Calculating FGTS and the 40% termination penalty comes down to two numbers: your total FGTS deposits with monetary correction, and 40% of that balance owed when an employer fires you without cause. Get the deposit history wrong and the fine is wrong too.
- Cálculo rescisão com FGTS e multa means totaling 8% monthly deposits plus TR correction, then applying the 40% fine for no-cause dismissal.
- Employers must pay the FGTS fine within 10 days of termination in 2026 or face an extra penalty under CLT Article 477.
- Mutual-agreement terminations under Law 13.467/2017 cut the fine to 20% and cap withdrawal at 80% of the balance.
- Missing or late FGTS deposits can be claimed in a labor suit up to 5 years back, filed within 2 years of termination.
- Casabona & Monteiro Advogados recommends pulling the full FGTS extract before signing any termination paperwork.
Why this matters
An employer that miscalculates the FGTS fine isn't always doing it on purpose — payroll systems often skip variable pay like commissions, overtime, or the 13th salary when totaling deposits. Every 8% deposit missed during the contract lowers the 40% fine base, and workers routinely walk away shortchanged by amounts that only show up when someone reviews the full FGTS extract line by line.
Casabona & Monteiro Advogados handles labor law disputes in São Paulo built around exactly this gap between what the FGTS extract shows and what the termination paperwork claims. The math is mechanical once you have the right inputs — the hard part is verifying the inputs are complete before you sign a quitação (release) that closes the door on a claim.
What you'll need
- Your full FGTS extract (extrato do FGTS), pulled from the Caixa Tem app or a Caixa Econômica Federal branch, covering the entire employment period
- The Termo de Rescisão do Contrato de Trabalho (TRCT) issued by the employer
- The last 12 to 24 pay stubs, especially any months with commissions, overtime, or bonuses
- Your employment contract or CTPS (work card) with the exact admission and termination dates
- A calculator or spreadsheet — the fine is a percentage of a running total, not a flat figure
- Knowledge of the termination type: no-cause dismissal, mutual agreement, or resignation, since each changes the fine rate
The steps
1. Pull the complete FGTS extract
Request the extrato do FGTS covering every month of the contract, not just the last year. This accomplishes the one thing employers rarely volunteer: a month-by-month record of what was actually deposited versus what should have been deposited at 8% of gross pay.
Cross-check each line against your pay stubs. A common outcome: months with large commission payouts show a deposit calculated only on base salary, undercounting the 8% by hundreds of reais per occurrence.
Common mistake: stopping at the current-year summary screen in the app instead of exporting the full historical statement.
2. Total the corrected balance
Add up every monthly deposit, then apply the monetary correction the FGTS fund itself uses — the TR (Reference Rate) plus 3% annual interest, credited by Caixa on the account. Caixa's extract already shows this corrected running balance, so in most cases you're reading the figure rather than computing it by hand.
The number you want sits at the bottom: total deposited plus corrections as of the termination date in 2026. That figure is the base for the fine, not the raw sum of 8% deposits alone.
3. Confirm the termination type
The fine percentage depends entirely on why the contract ended. No-cause dismissal (demissão sem justa causa) triggers the full 40% fine. Termination by mutual agreement, allowed since the 2017 labor reform (Law 13.467/2017), drops the fine to 20% and limits withdrawal to 80% of the balance.
Dismissal for cause (justa causa) or voluntary resignation triggers no fine at all — the employee keeps the balance in the account but can't withdraw it immediately.
Common mistake: signing a mutual-agreement TRCT without realizing it cuts the fine in half compared to a standard no-cause layoff.
4. Apply the fine percentage
Multiply the corrected FGTS balance from step 2 by 40% (or 20% for mutual agreement). This is the entire calculation — there's no sliding scale, no proration based on tenure, and no cap on the amount.
Example: a corrected balance of R$ 38,000 on a no-cause dismissal produces a fine of R$ 15,200, paid on top of the balance itself, not out of it.
5. Check the payment deadline
Under CLT Article 477, as amended by the 2017 reform, employers must pay all termination amounts — including the FGTS fine — within 10 calendar days of the termination date. Missing that window triggers an additional penalty equal to one month's salary, owed directly to the employee.
Verify the payment date on your bank statement against the termination date on the TRCT. A gap past 10 days is a separate claim on top of the fine itself.
