Brazilian Monetary Correction Calculator — IPCA, IGP-M, Taxa Legal
Need to know what R$ 10,000 from 2015 is worth today? This free monetary correction calculator fetches live data directly from Brazil's Central Bank (BCB) and applies the index of your choice — IPCA, IGP-M, INPC, SELIC, CDI, or the new Taxa Legal — giving you the updated value with a full monthly breakdown in seconds.
No sign-up, no server-side processing. All calculations run in your browser using BCB's public SGS API.
Note — Brazil only: The indices in this tool (IPCA, IGP-M, INPC, SELIC, CDI, Taxa Legal) are specific to Brazil and published by Brazilian institutions (IBGE, FGV, BCB). This calculator is designed for BRL-denominated values and Brazilian legal or financial contexts. For monetary correction in other countries, consult your local central bank's tools.
How to Use the Monetary Correction Calculator
- Enter the original value — type the amount in BRL (e.g., 10000 or 10.000,00)
- Set the date range — pick a start date and end date for the correction period
- Choose an index — IPCA for general inflation, IGP-M for rental contracts, Taxa Legal for legal claims, or any of the other available indices
- Click "Calculate Update" — the tool fetches current BCB data and shows the corrected value, accumulated factor, and a full month-by-month table
- Export or share — download a structured PDF report or copy a shareable link
Available Indices — What Each One Means
IPCA (IBGE) — Brazil's official consumer price inflation index. Published monthly by IBGE and used by the BCB as the official target for monetary policy. Best general-purpose choice for updating monetary values.
IGP-M (FGV) — The General Market Price Index, calculated by FGV. Widely used in rental and energy contracts. It captures wholesale inflation alongside retail prices, so it often diverges significantly from IPCA.
INPC (IBGE) — National Consumer Price Index. Measures inflation for lower-income families earning up to 5 minimum wages. Historically used as the legal basis for minimum wage adjustments.
SELIC — Brazil's benchmark interest rate, set monthly by the COPOM. Represents the remuneration of government bonds in the SELIC system. Used to calculate the return on a hypothetical government-bond-equivalent correction.
CDI — The Interbank Deposit Certificate rate, published daily by B3 and accumulated monthly. Tracks SELIC closely and is the standard benchmark for most fixed-income investments in Brazil.
Taxa Legal (Art. 406 CC) — The legal moratory interest rate under Brazil's Civil Code, Art. 406. Per Law 14.905/2024 (effective July 2024), it equals the SELIC rate minus IPCA inflation, with a floor of zero. Published monthly by the National Monetary Council (CMN) via BCB series 29541.
IPCA + Taxa Legal — A composite used in judicial monetary updating. IPCA corrects for inflation, and the Taxa Legal adds the legal interest component. Since the Taxa Legal already has IPCA subtracted (Law 14.905/2024), there is no double-counting of inflation. For months before July 2024, this composite uses SELIC as the interest component.
Common Use Cases
- Judicial debt updating: Courts require monetary correction of awards from the filing date to payment. The IPCA + Taxa Legal composite is the most commonly used basis in civil claims post-2024.
- Lease and rental adjustments: Landlords and tenants use IGP-M or IPCA to adjust rents per the correction clause in the lease agreement.
- Labor claims: Employment tribunals correct unpaid wages and benefits using IPCA or INPC from the original due date.
- Consumer claims: Refunds for overcharges or defective products are typically corrected by IPCA from the date of the harmful event.
- Loan and investment comparisons: Finance professionals use SELIC or CDI corrections to compare the real purchasing power of historical cashflows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between IPCA and IGP-M for monetary correction?
IPCA is Brazil's official inflation index, measuring the consumer price basket for households earning 1–40 minimum wages. IGP-M is broader — it averages wholesale prices (IPA), retail (IPC), and construction costs (INCC). In practice, IPCA more accurately reflects consumer purchasing power, while IGP-M can swing significantly due to commodities and exchange rates. For legal disputes, courts generally prefer IPCA.
How does the Taxa Legal work after Law 14.905/2024?
Law 14.905/2024, effective July 3, 2024, redefined the Taxa Legal (Civil Code Art. 406) as the SELIC rate minus the IPCA variation, with a floor of zero. This was designed to avoid charging both inflation correction and SELIC-based interest simultaneously, which had been common practice. The BCB publishes this monthly factor under SGS series 29541. For any months before July 2024, the old regime applied full SELIC as moratory interest.
Can I use this calculator for a court case or official document?
This tool provides calculations for reference purposes only. The values are derived from official BCB public data, but the tool has no legal certification. For official judicial calculations, use the BCB's own Calculadora do Cidadão or consult a legal professional. The PDF report includes a disclaimer to this effect.
Why does the result differ slightly from other calculators?
Minor differences can arise from how each calculator handles the first and last month (whether partial months are included), rounding precision, and which specific BCB series is used. This tool applies full monthly rates for each complete month within the date range as returned by the BCB SGS API.
How often is BCB data updated?
BCB publishes most indices monthly, generally within the first two weeks after the reference month closes. IPCA is typically released between the 8th and 12th of the following month. SELIC and CDI are published with only a few days' lag. The data this tool fetches reflects whatever BCB has published at the moment of calculation.
Resources
- BCB SGS — Time Series Management System — Official BCB portal to explore all available time series, including full methodology notes for IPCA, SELIC, and Taxa Legal.
- Law 14.905/2024 — Planalto — Full text of the law that redefined the Taxa Legal and its interaction with IPCA for moratory interest calculations.
