Calculate your Mexico finiquito
| Daily salary (monthly / 30) | $500.00 |
| Years of service completed | 2 |
| Unpaid salary | $0.00 |
| Proportional vacation (7.93 days) | $3,967.12 |
| Pending prior-years vacation | $0.00 |
| Prima vacacional (25%) | $991.78 |
| Prorated aguinaldo (181 days in 2026) | $3,719.18 |
| PTU share (entered by you) | $0.00 |
| Prima de antigüedad (12 days x 2 years, capped at $630.08/day) | $0.00 |
| Finiquito subtotal | $8,678.08 |
| Gross grand total | $8,678.08 |
| ISR: aguinaldo exempt / taxable | $3,519.30 / $199.88 |
| ISR: prima vacacional exempt / taxable | $991.78 / $0.00 |
| ISR: indemnity + prima exempt / taxable (90 UMA x years) | $0.00 / $0.00 |
All amounts are in Mexican pesos (MXN). The total is gross: ISR withholding is estimated separately by your employer under LISR Article 96, so this tool does not compute your net pay. Seniority premium and 20-day payment use completed years of service only.
What is a finiquito in Mexico?
A finiquito is the final settlement of everything the worker has already earned when the employment relationship ends, whatever the reason for the ending. It is always owed: on resignation, on justified dismissal, on unjustified dismissal, and on the end of a fixed-term contract. It is not a bonus and not a favour; it is the closing of the account between employer and worker.
The confusion starts because many English guides use "finiquito" for the whole termination payment, including the dismissal compensation. Mexican law keeps the two apart, and this page keeps them apart too:
| Finiquito (final settlement) | Liquidación (dismissal compensation) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it pays | What you earned: unpaid salary, prorated aguinaldo, proportional vacation, prima vacacional, pending prior-years vacation | Compensation for an unlawful ending: 90-day indemnity, 20-days payment where it applies, prima de antigüedad |
| When it is owed | On every ending, including resignation | On unjustified dismissal and employer-attributable termination; prima de antigüedad also on justified dismissal and, after 15 years, on resignation |
| How it is calculated | On base daily salary (monthly salary / 30) | On the Salario Diario Integrado (SDI), except the prima de antigüedad, which uses base daily salary capped at twice the minimum wage |
The practical consequence: if you resign, your employer owes you the finiquito only. If you are dismissed without a justified, properly notified cause, you are owed the finiquito plus the liquidación. Any guide that promises the 90-day indemnity to a worker who resigns is wrong, and any calculator that shows it by default is overstating the legal minimum.
How the finiquito is calculated
Every component starts from the daily salary, which is the gross monthly salary divided by 30, not by the number of days in the month. From there:
Unpaid salary = unpaid days x daily salary.
Aguinaldo (Christmas bonus) = aguinaldo days x (days worked in the calendar year / 365) x daily salary. The legal minimum is 15 days of salary per year, paid in cash by 20 December. A worker who leaves mid-year receives the proportional part for the days worked in that calendar year.
Proportional vacation = vacation entitlement of the current cycle x (days since the last period end / 365) x daily salary, minus vacation days already taken in the current cycle. Pending vacation from prior years is paid in full, not prorated.
Prima vacacional (vacation premium) = 25% of the vacation pay (proportional plus pending). This is a legal minimum under Article 80; contracts may grant more.
Salario Diario Integrado (SDI) = daily salary x integration factor, where the factor = (365 + aguinaldo days + vacation days x 0.25) / 365, using the vacation entitlement of the last completed year of service. The SDI is higher than the daily salary because it folds the daily share of aguinaldo and prima vacacional into the wage. The 90-day and 20-day indemnities use SDI; the finiquito components use base daily salary. Do not confuse SDI with the SBC (salario base de cotización), the social-security base used for IMSS and INFONAVIT, which is capped at 25 UMA and is a different figure.
| Years of service completed | Vacation days (SDI table) | SDI factor (15 aguinaldo days) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 1.0493 |
| 2 | 14 | 1.0507 |
| 3 | 16 | 1.0521 |
| 4 | 18 | 1.0534 |
| 5 | 20 | 1.0548 |
| 6 to 10 | 22 | 1.0562 |
A worked SDI example, the cleanest in the English sources: daily salary $500, year 1 (12 vacation days). SDI = $500 x (365 + 15 + 3) / 365 = $500 x 1.0493 = $524.66. That is $500 base plus $20.55 of daily aguinaldo share plus $4.11 of daily prima vacacional share. If a calculator uses $500 instead of $524.66 for the 90-day indemnity, it understates the indemnity by $2,219.40.
