13th-month pay by country: who gets it, when it’s paid and how it’s taxed

What is 13th-month pay?

“13th-month pay” is a generic name for a mandatory extra payment on top of 12 monthly salaries. It is different from a performance bonus in two ways: it is set by law rather than at the employer’s discretion, and it is usually owed even if the company had a bad year or you left part-way through the year (normally pro rata).

The legal minimum is usually linked to one month’s pay, but the exact base varies. The Philippines uses basic salary only, Brazil uses December’s remuneration, Argentina uses the highest monthly pay in each half-year, and Mexico sets a floor of 15 days’ wages rather than a full month. Discretionary bonuses, profit sharing and commissions are separate; see bonuses, overtime and total compensation.

Which countries require a 13th month, and when is it paid?

The table summarises the statutory minimum in eight countries. Sources for each row are linked in the country sections below.

Many countries have no such law. There, a year-end or holiday bonus is whatever your employment contract, company policy or collective agreement says, so check those documents rather than assuming one is owed.

Philippines: 13th-month pay under PD 851

Presidential Decree No. 851 created the Philippine 13th-month pay in 1975. The labour department’s current guidance, Labor Advisory No. 16, series of 2025, sets out the key rules:

• Who: all rank-and-file employees in the private sector who have worked at least one month during the calendar year, whatever their employment status or how their pay is computed. That includes piece-rate workers, people paid a fixed wage plus commission, employees with several employers, and people who resigned or were dismissed before December.
• How much: at least 1/12 of the total basic salary earned in the calendar year. Overtime, premium and holiday pay, night differential, cost-of-living allowances and cash for unused leave are excluded unless an agreement or company practice treats them as part of basic salary.
• When: on or before 24 December. Employers may pay half earlier (PD 851’s rules mention the opening of the school year), but the full amount is due by the deadline, and DOLE says no exemption or deferral is allowed.

Tax: under the Tax Code as amended by the TRAIN law (RA 10963), 13th-month pay and other benefits are excluded from taxable income up to a combined ₱90,000 a year. Only the excess is taxed. Because the cap covers other benefits too, such as a Christmas bonus or productivity incentive, a high earner can exceed it even if the 13th month alone does not.

Example: an employee on ₱30,000 a month basic salary for the whole year earns ₱360,000 in basic pay, so the minimum 13th month is ₱30,000, well within the ₱90,000 exclusion. Someone on ₱80,000 a month who also gets a ₱20,000 year-end bonus has ₱100,000 of benefits, so ₱10,000 is taxable. Our Philippines take-home pay calculator models annual pay as 13 equal payments and applies the ₱90,000 exclusion; it is an estimate for a single resident employee.

Brazil: the 13º salário

Law 4.090/1962 gives every employee a Christmas bonus worth 1/12 of December’s remuneration for each month worked in the year; 15 or more days in a month counts as a full month. It is paid pro rata if you are dismissed without cause, when a fixed-term contract ends, and on retirement.

Law 4.749/1965 splits payment in two. Between February and November the employer pays an advance of half the previous month’s salary, which you can ask to receive with your holiday pay if you request it in January. The balance is due by 20 December.

Tax: the Receita Federal’s 2026 income tax questions and answers states that the 13º salário is taxed exclusively at source. Tax is withheld separately from your regular monthly salary, and the amount is not added back into your annual adjustment return’s taxable base; it is reported in its own section.

Mexico: the aguinaldo

Article 87 of the Federal Labour Law requires an aguinaldo of at least 15 days’ salary, paid before 20 December. If you worked less than the full year, you are owed a proportional amount, even if you no longer work there. The federal workers’ advocate, PROFEDET, adds that it is calculated on your ordinary daily salary (for variable pay, the average of the last 30 days worked), that the employer cannot withhold it for financial difficulties, and that you have one year to claim it.

Tax: the SAT exempts the aguinaldo from income tax (ISR) up to 30 UMA (the Unidad de Medida y Actualización, a reference value). If you have two employers, the 30 UMA exemption applies once in total, not per employer. The daily UMA in force from 1 February 2026 is MXN 117.31 (DOF), so the exempt amount is MXN 3,519.30.

Example: on a daily salary of MXN 500, the legal minimum aguinaldo is 15 × 500 = MXN 7,500. Of that, MXN 3,519.30 is exempt and MXN 3,980.70 is taxable at your normal rates. Many employers pay more than 15 days, which raises the taxable part.

