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What is normal abroad but works differently in Peru

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Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Changing

Peru is an open market with free exchange, but several everyday business habits from abroad work differently here, and each has a cost or a deadline. Employers pay two legal bonuses of a full salary each in July and December plus a 9 percent bonus on top, deposit a severance fund in May and November, share 5 to 10 percent of pre tax profit once they exceed 20 workers, and cannot dismiss at will without paying 1.5 salaries per year of service. Foreign staff are capped at 20 percent of headcount and 30 percent of payroll, payments above S/ 2,000 or US$500 must go through the banking system or lose their tax effect, and most bank movements carry a 0.005 percent tax.

USD figures use S/ 3.452 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 27 October 2026, from the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. UIT amounts use the 2026 UIT of S/ 5,500 set by Decreto Supremo Nº 301-2025-EF, as cited in SUNAT Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000016-2026/SUNAT. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Legal bonuses (gratificaciones July and December)	2 monthly salaries a yearLey 27735 art. 2 and 5, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Extraordinary bonus on gratificaciones (EsSalud amount paid to worker)	9 %Ley 30334 art. 3; Ley 26790 art. 6 a), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
CTS severance fund deposits (May and November)	2 deposits a yearDS 001-97-TR art. 21 and 22, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Arbitrary dismissal indemnity per year of service	1.5 monthly salariesDS 003-97-TR art. 38, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Arbitrary dismissal indemnity cap	12 monthly salariesDS 003-97-TR art. 38, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Mandatory profit sharing, highest rate (fishing, telecoms, industry)	10 % of income before taxesDL 892 art. 2, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Mandatory profit sharing, other activities	5 % of income before taxesDL 892 art. 2, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Profit sharing applies above this average headcount	20 workersDL 677 art. 9; DS 009-98-TR art. 2, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Foreign staff cap, share of headcount	20 %DL 689 art. 4, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Foreign staff cap, share of payroll	30 %DL 689 art. 4, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Monthly minimum wage from 1 October 2026	1230 PENDS 015-2026-TR art. 1.2, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Monthly minimum wage target after second step (first half 2027)	1300 PENDS 015-2026-TR art. 1.1 and 1.2, as of 2026-10-28 · pending
Payments above this amount must use banking means of payment	2000 PENTUO Ley 28194 art. 4 (DL 1529), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Payments above this amount must use banking means of payment (US dollars)	500 USDTUO Ley 28194 art. 4 (DL 1529), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Financial transactions tax (ITF)	0.005 %TUO Ley 28194 art. 10 (Ley 29667), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Unidad Impositiva Tributaria 2026	5500 PENDS 301-2025-EF, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Abroad, year end bonuses are usually discretionary. In Peru, every private sector employee is entitled by law to two gratificaciones a year, one for Fiestas Patrias and one for Christmas, whatever the type of contract. Each equals the monthly remuneration the worker earns when the bonus falls due, including regular variable pay, and must be paid in the first half of July and the first half of December. Gratificaciones are not subject to contributions or deductions, and the amount the employer would have paid to EsSalud on them (9 percent) is paid to the worker instead as an extraordinary bonus that is neither remuneration nor pensionable.
Cost to do it: Two extra monthly salaries a year plus 9 percent on each, about 2.18 monthly salaries a year per employee on top of 12 monthly salaries.
Example: An employee earning S/ 5,000 a month receives S/ 5,000 plus a S/ 450 bonus, S/ 5,450, in the first half of July and again in the first half of December, S/ 10,900 a year. / About US$1,579 per payment and US$3,158 a year.Ley Nº 27735 (El Peruano 28 May 2002); Ley Nº 30334 (El Peruano 24 June 2015); Ley Nº 26790 (El Peruano 17 May 1997), Ley 27735 art. 1, 2 and 5; Ley 30334 art. 1 and 3; Ley 26790 art. 6 a), 2015-06-24 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Ley Nº 30334 of 24 June 2015 made permanent the exemption of gratificaciones from contributions and the payment of the EsSalud amount to the worker as a 9 percent bonus, which Ley Nº 29351 of 1 May 2009 had introduced only until 31 December 2014.

