What is net salary?

Net salary is the amount the employee actually receives — the gross salary minus all deductions. The mandatory ones in Brazil are INSS (progressive rates from 7.5% to 14%) and IRRF (up to 27.5%, by bracket); the rest depend on the contract: transport vouchers (up to 6% of base salary), health plan co-pay, absences and lateness.

The order of calculation matters: INSS is deducted from gross first; the result (minus dependents and alimony, if any) is the IRRF base. Only then do the other deductions come in. That's why two identical gross salaries can produce different net amounts — dependents, benefits and alimony change the math.

It is the number that matters for the personal budget and the usual source of doubt in job offers: a raise in gross never arrives whole in net, because the progressive deductions grow along with it.