Argentina, Colombia, Portugal, Spain and Indonesia

Argentina: sueldo anual complementario

The aguinaldo is paid in two instalments, on 30 June and 18 December, each worth 50% of the highest monthly remuneration earned in that half-year (Law 23.041). The Ministry of Labour’s rights guide summarises the rule. If you worked only part of the half-year, the instalment is proportional.

Colombia: prima de servicios

Under article 306 of the Labour Code as amended by Law 1788 of 2016, employers pay 30 days’ salary a year: half by 30 June and half within the first 20 days of December, proportional to time worked. Since 2016 this also covers domestic workers. The Ministry of Justice explains what to do if it is not paid (MinJusticia).

Portugal: subsídio de Natal

Article 263 of the Labour Code gives a Christmas allowance equal to one month’s pay, due by 15 December and proportional in the year you start, the year you leave, or if your contract is suspended (Diário da República). Article 264 adds a separate holiday allowance, so a Portuguese annual salary normally means 14 payments. Some contracts pay part of the allowances in monthly twelfths (duodécimos) instead.

Spain: pagas extraordinarias

Article 31 of the Workers’ Statute entitles employees to two extraordinary payments a year, one at Christmas and the other in the month set by the collective agreement, which also sets the amount. The agreement can instead spread them across the 12 monthly payments. That is why Spanish offers are quoted as a gross annual figure “in 14 payments” or “in 12 payments”.

Indonesia: THR Keagamaan

Indonesia’s religious holiday allowance is not tied to Christmas. Under Minister of Manpower Regulation No. 6 of 2016, employees with at least one month of continuous service receive it once a year, at least 7 days before their own religious holiday. After 12 months’ service it is one month’s wage; with less, it is months worked ÷ 12 × one month’s wage. It is paid in rupiah.

How to compare offers quoted in 12, 13 or 14 payments

The extra month is the most common reason two offers that look similar are not. Always convert both to the same basis before comparing:

1. Ask whether the figure is monthly or annual, and how many payments a year it covers.
2. Multiply a monthly figure by the number of payments: a monthly salary of 2,500 is 30,000 a year over 12 payments, 32,500 over 13 and 35,000 over 14.
3. Divide an annual figure the other way: a 35,000 gross annual salary in Spain is 2,500 a month in 14 payments, or about 2,917 a month if the extras are spread across 12.
4. Check whether the extra payments are already inside the quoted annual figure. A recruiter may quote an annual total that already includes the 13th month, or a monthly rate without it.
5. Compare take-home pay, not just gross pay, because the extra month may be taxed differently, as in the Philippines, Brazil and Mexico.

Use the annual salary calculator to switch between monthly and annual figures, and the take-home pay calculator for net pay. For a full checklist, see comparing two job offers and negotiating a job offer.

Do remote workers and contractors get a 13th month?

The laws above give rights to employees in an employment relationship governed by that country’s labour law. Whether you get a 13th month as a remote worker depends on how you are engaged:

• Employed by a local entity of the company, or through an employer of record that employs you locally: local labour law generally applies, so the statutory payment should be in your contract and payslip.
• Independent contractor invoicing a foreign client: you are not an employee, so these employee laws do not apply to that contract. Any year-end payment exists only if you negotiate it. This is one reason contractor rates should be higher than an equivalent salary; see salary vs contractor pay.
• Unclear status: if a client controls your hours and work like an employer, local rules on employment status may treat you as an employee. That is a legal question to raise with your country’s labour authority or a lawyer.

If a foreign client does pay you a year-end bonus, it arrives like any other cross-border payment. How to get paid from abroad compares the options. One is a Wise multi-currency account, which shows its fees before you convert.

Checklist: make sure you are paid correctly

• Know your country’s deadline (for example 24 December in the Philippines, 20 December in Brazil and Mexico).
• Check the base: basic salary only, December pay, highest monthly pay or daily wage, depending on the country.
• If you changed jobs this year, expect a pro-rata payment from each employer; most of these laws cover people who left before December.
• Read the payslip line for the extra payment and its tax; see reading a payslip.
• If it is late or missing, contact your country’s labour ministry or workers’ advocate: DOLE in the Philippines, PROFEDET in Mexico, or the Ministry of Labour in Argentina and Colombia.

To see typical pay before the extra month, use the country salary pages, for example Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Portugal, Spain and Indonesia.