Finiquito vs Liquidación in Mexico 2026: What You Actually Get Paid

Key facts

Always owed

Finiquito

any separation reason

Injustificado only

+ Liquidación

90 days + 20 días/año

ISR treatment

Splits by component

different exemption caps

Finiquito and liquidación get used interchangeably in everyday conversation, but they are legally distinct payments with different triggers. Confusing them leads to two common mistakes: assuming you're owed severance you're not entitled to, or accepting a settlement that's missing something you are.

The dividing line is simple to state and easy to get wrong in practice: finiquito is what everyone gets when they leave, liquidación is what only unjustified dismissal adds on top.

Finiquito: owed on every separation

Whether you resign, get fired for cause, or get dismissed without cause, finiquito is always owed. It covers salario devengado (unpaid days already worked), vacaciones pendientes (unused vacation days at your daily rate), prima vacacional (a mandatory 25% on top of that vacation pay, Art. 80 LFT), and aguinaldo proporcional (a slice of the year-end bonus based on months actually worked, Art. 87 LFT).

If you completed 15 or more years of service, prima de antigüedad (12 days' salary per year, Art. 162 LFT) is also part of your finiquito, regardless of why you're leaving.

Liquidación: only for unjustified dismissal

Component	Basis
Indemnización constitucional	90 days' salary, any tenure (Art. 48 LFT)
20 días por año	20 days' salary per year of service (Art. 50 LFT)
Prima de antigüedad	12 days per year, any tenure, daily rate capped at 2x minimum wage (Art. 162 LFT)

The tenure trap in prima de antigüedad

Prima de antigüedad has two completely different eligibility rules depending on how you're leaving. Resign or get fired with cause, and you only qualify at 15+ years of service. Get dismissed without cause, and you qualify at any tenure, even one year. It's the same 12-days-per-year formula either way, but the eligibility gate flips entirely on the reason for separation.

Why the same peso amount can be taxed differently

Unpaid days and vacation pay carry no exemption at all, they're ordinary taxable income. Prima vacacional is exempt up to 15 UMA. Aguinaldo is exempt up to 30 UMA. The three liquidación-specific payments share one combined 90-UMA-per-year-of-service exemption, not three separate caps, per Article 93, fracción XIII of the LISR. A settlement that looks identical in gross pesos can net out very differently depending on how it's split across these components.

A practical checklist before you sign anything

Confirm your actual separation reason in writing; it determines whether liquidación applies at all.
Ask for the daily salary and years-of-service figures used in the calculation.
Check whether the prima de antigüedad daily rate was capped at 2x the minimum wage.
Separate the finiquito components from the liquidación components on the settlement statement.
Ask how ISR was applied, component by component, not as one blended withholding.

When to get a second opinion

If your employer disputes the reason for separation, offers a lump sum without a component breakdown, or the settlement doesn't distinguish finiquito from liquidación at all, that's worth a labor lawyer's review before signing. Mexican labor courts (Juntas de Conciliación y Arbitraje, being phased into the new labor courts system) exist specifically to resolve disputes over whether a dismissal was actually justified.

Model your own settlement

See the finiquito and liquidación split, and exactly how much ISR applies, for your salary, tenure, and termination type.

Calculate your finiquito and liquidación →

Stay current

Ireland salary data updates every Budget

Revenue Ireland adjusts USC, PRSI, and income tax bands each October. We update every benchmark the same week. Get the email before you negotiate.

No spam. Unsubscribe any time. GDPR-compliant.

Frequently asked questions

Do I get a finiquito if I resign?

Yes. Finiquito is owed on every separation regardless of reason: unpaid worked days, unused vacation, the 25% prima vacacional, and proportional aguinaldo. Resigning does not forfeit any of it.

When does liquidación apply instead of just finiquito?

Only when the employer ends the relationship without a legally justified cause (despido injustificado). Resignation and dismissal for a recognized cause (despido justificado) only trigger the finiquito.

Is prima de antigüedad part of finiquito or liquidación?

It can be either. As a finiquito entitlement it only applies at 15+ years of service, regardless of why you're leaving. As part of liquidación (unjustified dismissal specifically), it applies at any tenure.

Is my full settlement tax-free?

No. Unpaid days and vacation pay are fully taxable. Prima vacacional and aguinaldo each have their own separate ISR exemption caps. The severance-specific payments (constitutional indemnity, 20 days per year, prima de antigüedad under liquidación) share one combined exemption of 90 UMA per year of service, and everything above these caps is taxed.

How long does my employer have to pay my finiquito?

The LFT doesn't set a fixed number of days. The Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación has held that payment should be immediate once the relationship ends, though in practice a reasonable payroll-processing window (commonly cited as up to 15 days, with some sources pointing to 72 hours) is tolerated. If it isn't paid, Article 516 LFT gives you one year to file a claim with PROFEDET or a labor tribunal, and the employer owes 6% annual mora interest from the separation date.

Can I refuse to sign the finiquito?

Yes. Signing isn't mandatory and doesn't automatically forfeit your right to payment, though it can pause the process while any disagreement is resolved. Read the document carefully: signing that you received "the concepts listed" leaves room to later claim anything left off the list, but signing that you received "pago total y a entera satisfacción" (full payment, to your complete satisfaction) makes a later claim much harder.