2. Abroad, severance is usually paid only when employment ends. In Peru, the employer must deposit the compensación por tiempo de servicios (CTS) twice a year, within the first 15 calendar days of May and November, into a financial institution chosen by the worker. Each deposit is as many twelfths of the computable remuneration of April or October as full months worked in the semester, and the computable remuneration includes one sixth of the gratificaciones received in the semester.
Cost to do it: About half a month of computable remuneration per full semester, roughly 1.17 monthly salaries a year.
Example: For the S/ 5,000 employee, computable remuneration is S/ 5,000 plus one sixth of the S/ 5,000 gratificación, S/ 5,833.33; a full semester deposit is six twelfths, S/ 2,916.67, due by 15 May and by 15 November. / About US$845 per deposit and US$1,690 a year.Decreto Supremo Nº 001-97-TR, TUO of the CTS law, Decreto Legislativo Nº 650 (El Peruano 1 March 1997), Art. 18, 21 and 22, 1997-03-01 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Abroad, profit sharing is a voluntary incentive. In Peru, workers of companies that earn business (third category) income share by law in a percentage of annual income before taxes: 10 percent in fishing, telecommunications and industrial companies, 8 percent in mining, wholesale and retail trade and restaurants, and 5 percent in other activities. Half is distributed by days worked and half by remuneration, with a cap per worker of 18 monthly remunerations; any excess goes to the public fund FONDOEMPLEO and regional governments. Cooperatives, self managed companies, civil partnerships and companies that do not exceed 20 workers, measured as the yearly average of monthly headcount, are excluded.
Cost to do it: 5, 8 or 10 percent of annual income before taxes, depending on the activity, once headcount exceeds 20 workers.
Example: A manufacturer with 60 workers and S/ 10,000,000 of income before taxes distributes S/ 1,000,000; a services company with the same result distributes S/ 500,000. / Income of about US$2,896,871; profit sharing of about US$289,687 for the manufacturer and US$144,844 for the services company.Decreto Legislativo Nº 892 (El Peruano 11 November 1996); Decreto Legislativo Nº 677 (El Peruano 7 October 1991); Decreto Supremo Nº 009-98-TR (El Peruano 6 August 1998), DL 892 art. 2; DL 677 art. 9; DS 009-98-TR art. 2 and 8, 1996-11-11 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Abroad, an employer can often end a contract at will with notice. In Peru, a worker dismissed without a legal cause, once the probation period has passed, is owed an indemnity for arbitrary dismissal of one and a half ordinary monthly remunerations for each full year of service, up to 12 remunerations, with fractions of a year paid by twelfths and thirtieths. The dismissal and its reason are never presumed: whoever alleges them must prove them.
Cost to do it: 1.5 monthly salaries per year of service, capped at 12 monthly salaries.
Example: Dismissing without cause a S/ 5,000 a month employee with 4 full years costs S/ 30,000; from 8 years of service the cap of S/ 60,000 applies. / About US$8,691, and US$17,381 at the cap.Decreto Supremo Nº 003-97-TR, TUO of Decreto Legislativo Nº 728, Ley de Productividad y Competitividad Laboral (El Peruano 27 March 1997), Art. 37 and 38, 1997-03-27 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Abroad, a company can usually hire as many foreign staff as it can get visas for. In Peru, national or foreign companies may employ foreign personnel up to 20 percent of their total staff, and the pay of foreign personnel may not exceed 30 percent of total payroll. Contracts with foreign workers must be written, for a fixed term of up to 3 years renewable, and include a commitment to train Peruvian staff in the same occupation. Some foreigners are outside the limits, among them those with a Peruvian spouse, ascendants, descendants or siblings, those covered by bilateral or multilateral agreements, and foreign investors with a permanent investment of at least 5 UIT; employers may also request exemptions from the percentages in cases the law lists.
Cost to do it: No fee under this law; the cost is the hiring limit and the training commitment. Investor exemption threshold: 5 UIT, S/ 27,500 in 2026.
Example: A company with 50 employees and a monthly payroll of S/ 300,000 may employ up to 10 foreigners under the general rule, and their combined pay may not exceed S/ 90,000 a month. / Payroll of about US$86,906 a month, foreign pay cap of about US$26,072; the 5 UIT investor threshold is about US$7,966.Decreto Legislativo Nº 689, Ley para la Contratación de Trabajadores Extranjeros (El Peruano 5 November 1991), art. 5 as amended by Ley Nº 26196 (10 June 1993), Art. 3, 4, 5 and 6, 1991-11-05 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. Abroad, a supplier can be paid in cash for any amount. In Peru, obligations paid in money above S/ 2,000 or US$500 must be paid through means of payment, that is through banks and other financial system entities, even if split into smaller partial payments, and loans of money must always go through means of payment whatever their amount. Payments of 1 UIT or more for real estate rights, vehicles and share or capital transfers may only be made through means of payment. Payments made without them give no right to deduct expenses or costs, to use tax credits, to offset or to claim tax refunds or drawback.
Cost to do it: Bank charges plus the 0.005 percent financial transactions tax; the cost of not complying is the loss of the expense deduction and the purchase tax credit.
Example: A company that pays a S/ 3,000 supplier invoice in cash cannot deduct the S/ 3,000 as a cost or use the tax credit on it; any land or vehicle purchase of S/ 5,500 or more must be paid by bank transfer, check or other means of payment. / The S/ 3,000 invoice is about US$869; the 1 UIT threshold is about US$1,593.Decreto Supremo Nº 150-2007-EF, TUO of Ley Nº 28194 (El Peruano 23 September 2007), art. 4 as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1529 (El Peruano 3 March 2022, in force 1 April 2022), Art. 3, 4, 5 and 8, 2022-03-03 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Decreto Legislativo Nº 1529 of 3 March 2022 lowered the threshold from S/ 3,500 or US$1,000 to S/ 2,000 or US$500 from 1 April 2022.

