Who is entitled, how proportionality works, the deadlines for both installments, and how a 13th salary shows up in the other countries a company hires in.
Who is entitled to the 13th
Every registered employee is entitled to the 13th salary: urban and rural workers, domestic employees, casual workers, and INSS retirees and pensioners. Working at least 15 days under contract in the year is enough to earn 1/12 of the benefit.
Interns and contractors (PJ) do not receive a 13th, since there is no employment relationship. Employees dismissed without cause during the year receive the proportional amount in severance — only a dismissal for cause forfeits the year’s twelfths.
The 15-day rule
The 13th equals 1/12 of December’s compensation per month worked in the year. A fraction of 15 or more days worked counts as a full month; below that, the month earns no twelfth.
An employee hired on August 10, for example, ends the year with 5/12: August counts because they worked more than 15 days, and September through December complete the remaining twelfths. Averages of habitual overtime, commissions and premiums also enter the calculation base.
Legal deadlines for the two installments
The first installment must be paid between February 1 and November 30 and equals half of the previous month’s salary. Employees who took vacation during the period may have received the advance along with it, if requested.
The second installment is due by December 20 and settles the account: the full 13th is calculated on December’s compensation, minus what was advanced. Paying outside these deadlines exposes the company to an administrative fine per affected employee.
Withholdings: where INSS and IRRF come in
The first installment is paid with no withholdings at all — it is a pure advance. All taxation concentrates on the second installment: INSS applies to the total 13th amount, and IRRF is assessed separately from the month’s payroll, under its own exclusive-taxation table.
The 8% FGTS applies to both installments, collected with each payment’s reference period. Getting this distribution wrong is one of the most common year-end mistakes.
Beyond Brazil: aguinaldo, SAC and prima
The 13th is not exclusively Brazilian. In Mexico, the aguinaldo is mandatory and must be paid by December 20, with a minimum of 15 days of salary. In Argentina, the SAC (sueldo anual complementario) is paid in two halves, in June and December, calculated on the semester’s highest compensation.
In Colombia, the prima de servicios equals one salary per year, split into two installments: June and December. For companies operating in more than one country, each rule has its own base, deadline and proportionality — and Avos automatically applies each jurisdiction’s rule, with no manual setup.
Close the year without surprises
With Avos, both 13th installments are calculated with the correct twelfths, averages and withholdings, and the local equivalents — aguinaldo, SAC, prima — follow each supported country’s rules. You track the deadlines on the platform’s calendar and approve everything in a few clicks.