The legal minimum aguinaldo is 15 days of salary, paid before 20 December, under Article 87 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo.
The part people get wrong is the tax. Only MX$3,519.30 is exempt in 2026, a flat amount worth 30 UMA. On a mid-level engineering salary that covers about 11.5% of the payment, so a gross aguinaldo of MX$30,545 arrives as roughly MX$22,437.
Legal minimum
15 days
paid before 20 December
Exempt from ISR
MX$3,519.30
30 UMA at MX$117.31 a day
Typical deduction
26.5%
on a mid-level salary
Work out your own aguinaldo, gross and net.
Open the Aguinaldo CalculatorHow to calculate your aguinaldo 2026 (cómo calcular el aguinaldo)
1. Find your daily salary (salario diario). Divide your monthly salary by 30. That is the usual convention; some payrolls divide by 30.4, which gives a slightly lower figure. If you are paid weekly, divide the weekly pay by 7.
2. Multiply by your aguinaldo days. The legal minimum is 15. If your contract or company policy says 20 or 30, use that.
3. Prorate if you didn't work the whole year. Multiply by the days you worked in 2026 and divide by 365. Someone on MX$20,000 a month who started on 1 June has worked 214 days, so the aguinaldo is MX$5,863.01.
4. Take off ISR on the part above MX$3,519.30. That slice is exempt. The rest is added to your income for the month and taxed at your normal rate.
| Monthly salary | Aguinaldo (15 days) | ISR | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum wage (MX$315.04 a day) | MX$4,725.60 | MX$3,519.30 of it is exempt | |
| MX$12,000.00 | MX$6,000.00 | MX$374.88 | MX$5,625.12 |
| MX$20,000.00 | MX$10,000.00 | MX$1,384.28 | MX$8,615.72 |
| MX$35,000.00 | MX$17,500.00 | MX$3,288.26 | MX$14,211.74 |
| MX$60,000.00 | MX$30,000.00 | MX$7,944.21 | MX$22,055.79 |
PayMetric Labs' own modelled estimate with the 2026 SAT monthly tarifa. Minimum wage from CONASAMI for 2026; the northern border zone rate is MX$440.87 a day.
When the aguinaldo 2026 is paid (fecha de pago)
Article 87 says the aguinaldo must be paid “antes del día veinte de diciembre”: before 20 December, not on it. In 2026 the 20th is a Sunday, so the effective deadline is Saturday 19 December. Your employer can pay it any time before then.
It applies to every worker with an employment relationship, including part-time and temporary staff, and to anyone who left during the year: their proportional aguinaldo belongs in the finiquito. If it hasn't arrived by the 19th, PROFEDET gives free advice and can represent you.
Why the exemption barely touches a professional salary
The 30 UMA exemption is a fixed peso amount. It does not rise with your salary, and it was calibrated for wages far below what a technology employer pays. Fifteen days of aguinaldo falls entirely inside the exemption only up to an annual salary of about MX$85,636. Above that, the excess is added to your income for the month and taxed at your ordinary ISR rate.
That is why the effective deduction climbs steadily as salaries rise: the exempt slice stays at MX$3,519.30 while everything else moves.
| Level | Annual salary | Aguinaldo gross | ISR | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | MX$444,500 | MX$18,267 | MX$3,46919.0% | MX$14,798 |
| Mid-level | MX$743,250 | MX$30,545 | MX$8,10826.5% | MX$22,437 |
| Senior | MX$1,127,000 | MX$46,315 | MX$13,44529.0% | MX$32,870 |
| Lead | MX$1,593,750 | MX$65,497 | MX$20,89131.9% | MX$44,606 |
All rows are 15 days, the legal minimum.
What 20 or 30 days is actually worth
A generous aguinaldo policy is a real benefit and worth asking about, but it is worth slightly less than the day count suggests. These rows are all the same mid-level salary of MX$743,250.
| Policy | Gross | ISR | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 days (legal minimum) | MX$30,545 | MX$8,10826.5% | MX$22,437 |
| 20 days | MX$40,726 | MX$11,16227.4% | MX$29,564 |
| 30 days | MX$61,089 | MX$17,53328.7% | MX$43,556 |
Doubling the policy from 15 to 30 days doubles the gross but lifts the net by 94%, because the exemption does not scale and the larger taxable amount reaches higher ISR bands.
How these figures were produced
PayMetric Labs' own calculations. The UMA daily value of MX$117.31 is the DOF figure effective 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027, and the 30 UMA exemption is LISR Article 93, fracción XIV. ISR on the taxable excess uses the standard payroll approximation: the monthly SAT tarifa recomputed on regular monthly income plus the taxable excess, less the ISR on regular income alone. Salaries are our Mexican software engineer benchmark levels. Your own payroll may apply a different accumulation method.
