apply the 2026 band to the average (table below). The result is never below the minimum wage (R$ 1,621.00) nor above the ceiling (R$ 2,518.65).
- Rounding: the amount paid is rounded up to the next whole real (art. 4 § 4). R$ 1,916.66 becomes R$ 1,917.00; the R$ 2,518.65 ceiling becomes R$ 2,519.00.
- Number of installments: depends on the months worked in the 36 months before dismissal and on whether this is the first, second, or a later request.
2026 seguro-desemprego table
Bands readjusted by 3.90% (INPC) under art. 19 of Resolução CODEFAT 957/2022. Valid for dismissals from 11 January 2026.
| Average salary | Installment |
|---|---|
| up to R$ 2,222.17 | 80% of the average |
| from R$ 2,222.18 to R$ 3,703.99 | R$ 1,777.74 + 50% of the amount above R$ 2,222.17 |
| above R$ 3,703.99 | R$ 2,518.65 (ceiling) |
Floor: R$ 1,621.00 (2026 minimum wage). Ceiling: R$ 2,518.65, paid as R$ 2,519.00.
How many installments: the art. 4 rule
| Request | 3 installments | 4 installments | 5 installments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | — | 4 (12–23 months) | 5 (≥ 24 months) |
| 2nd | 3 (9–11 months) | 4 (12–23 months) | 5 (≥ 24 months) |
| 3rd or later | 3 (6–11 months) | 4 (12–23 months) | 5 (≥ 24 months) |
Below the minimum for each request (12, 9 and 6 months respectively) there is no benefit. A fraction of 15 days or more counts as a full month (§ 3).
Worked example: salaries of R$ 3,000, R$ 3,000 and R$ 3,600, 30 months, first request
- Average: (3,000 + 3,000 + 3,600) ÷ 3 = R$ 3,200.00, in the second band.
- Table amount: 1,777.74 + 0.5 × (3,200.00 − 2,222.17) = R$ 2,266.66.
- Amount paid: rounded up to R$ 2,267.00.
- Installments: first request with 30 months (≥ 24) → 5 installments.
- Total benefit: 5 × 2,267.00 = R$ 11,335.00.
Worked example: R$ 2,000 average, 14 months, first request
80% of 2,000 = R$ 1,600.00, below the floor, so the installment is the minimum wage, R$ 1,621.00. With 14 months on a first request that is 4 installments: R$ 6,484.00.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the last three gross salaries. Leave blank any month without a salary.
- Enter the months worked in the last 36 months, counting any fraction of 15 days or more as a full month.
- Pick whether this is the first, second, or third-or-later request.
- Read the average, the table amount, the installment paid, the installment count and the total.
Limitations
- Estimate for an urban or rural employee with a signed work card. Domestic workers, artisanal fishers and rescued workers have their own modalities with different rules and amounts.
- The grant depends on the Ministry's review: a registered contract, no other income or continuous social-security benefit, and a request filed 7 to 120 days after dismissal.
- Variable pay, overtime and premiums enter the average at the amount actually received each month.
- The table is valid until the next annual readjustment; Calculy updates the values when the MTE publishes the new table.
Sources and methodology
- Lei 7.998/1990 (consolidated text, Planalto) — arts. 3, 4 and 5
- Ministry of Labour and Employment — 2026 seguro-desemprego table
- Resolução CODEFAT 957/2022, art. 19 (annual INPC readjustment) — 2026 bands readjusted by 3.90%
FAQs
- How many installments of seguro-desemprego do I get in 2026?
- Lei 7.998/1990 art. 4 ties the count to how many months you worked in the 36 months before dismissal and to which request this is. First request: 4 installments for 12 to 23 months, 5 for 24 or more. Second request: 3 for 9 to 11 months, 4 for 12 to 23, 5 for 24 or more. Third request onward: 3 for 6 to 11 months, 4 for 12 to 23, 5 for 24 or more. A fraction of 15 days or more counts as a full month.
- How is the installment value calculated in 2026?
- Take the average of your last three salaries. If the average is up to R$ 2,222.17, the installment is 80% of it. Between R$ 2,222.18 and R$ 3,703.99 it is R$ 1,777.74 plus 50% of what exceeds R$ 2,222.17. Above R$ 3,703.99 it is the ceiling, R$ 2,518.65. No installment is below the minimum wage of R$ 1,621.00. The table has been in force since 11 January 2026, readjusted by 3.90% (INPC) under Resolução CODEFAT 957/2022.
- What are the floor and ceiling of seguro-desemprego in 2026?
- The floor is one minimum wage, R$ 1,621.00, guaranteed by art. 5 § 2 of Lei 7.998/1990. The ceiling is R$ 2,518.65 from the table, which the law rounds up to R$ 2,519.00 when paid. Anyone whose average salary is R$ 3,703.99 or more receives the ceiling.
- Why does the calculator show R$ 2,519 when the ceiling is R$ 2,518.65?
- Art. 4 § 4 of Lei 7.998/1990 says the amount to be paid is rounded to the next whole real. The calculator shows both numbers: the table amount to the cent and the installment actually paid, rounded up. Most other calculators show only the table value, which is why their totals differ by a few reais.
- I worked fewer than three months. What is my average salary?
- Under the CODEFAT rules the average uses the salaries you actually received: with two salaries it is the average of the two, with one it is that salary. Leave the fields for months you did not receive a salary blank and the calculator averages the rest.
- Who is eligible for seguro-desemprego?
- A worker dismissed without just cause (including indirect termination) who has no other income sufficient for support and is not receiving a continuous INSS benefit other than auxílio-acidente or a survivor's pension. On top of that, the first request needs at least 12 months of employment in the 18 months before dismissal, the second at least 9 in the last 12, and the third onward a salary in each of the last 6 months.
- Can I get it if I resigned or was dismissed for just cause?
- No. The benefit covers involuntary unemployment only. Resignation, dismissal for just cause and termination by mutual agreement (art. 484-A of the CLT) do not qualify. Rescisão indireta, where the employee ends the contract because of the employer's serious fault, does qualify.
- When and how do I request it?
- From the 7th to the 120th day after dismissal, through the Carteira de Trabalho Digital app, the gov.br portal, or a Ministry of Labour service unit, using the requerimento the employer must provide. Installments are paid by Caixa monthly, roughly 30 days apart, into your account or through a Caixa channel.