7. Abroad, moving money between bank accounts is normally tax free. In Peru, the Impuesto a las Transacciones Financieras (ITF) applies at 0.005 percent to the value of most credits and debits in accounts held in the financial system, while transfers between accounts of the same holder, in the same or a different financial entity, are outside the tax.
Cost to do it: 0.005 percent of each taxed transaction, S/ 50 per S/ 1,000,000.
Example: A S/ 1,000,000 payment to a supplier from a company account bears S/ 50 of ITF. / About US$14.48 on about US$289,687.Decreto Supremo Nº 150-2007-EF, TUO of Ley Nº 28194, art. 10 as replaced by Ley Nº 29667 (El Peruano 20 February 2011, in force 1 April 2011), Art. 9, 10 and 12, 2011-02-20 official text · verified 2026-10-28

8. Abroad, a single national minimum wage may be updated by formula. In Peru, the minimum wage (Remuneración Mínima Vital) for the private sector rises by S/ 170 in two steps, from S/ 1,130 to S/ 1,300: the first step of S/ 100 takes it to S/ 1,230 from 1 October 2026, and the second step of S/ 70 will be set by a new supreme decree in the first half of 2027. Because gratificaciones, CTS and dismissal indemnity are all multiples of the monthly remuneration, every increase carries through to them.
Cost to do it: S/ 1,230 a month from 1 October 2026, plus the legal bonuses, CTS and 9 percent EsSalud on top.
Example: A minimum wage worker receives S/ 1,230 a month, two gratificaciones of S/ 1,230 each plus S/ 110.70 of 9 percent bonus each, S/ 17,441.40 including both gratificaciones and bonuses over 12 months. / About US$356 a month, about US$5,053 a year on the same basis.Decreto Supremo Nº 015-2026-TR (28 September 2026), Art. 1.1 and 1.2, 2026-09-28 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: The minimum wage rose from S/ 1,130 to S/ 1,230 on 1 October 2026; a second step to S/ 1,300 is pending a decree in the first half of 2027.

