Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Wages, tips and deductions in the Dominican Republic: how pay must be paid and what can come out of it

Wages, tips and deductions in the Dominican Republic: how pay must be paid and what can come out of it

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

Salary is paid in legal tender on the agreed date and at least monthly, with equal pay for equal work. Only a closed list of deductions is allowed. Hotels, restaurants and bars add a 10% tip to bills and must share all of it among staff.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar for 29 October 2026, as shown on its home page on the verification date, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Longest allowed pay period	One month periodLey 16-92 art. 198, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Cap on bank loan deductions	One sixth of monthly salary textLey 16-92 art. 201, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Mandatory tip on bills	10 %Ley 16-92 art. 228, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Divisor from monthly to daily salary	23.83 daysDecreto 258-93 art. 32, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Exchange rate used for USD conversions	60.9007 DOP per USDBanco Central reference selling rate, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Salary is the pay for work done and includes money and any other benefit obtained for the work.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 192, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Equal work, in identical conditions of ability, efficiency or seniority, always earns equal pay.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 194, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Salary is set and paid in legal tender on the agreed date. It may be by time, by unit, by commission, by fixed price or a mix.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 195, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Pay cannot run over periods longer than a month. Workers paid by the hour or day are paid weekly unless agreed otherwise.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 198, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Salary is paid personally on a working day, within an hour of the end of the shift, at the place of work unless agreed otherwise, and in full save for authorized deductions.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 196, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Allowed deductions are those authorized by law, union dues with written consent, salary advances, bank loans recommended and guaranteed by the employer, up to one sixth of monthly salary, and contributions to private pension plans.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 201, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. Salary and legal credits cannot be seized except for one third for child support, and more than that for child support orders under the relevant law.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 200, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. Salary claims cannot be assigned and rank ahead of all other credits, save those of the State, the Distrito Nacional and municipalities.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 207, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Hiring workers and not paying them on the agreed date is punished as fraud. The code points to art. 401 of the Penal Code, so check the matching provision of the new Penal Code.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 211, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. Hotels, restaurants, cafés, bars and places serving food or drink on site must add 10% to customer bills as a tip, to be shared fully among staff who served.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 228, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. Mandatory tips are settled weekly or as agreed and shared equally among staff. The employer must be able to justify the settlement. The tip is not salary.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 197, art. 229 and art. 230, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

12. Daily rates come from dividing a monthly salary by 23.83, a fortnightly salary by 11.91 and a weekly salary by 5.5, counting ordinary hours only.Decreto 258-93, Reglamento del Código de Trabajo, art. 32, 1993-10-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30

13. Payment can be proved by the wage book or any other system the employer uses.Decreto 258-93, Reglamento del Código de Trabajo, art. 33, 1993-10-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30

14. The TSS treats ordinary salary, commissions and statutory vacation pay as the contributable salary, while incentives, overtime and bonuses go in a separate field.TSS questions page, Question 20, 2026-10-30 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Pay basis	Divide by	Gives
Monthly	23.83	Daily salary
Fortnightly	11.91	Daily salary
Weekly	5.5	Daily salary

Reference divisors in Decreto 258-93 art. 32

Worked example

A restaurant bills RD$500,000 (about US$8,210.09) in a week before tip. The 10% tip is RD$50,000 (about US$821.01). Shared among 20 staff that is RD$2,500 (about US$41.05) each, on top of salary.
A worker on RD$60,000 a month has a bank loan the employer guarantees. The monthly deduction cannot pass RD$10,000 (about US$164.20).

Step by step

Fix pay date and method in the contract.
Keep proof of payment for each worker.
Check every deduction against the art. 201 list.
If you run a restaurant or hotel, set up a written weekly tip settlement.
Report pay in SUIR under the right fields.

Common traps

Taking tips into the owner's revenue or paying them unequally breaks arts. 228 and 229.
The tip is not salary under art. 197, but the settlement must still be documented.
Unpaid or short paid salary is a ground for justified resignation under art. 97.
For the currency question in contracts see the FX page on foreign currency contracts.

Sources

← Minimum wage in the Dominican Republic: four company sizes, sector tariffs and the 2026 tablesChristmas salary and profit sharing in the Dominican Republic: the thirteenth month and the 10% profit bonus →

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