Mexico vacation days table 2023
The "vacaciones dignas" reform in force since 1 January 2023 (Article 76) doubled the old entitlement. The table below is the full statutory table; the tool uses it automatically for the current cycle.
| Years of service | Vacation days |
|---|---|
| 1 | 12 |
| 2 | 14 |
| 3 | 16 |
| 4 | 18 |
| 5 | 20 |
| 6 to 10 | 22 |
| 11 to 15 | 24 |
| 16 to 20 | 26 |
| 21 to 25 | 28 |
| 26 to 30 | 30 |
| 31 to 35 | 32 |
The rule behind the table: plus 2 days per year until 20 days, then plus 2 days every 5 years. At least 12 days must be taken consecutively (Article 78). While employment lasts, vacation is taken, not cashed out; it is only paid in the finiquito if it is pending. Partial years are prorated by days divided by 365, which is the method the payroll sources agree on.
Liquidación: the extra pay on unjustified dismissal
On unjustified dismissal or employer-attributable termination (Article 51), three further amounts are added on top of the finiquito:
90-day indemnity (Article 48). 90 days of SDI. This is the constitutional indemnity and the largest single line for most workers.
20 days per year. 20 days of SDI per year of service. Strictly, this applies in employer-attributable termination and refusal to reinstate (Articles 50-II and 52). In negotiation practice it is used as a reference for settlement. That is why this calculator has it as a toggle, default off: turning it on for every unjustified dismissal would overstate the strict legal minimum, which is exactly the error several English guides make. Turn it on for a reinstatement-refusal or negotiated-exit scenario.
Prima de antigüedad (seniority premium, Article 162). 12 days per year of service, but the daily rate is capped at twice the applicable minimum wage. The cap applies only to the prima calculation, never to the 90-day or 20-day indemnities, which use uncapped SDI. Eligibility: on dismissal with or without just cause at any tenure; on termination for employer-attributable cause; on voluntary separation after 15 or more years of service; and on death, disability or retirement cases under the article. It is therefore wrong to say "15 years only" without qualification: that condition applies to plain voluntary resignation only.
| Wage zone (2026) | Minimum wage per day | Prima cap per day (2x) |
|---|---|---|
| General zone | $315.04 | $630.08 |
| Northern Border Free Zone (ZLFN) | $440.87 | $881.74 |
Mexico has no statutory notice period: severance replaces notice. A justified dismissal still requires prompt written notice stating the Article 47 cause; failure to notify presumes the dismissal was unjustified.
Worked examples
Each line is rounded to cents, and totals are sums of rounded lines.
Example 1: resignation, mid-year (finiquito only)
Monthly $15,000, so daily $500. Hired 1 January 2024, resigns 30 June 2026. Service 2.5 years, in the 3rd cycle, entitlement 16 days. Calendar-year days worked in 2026: 181. No pending prior-years vacation, no unpaid days. Resignation under 15 years means no prima de antigüedad, no 90 days, no 20 days.
Proportional vacation: 16 x 181 / 365 x $500 = $3,967.12. Prima vacacional: $3,967.12 x 25% = $991.78. Prorated aguinaldo: 15 x 181 / 365 x $500 = $3,719.18. Finiquito total: $3,967.12 + $991.78 + $3,719.18 = $8,678.08.
ISR split: aguinaldo $3,719.18 against the 30-UMA exemption of $3,519.30 leaves only $199.88 taxable; prima vacacional $991.78 is fully within the 15-UMA exemption of $1,759.65.
