How much does an employee cost in Mexico in 2026? IMSS, INFONAVIT, bonuses and worked examples

Five items: the IMSS social security branches, the INFONAVIT housing fund, the state payroll tax, and two mandatory bonuses, the aguinaldo and the vacation premium. IMSS contributions are calculated on the integrated contribution salary, which includes almost every payment for work, such as bonuses and premiums, up to a ceiling of 25 UMA,[1] MXN 2,932.75 a day in 2026.[4] Profit sharing comes on top, once a year.

The employer withholds the worker’s share from wages and pays both by the 17th of the following month.[1]

The 2020 pension reform raises the employer’s old-age contribution every January from 2023 to 2030.[9] The rate depends on the contribution salary, measured in minimum wages (SM) and UMA:[5]

The 2030 column is the law’s final table.[1] Most professional salaries are in the top band, above 4 UMA, which a first-year employee reaches at about MXN 13,400 a month (calculated). In that band the rate was 4.241% in 2023, 5.331% in 2024 and 6.422% in 2025, is 7.513% in 2026, and will be 8.603% in 2027, 9.694% in 2028 and 10.784% in 2029.[5] For an employee on MXN 40,000 a month, the step from 2026 to 2030 adds about MXN 1,856 a month at today’s salary (calculated by Nearshorers).

• INFONAVIT housing fund: 5% of salary.[2]
• State payroll tax: 4% of total payroll in Mexico City,[3] 3% in Jalisco[6] and 3% in Nuevo León.[7]
• Aguinaldo: at least 15 days of salary a year, paid before December 20.[2]
• Vacation premium: at least 25% of the salary for the vacation days;[2] vacation is 12 working days after the first year, rising by two days a year to 20, then by two days every five years.[2]
• Profit sharing (PTU): 10% of the company’s taxable income,[8] capped for each worker at three months of salary or the average received in the last three years, whichever is more favorable to the worker; new companies are exempt in their first year.[2]

Calculated by Nearshorers for an employee in Mexico City in 2026: first year of service, risk class I, no other benefits, profit sharing not included, and the Bank of Mexico’s FIX rate of October 30, 2026, MXN 18.7962 per dollar.[10] Monthly figures use 365/12 days.

The daily contribution salary adds the aguinaldo and vacation premium to the daily wage. In Jalisco or Nuevo León, with a 3% payroll tax, the MXN 40,000 example costs MXN 12,660.67 on top of salary instead of MXN 13,080.67. This is arithmetic on the published rates, not a payroll quote.

Because two pieces stop growing. The IMSS fixed quota is a flat amount per worker, about MXN 24 a day, and every IMSS branch and INFONAVIT stop at the 25 UMA ceiling of MXN 2,932.75 a day,[1][4] which the MXN 100,000 example reaches. Above the ceiling, only the payroll tax and the bonuses keep growing with salary.

US private employers spent $46.89 per hour worked on employee compensation in June 2026: $32.82 in wages and $14.07 in benefits, 30.0% of the total, which is about 43% on top of wages.[11] Legally required benefits were 7.0% of compensation for full-time workers.[11] Mexico’s statutory on-cost of 28% to 34% is lower as a share of salary and applies to a lower base.

The Mexico hiring guide covers contracts, termination, REPSE and contractors, the 40-hour workweek page explains the hours reform, and the Colombia cost guide runs the same exercise for Colombia.