Ten of the 27 countries below require a 13th month payment by statute. The other 17 do not, which does not mean nobody gets one: in several of them a contract, a collective agreement or long-established practice creates an enforceable entitlement anyway. The distinction matters because a statutory payment cannot be offset against a discretionary bonus, and because the deadlines are real. Miss Mexico's December 20 or the Philippines' December 24 and you are late, not flexible.
The figures come from the statutory dataset behind our country guides, verified September 2026. Statutory rules change, coverage rules and exclusions vary within a country, and this table is a planning reference rather than payroll instructions. Confirm your own case with your accountant or payroll provider.
Where it is mandatory
| Country | Deadline | What is owed | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Two installments, June 30 and December 18 | Each installment is half the highest monthly pay in that half-year | Argentina guide |
| Brazil | First installment by November 30, second by December 20 | One extra month of salary, accrued proportionally | Brazil guide |
| Colombia | Half by June 30, half by December 20 | Prima de servicios, generally 30 days of salary a year, prorated | Colombia guide |
| Guatemala | Half in early December, half in late January, or all in December | Aguinaldo, one ordinary month for a full year, prorated | Not yet covered |
| Indonesia | No fixed month: seven days before the employee's religious holiday | THR, one month of wages after 12 continuous months, prorated below that | Indonesia guide |
| Italy | December, exact date set by the applicable CCNL | Tredicesima, an additional salary payment | Italy guide |
| Mexico | Before December 20 | Aguinaldo, at least 15 days of salary under Article 87, prorated | Mexico guide |
| Nepal | No fixed month: annually, for the festival the employee celebrates | One month of basic remuneration, prorated below a year of service | Nepal guide |
| Peru | July and December gratifications | Two separate payments, subject to the employment regime | Peru guide |
| Philippines | No later than December 24 | At least one twelfth of basic salary earned in the calendar year | Philippines guide |
Where it is not statutory
An entry here means there is no general statutory 13th month salary. It does not mean no bonus obligation exists: read the second column before you assume you owe nothing.
| Country | What actually applies | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | No statutory requirement; contractual bonus arrangements assessed separately | Canada guide |
| Chile | No statutory 13th month, but statutory profit sharing (gratificacion) is separate and does apply | Chile guide |
| Finland | No statutory 13th month; a holiday bonus (lomaraha) can be required by collective agreement | Not yet covered |
| Germany | No general statutory bonus; a contract, collective agreement, works agreement or established practice can create one | Germany guide |
| Ghana | No statutory requirement; check contractual and collective entitlements | Ghana guide |
| India | No universal 13th month; statutory annual bonus applies to eligible employees and establishments | India guide |
| Kenya | No general statutory requirement; contract, collective agreement or established practice can create one | Kenya guide |
| Netherlands | No statutory 13th month; an agreement may require it, and holiday allowance is separate | Netherlands guide |
| Nigeria | No statutory requirement; discretionary and contractual bonuses are separate | Nigeria guide |
| Pakistan | No general statutory requirement; profit-bonus, sectoral and contractual obligations can still apply | Pakistan guide |
| Rwanda | No statutory requirement; contracts, policies or collective agreements may provide bonuses | Rwanda guide |
| Singapore | Annual Wage Supplement, often called 13th month pay, is not compulsory unless the contract or collective agreement requires it | Singapore guide |
| South Africa | A 13th cheque is customary rather than statutory; check the contract and bargaining agreement | South Africa guide |
| Switzerland | No universal entitlement; a 13th salary agreed in a contract is payable on those terms, commonly November or December | Switzerland guide |
| Uganda | No statutory requirement; check contractual and collective entitlements | Uganda guide |
| United Arab Emirates | No statutory requirement; check the employment agreement | UAE guide |
| United Kingdom | No general statutory 13th month; bonuses may be contractual or discretionary | UK guide |
What stands out
The deadline is the part that catches people, not the amount. Most founders budget the extra month and then miss that it is not one payment in December. Argentina splits it across June and December. Colombia does the same. Brazil wants an installment by November 30, before the one on December 20. If your cash planning assumes a single December hit, three of the ten mandatory countries will surprise you.
Two of them have no Gregorian deadline at all. Indonesia ties THR to the employee's own religious holiday, due seven days before it. Nepal ties the festival bonus to the festival that employee celebrates. Both are easy to get wrong by hardcoding a month, and getting it wrong means paying late for part of your team while paying on time for the rest.
"One extra month" is the wrong default. Mexico's aguinaldo is at least 15 days of salary, not 30. The Philippines' is one twelfth of basic salary actually earned in the year, so a mid-year joiner earns less. Argentina calculates each installment off the highest monthly pay in that half-year, which moves with commissions and raises. Take the country's formula, not the shorthand.
Three countries add a fourteenth payment. Guatemala's Bono 14 falls in July and is mandatory alongside the December aguinaldo. Peru's gratifications are two separate statutory payments, in July and December. Italy's quattordicesima exists but depends on the applicable CCNL rather than statute. Read the 13th and 14th month entries together so you do not count the same payment twice.
Not statutory is not the same as not owed. Germany, Switzerland, Kenya and the Netherlands all sit in the second table, and in all four an agreement or an established practice can create an enforceable entitlement. In Germany a bonus paid without qualification for three consecutive years can become one. If you inherited employees through an acquisition or an employer of record transfer, check what they were actually receiving before you stop paying it.
Chile is the entry most often misread. It has no statutory 13th month, which is true and also beside the point: Chilean employers owe statutory profit sharing (gratificacion) regardless. An employer reading only the 13th month column would conclude wrongly that nothing is owed.
What this costs through Shor
Where the 13th month is mandatory, provision for it monthly rather than treating December as a surprise. One extra month a year is about 8.33% on top of gross salary; where the formula is smaller, like Mexico's 15 days, the provision is smaller too. That accrual sits on top of the statutory employer contributions each country already charges.
Through Shor, employer of record employment is $299/month per employee in standard markets and $449/month in premium markets, with 13th month accrual and administration handled as part of payroll, and contractors are $19/month each. No setup fees, and the FX margin is a flat disclosed 2%. Deposits are country-dependent and quoted up front. You can estimate the monthly cost of a hire, including statutory contributions, for any country we cover.
The other reference tables compare employer costs, notice periods and public holidays across the same countries. Working out whether to employ at all? EOR vs. your own entity has the breakeven math.
FAQ
Which countries require 13th month pay?
Of the 27 countries in our coverage, ten require it by statute: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Nepal, Peru and the Philippines. The other 17 have no general statutory requirement, though a contract, collective agreement or established practice can still create an enforceable entitlement in several of them.
When is 13th month pay due?
It depends on the country, and several split it across the year. The Philippines is due no later than December 24 and Mexico before December 20. Brazil takes an installment by November 30 and the rest by December 20. Argentina pays on June 30 and December 18, Colombia by June 30 and December 20. Indonesia and Nepal have no fixed Gregorian date at all, because both are tied to the employee's own religious or cultural holiday.
Is 13th month pay the same as a Christmas bonus?
No, and treating them as interchangeable is where employers get caught. Where it is statutory it is a legal entitlement with a formula and a deadline, and it cannot be offset against, reduced by, or replaced with a discretionary bonus. A Christmas bonus you choose to pay is a separate, additional thing.
Do contractors get 13th month pay?
No. These are employment entitlements and they attach to employees, not to genuinely independent contractors invoicing you under a services agreement. That said, if the working relationship is employee-shaped in substance, reclassification brings the back entitlement with it, which is one of the costs that makes misclassification expensive. Each country guide covers where that line sits.