Example 2: unjustified dismissal, 4 years, General zone (finiquito + liquidación)
Monthly $30,000, so daily $1,000. Hired 1 March 2022, dismissed 28 February 2026 (4 full years). Calendar-year days in 2026: 59. The current cycle just ended, so current-cycle proportional vacation is $0 and aguinaldo is the only finiquito line. SDI uses the 4th-year entitlement of 18 days: factor (365 + 15 + 18 x 0.25) / 365 = 1.0534, so SDI = $1,053.42. General zone prima cap $630.08 per day. 20-days toggle on (negotiated-exit scenario).
Finiquito: prorated aguinaldo 15 x 59 / 365 x $1,000 = $2,424.66. 90-day indemnity: 90 x $1,053.42 = $94,808.22. 20 days x 4 years: 80 x $1,053.42 = $84,273.97. Prima de antigüedad: 12 x 4 x $630.08 = $30,243.84. Liquidación subtotal: $94,808.22 + $84,273.97 + $30,243.84 = $209,326.03. Grand total (gross): $2,424.66 + $209,326.03 = $211,750.69.
ISR split: indemnity exemption 90 UMA x 4 years = $42,231.60; aguinaldo $2,424.66 is fully within the 30-UMA exemption of $3,519.30. The balance of the indemnity is taxable under Article 96 mechanics, which depend on cumulative income and are not computed here.
Example 3: unjustified dismissal, high earner, 10 years, General zone (the cap example)
Monthly $60,000, so daily $2,000. Hired 1 January 2016, dismissed 30 June 2026 (10 full years plus 181 days into the 11th cycle). 11th-cycle entitlement 24 days (the 11–15-year band). SDI factor (365 + 15 + 22 x 0.25) / 365 = 1.0562, so SDI = $2,112.33. SDI uses the last completed year's 22 days, so the indemnity lines below are unchanged. General zone prima cap $630.08 per day (daily $2,000 is far above it). 20-days toggle on.
Finiquito: aguinaldo 15 x 181 / 365 x $2,000 = $14,876.71; proportional vacation 24 x 181 / 365 x $2,000 = $23,802.74; prima vacacional 25% = $5,950.68; finiquito subtotal = $44,630.14. 90-day indemnity: 90 x $2,112.33 = $190,109.59. 20 days x 10 years: 200 x $2,112.33 = $422,465.75. Prima de antigüedad (capped): 12 x 10 x $630.08 = $75,609.60, versus $240,000 uncapped (12 x 10 x $2,000). The cap removes $164,390.40; this is the line most employees overestimate.
Grand total (gross, sum of rounded lines): $44,630.14 + $190,109.59 + $422,465.75 + $75,609.60 = $732,815.08.
ISR split: indemnity exemption 90 UMA x 10 years = $105,579.00; aguinaldo taxable excess $14,876.71 minus $3,519.30 = $11,357.41; prima vacacional taxable excess $5,950.68 minus $1,759.65 = $4,191.03.
Tax on the finiquito: ISR exemptions in 2026
The tool total is gross. ISR withholding is estimated separately by the employer under LISR Article 96, which works on cumulative income, so a standalone tool cannot compute your net pay honestly. What it can show exactly is the exempt/taxable split:
| Component | Exempt up to (2026) |
|---|---|
| Aguinaldo | 30 UMA = $3,519.30 |
| Prima vacacional | 15 UMA = $1,759.65 |
| Indemnity + prima de antigüedad | 90 UMA per year of service = $10,557.90 per year |
Only the excess over those amounts is taxable. The 2026 UMA is $117.31 per day from 1 February 2026 (INEGI, up 3.69% on 2025); in January 2026 the 2025 UMA of $113.14 still applied, so a January termination uses slightly lower exemption amounts. Do not trust a tool that shows a "net" finiquito without asking for your cumulative income: it is guessing the Article 96 withholding.
What is NOT included
PTU (profit sharing, 10% of taxable profit) is genuinely owed proportionally, and former employees remain eligible if they worked 60 or more days in the fiscal year, but its amount depends on the company's taxable profit and distribution formula, and it is paid on the May deadline cycle, not at termination. That is why the tool offers only a manual PTU field, not a calculated line: do not fake a PTU formula.
