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Mandatory employee benefits in Mexico: year end bonus, vacations and vacation premium, maternity, paternity and nursing leave

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Every worker in Mexico is entitled to a year end bonus (aguinaldo) of at least 15 days of salary paid before 20 December, pro rated for part years. Paid vacation starts at 12 working days after the first year, rises by two days a year to 20 in year five and by two days every five years after that, must be taken (not paid out) and carries a premium of at least 25 percent. Mothers get six weeks of paid leave before and six after birth, mostly paid by IMSS if they have enough contributions, two half hour nursing breaks a day for six months, and fathers five paid working days; profit sharing is covered on its own page.

USD conversions use MXN 18.5026 per US dollar, the US Federal Reserve H.10 noon buying rate in New York for 16 October 2026 (FRED series DEXMXUS), the latest observation available when this page was verified. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Minimum year end bonus (aguinaldo)	15 days of salaryLFT art. 87, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Year end bonus payment deadline	Before 20 December LFT art. 87, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum paid vacation after the first year	12 working daysLFT art. 76, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Paid vacation in the fifth year	20 working daysLFT art. 76, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum vacation premium	25 %LFT art. 80, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Paid maternity leave (before plus after birth)	12 weeksLFT art. 170, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
IMSS maternity cash benefit	100 % of last daily contribution salaryLSS art. 101, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Paid paternity leave	5 working daysLFT art. 132, section XXVII Bis, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Year end bonus (aguinaldo). Workers are entitled to an annual bonus equal to at least 15 days of salary, paid before 20 December. Workers who have not completed a year of service, whether or not still employed on the payment date, are entitled to the proportional part for the time worked.
Cost to do it: At least 15 days of salary per worker per year, about 4.1 percent of annual base pay (15 of 365 days).
Example: A worker earning MXN 500 a day receives at least MXN 7,500.00 before 20 December; a worker hired on 1 July receives the proportional part, about MXN 3,780.82. / About USD 405 and USD 204 at 18.5026.Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT), DOF 1 April 1970 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 14 May 2026), Art. 87, 1975-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Vacations. Workers with more than one year of service get paid annual vacation of at least 12 working days, rising by two working days for each following year up to 20, and from the sixth year by two days for every five years of service. At least 12 of the days must be continuous, and the worker may distribute the rest. Vacations must be granted within six months after each year of service, and the employer must give each worker an annual statement of seniority, vacation days and dates. Vacations may not be replaced by pay, except that a worker leaving before completing the year is paid the proportional part.
Example: At MXN 500 a day: year one 12 days (MXN 6,000.00); years six to ten 22 days (MXN 11,000.00).Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT), DOF 1 April 1970 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 14 May 2026), Arts. 76, 78, 79 and 81, 2022-12-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Decree of DOF 27 December 2022, in force 1 January 2023, set the current table (12 working days after the first year, rising to 20 in year five) and applies it to existing individual and collective contracts where more favorable to workers (transitional art. Segundo).