Three separate payments, three separate exemptions
Aguinaldo, PTU and the prima vacacional are commonly confused, and each has its own exemption that does not consume the others. Aguinaldo is exempt up to 30 UMA (MX$3,519.30). PTU, paid by 30 May, is exempt up to 15 UMA (MX$1,759.65). The prima vacacional is also exempt up to 15 UMA. If a recruiter describes “the annual bonus” without saying which, ask.
If the payment looks wrong
Check the daily salary first. Aguinaldo is built from the salario diario, not the monthly headline, and an incorrect daily rate is the commonest cause of a short payment. Where pay varies with commissions, an average is normally used.
Then check the proration. A partial year earns a proportional aguinaldo based on days worked. This is statutory, not discretionary, and applies to joiners and leavers alike.
Then check whether it is short or simply taxed. A mid-level engineer expecting MX$30,545 and receiving MX$22,437 has not been underpaid. That is the ISR working as intended.
If it is genuinely missing by 19 December, PROFEDET provides free advice and conciliation for workers.
Check the whole package, not just the aguinaldo
See what an annual salary leaves monthly after ISR and employee IMSS, so you can judge the year-end payment in context.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum aguinaldo in Mexico in 2026?
Fifteen days of salary, under Article 87 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo, paid before 20 December. Many technology employers pay 20 or 30 days as a matter of policy, but 15 is the floor and anything above it is contractual rather than statutory.
When is the aguinaldo paid in 2026? (¿Cuándo se paga el aguinaldo?)
Before 20 December. In 2026 the 20th falls on a Sunday, so the last day your employer can pay it is Saturday 19 December. Paying on or after the 20th breaches Article 87, whatever day of the week it falls on.
How much aguinaldo do I get on the minimum wage?
At the 2026 general minimum wage of MX$315.04 a day, 15 days is MX$4,725.60. In the northern border zone, at MX$440.87 a day, it is MX$6,613.05. The first MX$3,519.30 is exempt from ISR, so only a small part of a minimum-wage aguinaldo can be taxed at all.
How much of the aguinaldo is tax free?
Only MX$3,519.30 in 2026. LISR Article 93, fracción XIV exempts the equivalent of 30 UMA, and the UMA daily value is MX$117.31 for the period from 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027. Everything above that is taxable as ordinary income in the month it is paid.
So why is so much of my aguinaldo taxed?
Because the exemption is a flat peso amount, not a percentage, and it was designed around low wages. Fifteen days of aguinaldo is fully covered by the exemption only up to an annual salary of roughly MX$85,636. On a mid-level engineering salary of MX$743,250 the exemption covers about 11.5% of the aguinaldo and the other 88.5% is taxable.
Is 30 days of aguinaldo twice as good as 15?
Close, but not quite, and for the same reason. On MX$743,250 a year, 15 days pays MX$30,545 gross and MX$22,437 net. Thirty days pays MX$61,089 gross but MX$43,556 net, which is 94% more rather than 100% more. The exemption does not scale with the extra days, and the larger taxable amount reaches higher ISR bands.
How is a partial year handled?
Proportionally. If you worked part of the calendar year you are entitled to the proportion of the aguinaldo matching the days worked, and this applies whether you left or joined during the year. It is a statutory entitlement, not an employer courtesy, and it should appear in a finiquito when employment ends.
Is aguinaldo the same as PTU or the prima vacacional?
No, and they are separate entitlements with separate exemptions. Aguinaldo is the year-end payment exempt up to 30 UMA. PTU is profit sharing, exempt up to 15 UMA and paid by 30 May. The prima vacacional is the holiday bonus, also exempt up to 15 UMA. Receiving one does not reduce the exemption on the others.
What if my employer pays late or not at all?
Paying before 20 December is a legal requirement. Non-payment or late payment can be reported to PROFEDET, the federal labour defence office, which provides free advice and conciliation for workers. Check first whether the amount is genuinely missing or simply smaller than expected because of the ISR withholding described here.
Which salary is the calculation based on?
The daily salary (salario diario), so a monthly figure has to be converted first. Where pay varies, for example with commissions, the average daily salary over the relevant period is normally used. If your aguinaldo looks low, the daily salary your employer used is the first thing to check.
Related reading & tools
Legal position from the Ley Federal del Trabajo Article 87 and LISR Article 93, fracción XIV. UMA daily value MX$117.31 per the DOF, effective 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027, and the 2026 minimum wage, verified October 2026. Worked figures are PayMetric Labs' own calculations for a salaried employee on sueldos y salarios. General information only, not personal tax or legal advice.