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A thirteenth month salary paid by 20 December, free of income tax and CCSS contributions

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

Abroad a year end bonus is usually discretionary or set by contract. In Costa Rica every private employer must pay an aguinaldo of one month of salary, based on the average ordinary and overtime pay of the twelve months before 1 December, within the first twenty days of December. It is owed pro rata after one month of service, is protected like severance, and is exempt from income tax and outside the CCSS contribution base.

USD figures use the Banco Central de Costa Rica reference selling rate of ₡454.82 per US dollar published for 29 October 2026 (indicator 318 on bccr.fi.cr), rounded to the cent; conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Aguinaldo (thirteenth month)	One month of salary: average of ordinary and overtime pay in the 12 months before 1 December, paid by 20 December textLey 2412 art. 1, 2 and 4, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Aguinaldo payment window	First 20 days of December textLey 2412 art. 4, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Every private employer must give its workers, of any kind and however paid, an annual benefit equal to one month of salary.
Cost to do it: One extra month of payroll a year, before employer social charges (which do not apply to it).
Example: Salary of ₡900,000 a month all year: aguinaldo ₡900,000. / About US$1,978.80.Ley 2412, Ley de Aguinaldo para la Empresa Privada, art. 1, 1959-10-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. The benefit is the average of ordinary and overtime pay earned in the twelve months before 1 December; the aguinaldo itself is excluded from the average.Ley 2412, as reformed by Ley 3929 of 8 August 1967, art. 2, 1967-08-08 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Workers whose contract has run less than a year, for any reason, but at least one month, receive a share proportional to the time served and the pay earned in that year.
Example: Hired 1 June at ₡900,000: pay to 30 November ₡5,400,000; aguinaldo ₡5,400,000 / 12 = ₡450,000. / About US$989.40.Ley 2412, art. 3, 1959-10-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. It must be paid to the worker, or a family member the worker names in writing, within the first twenty days of December, and it enjoys the same privileges and protections as dismissal benefits under Código de Trabajo art. 30(a) and 33.Ley 2412, art. 4, 1959-10-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. The aguinaldo is not counted to calculate any Código de Trabajo benefit or CCSS contributions, nor salary averages under any other law.Ley 2412, art. 7, 1959-10-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Amounts received as thirteenth month by private and public sector workers are exempt from income tax.Ley 2412, art. 9, 1959-10-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Item	Rule
Amount	One month of salary (12 month average)
Period	Twelve months before 1 December
Payment	Within the first 20 days of December
Part year	Pro rata after at least one month
Income tax	Exempt
CCSS and other benefits	Not counted

Aguinaldo at a glance (Ley 2412).

Worked example

An employee earns ₡800,000 a month from December to May and ₡1,000,000 from June to November. Total ₡10,800,000; aguinaldo ₡10,800,000 / 12 = ₡900,000 (US$1,978.80), paid by 20 December.
Overtime counts: a worker paid ₡600,000 in overtime over the year adds ₡50,000 to the aguinaldo.

Step by step

Accrue one twelfth of monthly pay, including overtime, every month.
Close the calculation period on 30 November, not 31 December.
Pay by 20 December; schedule cash for it alongside year end supplier payments.
Include the proportional aguinaldo in every final settlement, whatever the reason for leaving.

Common traps

Global payroll tools that pay a 13th month in late December or treat it as a discretionary bonus will be late and may undercount overtime.
Because it is exempt and outside the CCSS base, routing it through ordinary payroll with contributions overstates costs; check the payroll configuration.
Non payment is an illegal withholding of salary that lets the worker end the contract with employer liability (Ley 2412 art. 6).

Sources

Ley 2412, Ley de Aguinaldo para la Empresa Privada (SINALEVI)

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