For a US team, Brazil has one big advantage over most of the world. Its working day overlaps with the US working day. That removes the usual time-zone objection, so for many roles the real question is how a US company will pay you. This guide covers the three ways that happens, including the PJ model, how money from abroad reaches you, and what to read in a posting. It ends with live numbers from Covesight's nightly check.
Who can hire you: three routes
1. Direct hire through a Brazilian entity (CLT)
A US company with its own Brazilian subsidiary can employ you under a CLT contract, the formal employment relationship under Brazil's labor code, with local payroll and the statutory benefits and contributions that come with it. It is the most protected route for you and is limited to companies that already set up in Brazil.
2. Employer of record (EOR)
An employer of record already has a Brazilian entity and becomes your legal employer while the US company manages your work. Remote says its EOR lets a company legally hire employees in Brazil without setting up a local legal entity, with the provider as the official employer handling compliance, payroll and benefits. For you, an EOR offer is a local employment contract with local payslips.
3. PJ contractor
The third route is PJ, short for pessoa jurídica: you work through your own legal entity, registered in the national registry of legal entities, the CNPJ kept by the Receita Federal, and invoice the US company as a business. Which company type and tax regime fits depends on your activity and income, and an accountant (contador) can set it up.
PJ is flexible, and it carries a risk worth understanding. Deel's guide to Brazil notes that courts and regulators focus on the reality of the working relationship, not just what is written in an agreement. The factors it lists include control and supervision, a requirement that you personally do the work, economic dependence on one client, integration into the company and ongoing rather than project work. A full-time PJ role that looks like a job on every one of those counts can be reclassified as employment. Remote likewise notes that misclassification in Brazil may lead to fines and penalties for the company. For you, the practical point is simpler. PJ usually means no statutory employee benefits, so compare offers on the total package, not the headline number.
Getting paid
On a CLT contract, whether direct or through an EOR, you are paid in reais through Brazilian payroll. As a PJ contractor you are paid from abroad, and the Banco Central do Brasil's guide to foreign exchange is clear on the basic rule: money received from abroad by residents of Brazil must be converted into reais through an authorized institution. In practice that means a bank or another institution the Banco Central authorizes to operate foreign exchange. If you use a payment platform, check that it settles through one. The guide warns against informal channels. Compare the total cost, meaning the fee plus the exchange rate, and keep records of every payment for your accountant.
What to check in a listing
- The location label. "Remote (US)" and "must be authorized to work in the United States" rule you out. "Remote (Americas)" and "Remote (LATAM)" include Brazil on paper, but a region label is often a shortlist of countries where the employer can already pay people. The glossary of remote location labels explains each one.
- Time-zone overlap. Brasília time (UTC-3), the zone of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, is 1 or 2 hours ahead of US Eastern and 4 or 5 hours ahead of US Pacific, depending on US daylight saving time. An overlap requirement with US hours is usually easy to meet from Brazil, which is the advantage to lead with in an application.
- Language. Most US roles ask for English only. A Portuguese or Spanish requirement usually means a role serving Latin American customers. In the latest check, listings open to Brazil required Portuguese (7) and Spanish (10).
- The contract type. If the posting does not say CLT through an EOR or PJ, ask. The same salary number means very different take-home pay and protection under each.
Live Covesight numbers for Brazil
In the latest nightly check (24 September 2026), 708 live remote listings were open to someone living in Brazil. They fall into three groups, most specific first:
| Group | Listings |
|---|---|
| Names Brazil as an allowed location | 133 |
| Locked to a region that includes Brazil (Americas) | 284 |
| Confirmed open worldwide | 291 |
Treat the middle row with care. A region label is often a shortlist of the countries where the employer can already pay people. Before you spend an evening on an application, ask whether Brazil is on that list.
The role groups with the most listings open to Brazil:
- Engineering: 345 listings
- Sales: 86 listings
- Operations: 43 listings
- Customer Support: 38 listings
- Data: 26 listings
Among these listings, the most common language requirements were Spanish (10) and Portuguese (7). Of all 708, 11 carried a time-zone requirement and 50 stated a salary figure or range.
The remote jobs available from Brazil page lists every one of them and is updated every night. If you would rather not check it every day, the daily letter, one short email every morning, asks for your country once and then sends only the listings you can take from there.
For the bigger picture, see how many remote jobs are really open worldwide, or browse the Americas page for jobs limited to the wider region.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, and the right setup depends on your situation and your contract. Before you sign, check the official sources linked above and talk to a qualified tax adviser or lawyer in Brazil.