Also not included: the fixed-term early-termination variant (Article 50-III uses a different formula: half the wages for terms under one year, and 6 months plus 20 days per year beyond that for longer terms); salarios caídos (salary owed during a dispute, up to 12 months plus interest); variable pay and commission averaging (commissions and regular bonuses form part of pay and must be averaged in, which needs payslip data this tool does not ask for); contractual benefits above the legal minimum; and debts or loans deducted from the final payslip.
Edge cases
Resignation under 15 years means no prima de antigüedad, but resignation at 15 or more years does include it. Justified dismissal means finiquito plus prima, but no 90 days and no 20 days. Prior-years pending vacation is paid in full, not prorated, and it is separate from the current cycle's proportional days. Domestic workers have the same finiquito rights. There is no statutory notice period in Mexico, so there is no "notice pay" line: severance replaces notice. Payment is due at termination, and if it is delayed, salary continues to accrue until it is paid in full; undisputed amounts must be paid even while a dispute runs. No "72 hours" deadline is printed here because no source supports one.
Frequently asked questions about the Mexico finiquito
Do I get a finiquito if I resign in Mexico?
Yes, always: unpaid salary, prorated aguinaldo, proportional vacation and prima vacacional. What you do not get on a plain resignation is the 90-day indemnity or the 20-days payment; those belong to unjustified dismissal. The exception is the prima de antigüedad, which is also owed on voluntary separation after 15 or more years of service.
What is the difference between finiquito and liquidación?
Finiquito closes what you already earned, while liquidación compensates for an unlawful ending. In unjustified dismissal you receive both; on resignation or justified dismissal you receive only the finiquito, plus the prima de antigüedad where it applies.
How is the aguinaldo prorated if I leave mid-year?
Daily salary times 15 days times the days worked in the calendar year divided by 365. Leaving on 30 June after a full prior year gives 181 divided by 365 of the 15 days, as shown in Example 1.
What is the Salario Diario Integrado (SDI) and why is it higher than my daily salary?
Base daily salary plus the daily share of aguinaldo and prima vacacional, and of other regular benefits. The year-1 factor on statutory benefits only is 1.0493. The 90-day and 20-day indemnities use SDI, while finiquito components use base daily salary, and using base salary for the indemnity understates it.
Do the 20 days per year always apply on unjustified dismissal?
No. Strictly they apply in employer-attributable termination and refusal to reinstate (LFT Articles 50-II and 52); in negotiation practice they are used as a reference. That is why this calculator has them as a toggle, default off: turn it on only for a reinstatement-refusal or negotiated-exit scenario.
Is my finiquito taxed?
Partly. In 2026 the aguinaldo is exempt up to 30 UMA ($3,519.30), prima vacacional up to 15 UMA ($1,759.65), and indemnity plus prima de antigüedad up to 90 UMA per year of service ($10,557.90 per year). Only the excess is taxable, under LISR Article 96 mechanics, so the tool total is gross, not net.
What is the prima de antigüedad cap, and why does it matter for high earners?
12 days per year of service, but the daily rate is capped at twice the minimum wage: $630.08 per day in the General zone or $881.74 per day in the Northern Border zone in 2026. A $2,000 per day earner with 10 years gets $75,609.60, not $240,000, as shown in Example 3.
When must the finiquito be paid?
At termination. If payment is delayed, salary continues to accrue until it is paid in full, and undisputed amounts must be paid even while a dispute runs. Get advice from PROFEDET, which is free, before signing anything you dispute.
Important: This calculator gives a simplified estimate of the Mexico finiquito under the general rules of the Ley Federal del Trabajo for 2026. It is for standard full-time employment at the legal minimum benefits and does not cover PTU amounts, fixed-term early-termination formulas, salarios caídos, variable pay averaging, contractual benefits above the legal minimum, or deductions for debts and loans. The result is not legal advice: for your exact settlement, check your contract and payslips or ask PROFEDET, which advises workers for free.
Official sources on the Mexico finiquito
The rules above follow the Ley Federal del Trabajo, the CONASAMI minimum wages from 1 January 2026, and the INEGI UMA value from 1 February 2026. Figures checked: November 2026. UMA updates every February and minimum wages every January, so a 2026 page must be refreshed when the new figures are published.