3. Vacation premium. Workers are entitled to a premium of at least 25 percent of the salary corresponding to the vacation days.
Cost to do it: At least 25 percent of vacation pay.
Example: At MXN 500 a day the premium is MXN 1,500.00 in year one and MXN 2,750.00 in years six to ten. / About USD 81.07 and USD 149 at 18.5026.Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT), DOF 1 April 1970 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 14 May 2026), Art. 80, 1970-04-01 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Maternity. Pregnant workers may not do work that endangers the pregnancy. They are entitled to six weeks of rest before and six weeks after birth on full salary; up to four of the prenatal weeks may be transferred to after birth with medical authorization, and postnatal rest may be up to eight weeks if the child is born with a disability or needs hospital care. Adoptive mothers get six paid weeks. During breastfeeding, for up to six months, mothers get two extra half hour breaks a day in a suitable place, or one hour less per day by agreement. They have the right to return to their post within a year of birth, and the leave counts toward seniority.Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT), DOF 1 April 1970 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 14 May 2026), Art. 170, 2012-11-30 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Who pays for maternity leave. IMSS pays insured workers a cash benefit of 100 percent of their last daily contribution salary for 42 days before and 42 days after birth, provided they have at least 30 weekly contributions in the 12 months before the benefit starts, the pregnancy is certified by IMSS and they do no paid work during the leave; on request the 84 days can be certified in a single incapacity certificate. While the IMSS benefit is paid, the employer is released from paying the full salary up to the limits of the law; if the worker lacks the 30 weekly contributions, the employer pays the full salary.
Cost to do it: Nil for the employer when the IMSS conditions are met (up to the contribution salary cap); full salary for 12 weeks when they are not.Ley del Seguro Social (LSS), DOF 21 December 1995 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 15 January 2026), Arts. 101, 102 and 103, 2023-03-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Paternity leave. Employers must grant male workers five working days of paid paternity leave on the birth of a child and on adopting a child.
Cost to do it: Five working days of salary paid by the employer.
Example: MXN 2,500.00 at MXN 500 a day. / About USD 135.Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT), DOF 1 April 1970 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 14 May 2026), Art. 132, section XXVII Bis, 2018-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Tax treatment of exempt benefits for the employer. Payments to workers that are exempt income for them (for example the exempt part of the year end bonus, vacation premium and profit sharing) are deductible only up to 47 percent of their amount, or 53 percent if the exempt benefits granted in the year do not decrease compared with the previous year.Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR), DOF 11 December 2013 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text, last reform DOF 1 April 2024), Art. 28, section XXX, 2013-12-11 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Years of service	Working days	Vacation pay at MXN 500 a day	25 percent premium
1	12	6,000.00	1,500.00
2	14	7,000.00	1,750.00
3	16	8,000.00	2,000.00
4	18	9,000.00	2,250.00
5	20	10,000.00	2,500.00
6 to 10	22	11,000.00	2,750.00
11 to 15	24	12,000.00	3,000.00
16 to 20	26	13,000.00	3,250.00
21 to 25	28	14,000.00	3,500.00
26 to 30	30	15,000.00	3,750.00

Minimum paid vacation by completed years of service (LFT art. 76, as reformed DOF 27 December 2022), with the 25 percent premium (art. 80) at MXN 500 a day.

Benefit	MXN	USD at 18.5026	Source
Year end bonus, 15 days	7,500.00	405	LFT art. 87
Vacation, 12 days (paid in place of work)	6,000.00	324	LFT art. 76
Vacation premium, 25 percent	1,500.00	81.07	LFT art. 80

Annual mandatory benefit cost at MXN 500 a day in the first full year, before social security and profit sharing.

Worked example

A worker earns MXN 500 a day (about MXN 15,208.33 a month, USD 822).
In the first full year the employer pays at least MXN 7,500.00 of aguinaldo before 20 December and, after the first anniversary, 12 vacation days with MXN 1,500.00 of premium.
In the worker's seventh year vacation rises to 22 days, with a premium of MXN 2,750.00 (USD 149).
If the worker becomes a mother with at least 30 weekly IMSS contributions in the past 12 months, IMSS pays 84 days at 100 percent of her contribution salary and the employer holds her post; a father takes five paid working days.

Step by step

1. Build aguinaldo, vacation and premium accruals into the payroll budget from the first month.
2. Issue each worker the annual vacation statement with seniority, days and dates, and schedule the vacation within six months of each anniversary (LFT art. 81).
3. Pay aguinaldo before 20 December, including proportional amounts to workers who left during the year.
4. Keep IMSS registration and contribution salaries current so that IMSS, not the company, pays maternity benefits.
5. Provide a suitable place for nursing breaks and record paternity leave requests.

Common traps

Paying out vacation instead of granting it. Vacation may not be compensated with money while the relationship continues (LFT art. 79).
Keeping an old vacation policy. Since 1 January 2023 the 12 to 20 day table overrides less favorable terms in existing individual and collective contracts (decree DOF 27 December 2022, transitional art. Segundo).
Under reporting the contribution salary. If a worker lacks 30 weekly contributions in the prior year, or the salary reported to IMSS is too low, the employer bears the difference in maternity pay (LSS art. 103).
Forgetting leavers. Workers who leave during the year are owed proportional aguinaldo and vacation (LFT arts. 79 and 87).

Sources

← Working hours in Mexico: the phased move from 48 to 40 hours a week, overtime at double and triple pay, rest days, Sunday premium and electronic time recordsEmployee profit sharing (PTU) in Mexico: 10 percent of taxable income, how it is split, the three month cap, deadlines and exemptions →