6. Withdraw the FGTS balance
Once the fine is deposited, withdraw the balance through the Caixa Tem app or a branch, using the termination guide (guia de saque) the employer or Caixa generates from the TRCT. No-cause dismissal unlocks the full balance; mutual agreement unlocks 80%.
Expected outcome: funds land in your linked account or Caixa savings account within a few business days of the withdrawal request.
7. Flag discrepancies before signing anything final
If the extract shows gaps, or the fine on the TRCT doesn't match 40% of the corrected balance, don't sign a full quitação (unconditional release) at the union or labor board. A conditional signature preserves your right to dispute the difference later.
Review your termination calculation
Get a labor law review of your FGTS extract and TRCT before you sign.
Troubleshooting
The FGTS extract shows deposits missing for entire months. File a formal request with the employer's HR department first; if unresolved, this becomes a labor claim item, recoverable up to 5 years back from the claim date.
The 40% fine was calculated on the wrong base. Employers sometimes apply 40% to the current-year balance only instead of the full corrected historical total. Recalculate using the full extract from step 1, not the app's default summary view.
The employer paid the fine after the 10-day deadline. The one-month-salary penalty under Article 477 applies automatically — it doesn't require proof of hardship, just proof of the late date.
The TRCT says "mutual agreement" but you didn't negotiate one. This is worth challenging immediately, since it silently cuts your fine from 40% to 20% and caps your withdrawal at 80%.
Variable pay (commissions, overtime) wasn't included in the 8% deposit base. Pull pay stubs for the disputed months and compare gross pay against the deposit shown in the extract for that same month.
The employer is bankrupt or unresponsive. Unpaid FGTS and fines survive employer insolvency as labor credits with priority status in bankruptcy proceedings — the claim path still exists even if collection takes longer.
Tools and resources
- Caixa Tem app or Caixa Econômica Federal branch — for the FGTS extract and withdrawal
- Your TRCT and last 24 months of pay stubs
- A labor law review before signing any quitação, especially on terminations involving variable pay or a mutual-agreement clause — Casabona & Monteiro Advogados reviews these calculations against the full extract, not just the TRCT summary
What to do next
If the numbers on your TRCT don't match the corrected balance on your FGTS extract, that gap is a labor claim, not a rounding error. Bring both documents to a review before the 2-year filing window closes — waiting past that deadline forfeits the claim entirely, regardless of how strong the underlying numbers are.
FAQ
What is the 40% FGTS termination fine?
It's a penalty equal to 40% of the total corrected FGTS balance deposited during employment, paid by the employer on top of that balance when dismissal happens without cause. In 2026 this remains the standard rate under Law 8.036/1990.
How is cálculo rescisão com FGTS e multa done step by step?
Total every 8% monthly deposit with TR correction and 3% annual interest from the FGTS extract, confirm the termination type, then apply 40% (or 20% for mutual agreement) to that corrected total. The result is the fine owed on top of the account balance.
Does the FGTS fine apply to resignation?
No. Voluntary resignation and termination for cause trigger no FGTS fine at all, and the employee cannot withdraw the balance immediately in either case.
How long does an employer have to pay the FGTS fine after termination?
10 calendar days from the termination date under CLT Article 477. Missing the deadline adds a penalty equal to one month's salary owed directly to the employee.
What's the fine on a mutual-agreement termination?
20% of the corrected FGTS balance, half the standard no-cause rate, and the employee can withdraw only 80% of the account under Law 13.467/2017.
How far back can I claim missing FGTS deposits?
Labor claims can recover deposits up to 5 years back, but the claim itself must be filed within 2 years of the termination date. Missing that 2-year window forfeits the right to sue.
Is the 10% FGTS social contribution still charged in 2026?
No. That additional employer contribution, created by Complementary Law 110/2001, was eliminated by Law 13.932/2019 for terminations from 2020 onward, so it does not apply to 2026 calculations.
What if my employer's FGTS extract and TRCT don't match?
Don't sign an unconditional release. A mismatch between the extract and the TRCT is grounds for a labor claim, and a conditional signature preserves that right while the discrepancy gets reviewed.
One last thing
The detail most people miss isn't the 40% math — it's the base it's applied to. An FGTS extract that quietly excludes two years of commission-heavy months can shrink the fine by thousands of reais without a single number on the TRCT looking obviously wrong. Pull the full historical extract before you sign anything in 2026, not just the summary screen the app shows by default.