Habit abroad	Peruvian rule	Norm	Cost
Discretionary year end bonus	Two gratificaciones of one salary each, July and December, plus 9 percent bonus	Ley 27735 art. 2 and 5; Ley 30334 art. 3	S/ 10,900 a year (about US$3,158)
Severance only on exit	CTS deposits in the first 15 days of May and November	DS 001-97-TR art. 21 and 22	S/ 5,833.33 a year (about US$1,690)
Voluntary profit sharing	5, 8 or 10 percent of income before taxes above 20 workers	DL 892 art. 2; DL 677 art. 9	S/ 500,000 on S/ 10,000,000 for services (about US$144,844)
Dismissal at will	1.5 salaries per year of service, capped at 12	DS 003-97-TR art. 38	S/ 30,000 after 4 years (about US$8,691)
Hire any number of foreigners	Up to 20 percent of headcount and 30 percent of payroll	DL 689 art. 4	Hiring limit, no fee
Pay suppliers in cash	Banking means of payment above S/ 2,000 or US$500	TUO Ley 28194 art. 4 and 8	Loss of deduction and tax credit
Tax free bank transfers	ITF of 0.005 percent	TUO Ley 28194 art. 10	S/ 50 per S/ 1,000,000 (about US$14.48)

Habit abroad versus the Peruvian rule, with the cost for a S/ 5,000 a month employee where relevant (USD at S/ 3.452, 27 October 2026)

Worked example

Annual statutory cost for one employee on S/ 5,000 a month, before EsSalud and profit sharing: 12 salaries of S/ 5,000 (S/ 60,000), two gratificaciones with the 9 percent bonus (S/ 10,900) and two CTS deposits (S/ 5,833.33), a total of S/ 76,733.33, about US$22,229 at S/ 3.452, or about 15.3 monthly salaries for 12 months of work.
The employer's 9 percent EsSalud contribution under Ley 26790 art. 6 a) applies on the S/ 60,000 of monthly salaries, S/ 5,400 (about US$1,564), while the gratificaciones are exempt and the equivalent 9 percent goes to the worker as a bonus.
If the same company has 25 workers, operates in commerce and earns S/ 2,000,000 before taxes, it must distribute 8 percent, S/ 160,000 (about US$46,350), half by days worked and half by remuneration.

Step by step

Budget each local salary at about 15.3 monthly payments a year (12 salaries, two gratificaciones with the 9 percent bonus and two CTS deposits), plus 9 percent EsSalud on salaries.
Calendar the fixed dates: CTS by 15 May and 15 November, gratificaciones in the first half of July and December.
Track average monthly headcount through the year; once it exceeds 20 workers, accrue the profit share at the rate for the company's main activity.
Before hiring foreign staff, check the 20 percent headcount and 30 percent payroll limits, use written fixed term contracts of up to 3 years with a training commitment, and confirm whether an exemption applies.
Set up bank accounts and pay every supplier invoice above S/ 2,000 or US$500, and every loan, through the financial system, keeping the transfer records for SUNAT.
Document any dismissal cause carefully, since dismissal is never presumed, and provision 1.5 salaries per year of service for exits without cause.
Watch for the second minimum wage step to S/ 1,300 by decree in the first half of 2027.

Common traps

Splitting a large cash payment into installments of S/ 2,000 or less does not avoid the means of payment rule; the law applies even to partial payments.
Loans between related parties or shareholders paid in cash lose their tax effect whatever the amount, because loans must always use means of payment.
Regular variable pay received in at least three months of the semester enters the gratificación base, so commissions raise the bonus.
The CTS base includes one sixth of the gratificación, so the true CTS cost is above half a salary per semester.
Profit sharing is calculated on income before taxes and measured on average headcount; growing past 20 workers mid year can trigger it for the whole year.
Foreign staff who are not covered by an exception count against both the headcount and payroll limits, and highly paid expatriates can breach the 30 percent payroll cap before the 20 percent headcount cap.
Each minimum wage increase lifts every benefit tied to monthly remuneration for workers at that level.

Sources

← Director, liquidator and shareholder liability when exiting Peru

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