Guatemala Payroll Guide 2026: IGSS, ISR, Bonificaciones, Real Cost Per Employee

If you are hiring your first employee in Guatemala, the cost is higher than the gross salary on paper. Social security (IGSS), the Q250 bonificación incentivo, Bono 14, aguinaldo and paid vacation all sit on top of the salary. This guide sets out each component with its legal source and works through the cost for three salary levels.

Quick summary: IGSS publishes its contribution rates as 10.67% employer and 4.83% worker, 15.5% in total. Bono 14 and aguinaldo each equal one month of ordinary salary a year. The Q250 bonificación incentivo is paid monthly with the salary. In our worked examples, salary plus bonificación, the IGSS employer share and accruals for Bono 14, aguinaldo and vacation come to about 1.33-1.37 times the gross salary, before IRTRA and INTECAP contributions, whose rates we have not sourced.

Corrected 8 October 2026: this page earlier showed out-of-date minimum wages, an IGSS employer rate of 12.67% described as including IRTRA and INTECAP, an IGSS contribution ceiling of about Q22,000, and fee ranges for uniforms, MINTRAB registration and payroll outsourcing. The wages and rates are now taken from the sources named below; the rest had no source and is removed.

Minimum Wage (2026)

Acuerdo Gubernativo 256-2025, published in the Diario Oficial on 22 December 2025, sets the 2026 minimum wages (EY tax alert and AGN, both read 7 October 2026). Circunscripción Económica 1 (CE1) is every municipality of the department of Guatemala; CE2 is the rest of the country.

Monthly figures and totals from EY; daily figures from AGN. AGN prints Q3,321.10 for the CE2 maquila monthly wage; EY’s Q3,221.10 is used here. EY adds that the wage is set by where the workplace is, failing that where the work is usually done, failing that where the worker lives, and that not paying the minimum wage carries a fine of 8 to 18 non-agricultural monthly minimum wages.

The Q250 bonificación incentivo is set by Decreto 37-2001, Article 1, for all private-sector workers, whatever their activity, paid with the monthly salary. Its treatment for contributions and tax is covered below.

Mandatory Employer Contributions (IGSS)

IGSS (Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social) publishes the rates as follows: the employer contributes 10.67% of the worker’s salary, which together with the worker’s 4.83% makes 15.5% (IGSS notice of October 2022 on igssgt.org, read 7 October 2026).

Decreto 78-89, Article 2, refers to employer and worker contributions to IGSS, IRTRA and INTECAP, so those two employer contributions exist in addition to IGSS; we have not captured an official page with their rates, so the cost examples below leave them out. Ask your accountant for the rates on your planilla.

A Q5,000/month employee costs the employer Q533.50 a month in IGSS (Q5,000 × 10.67%). The worker’s 4.83% comes out of the worker’s salary, not on top of it.

Mandatory Legal Bonuses

1. Bono 14

Decreto 42-92 sets an annual bonus equal to 100% of one month’s ordinary salary for a worker with a full year of service before the payment date, proportional if the worker has been there less than a year (Art. 2).

• Calculation: the average of the ordinary salaries earned in the year ending in June (Art. 2)
• Payment: during the first half of July (Art. 3); if the job ends, the proportional part from 1 July to the end date
• Income tax: exempt up to 100% of the ordinary monthly salary (Decreto 10-2012, Art. 70.6)

2. Aguinaldo (Christmas Bonus)

Decreto 76-78 requires an aguinaldo equal to 100% of the ordinary monthly salary for a year of continuous service, or the proportional part (Art. 1).

• Payment timing: 50% in the first half of December and 50% in the second half of the following January; an employer that pays 100% in December owes nothing in January (Art. 2)
• On termination: the worker is owed the proportional part immediately (Art. 5)
• Proof: payment must be recorded in writing; if the employer cannot show the signed record, the aguinaldo is presumed unpaid (Art. 7)
• Income tax: exempt up to 100% of the ordinary monthly salary (Decreto 10-2012, Art. 70.5)

3. Bonificación Incentivo Q250/mes

• Legal basis: Decreto 37-2001, Art. 1, which sets Q250 in place of the bonificación of Decretos 78-89 and 7-2000
• Who receives it: all private-sector workers, whatever their activity
• Payment timing: monthly, with the salary
• Contributions: Decreto 78-89, Art. 2, says it is not subject to employer or worker contributions to IGSS, IRTRA or INTECAP unless employer and workers agree to pay them, and that it does not increase the salary used to calculate severance or aguinaldo (except for the seventh-day calculation)
• Income tax: the sources point different ways. Decreto 78-89, Art. 2, says it does not create taxable income for the worker; Decreto 10-2012, Art. 68, taxes all pay from personal work, whatever it is called; and Prensa Libre’s April 2026 report on Decreto 13-2026 counts the bonificación toward the Q48,000 a year that was already free of ISR. Ask SAT or your accountant which treatment to apply. The example below shows both.

ISR (Income Tax Retentions)

The employer withholds ISR on employment income and pays it to SAT.

ISR rates for employment income

Decreto 10-2012, Article 73, applies the rates to taxable income (income less the deductions in Article 72):

Deductions (Decreto 10-2012, Art. 72, and Decreto 13-2026):

• Up to Q60,000: Q48,000 of personal expenses with no proof needed, plus up to Q12,000 of IVA paid on personal purchases, credited through a planilla filed in the first 10 business days of January (Art. 72 a)
• Extraordinary 2026 deduction: Q3,024, no proof needed, for fiscal year 2026 only (Decreto 13-2026, per Prensa Libre)
• Contributions to IGSS (Art. 72 c)
• Documented donations to the State, universities and cultural or scientific bodies (Art. 72 b)

Withholding example: a worker on Q10,000 a month base salary plus the Q250 bonificación. Worker IGSS = Q5,796 a year (4.83% of the Q120,000 base; IGSS is not paid on the bonificación).

• Counting the bonificación, as Prensa Libre does: income Q123,000 − Q48,000 − Q3,024 − Q5,796 = Q66,180 taxable. ISR = 5% = Q3,309.00 a year, about Q275.75 a month.
• Leaving it out, as Decreto 78-89 Art. 2 reads: income Q120,000 − Q48,000 − Q3,024 − Q5,796 = Q63,180 taxable. ISR = 5% = Q3,159.00 a year, about Q263.25 a month.

Minimum-wage earners pay no ISR from 2026. Prensa Libre reports that Decreto 13-2026 removes ISR for workers on the minimum wage. Even counting the bonificación, the highest 2026 minimum wage gives Q51,027.36 a year (Q4,252.28 × 12), and Q48,000 + Q3,024 + the worker’s IGSS (Q2,319.72) exceed it, so nothing is withheld.

Paying the withholding: the employer files the withholding return and pays the tax withheld in the first 10 days of the month after the salaries were paid, even if it failed to withhold (Decreto 10-2012, Art. 80).

2026 ISR Reform: What Changes Under Decreto 13-2026

Per Prensa Libre (29 April 2026), Congress approved Decreto 13-2026 on 28 April 2026, reforming the Ley de Actualización Tributaria (Decreto 10-2012):

• Minimum-wage earners: no ISR withheld, from 2026 on.
• 2026: an extraordinary deduction of Q3,024, with no proof needed, on top of the Q48,000.
• From then on: the amount is updated each year on the basis of the highest minimum wage in the country, whatever the circunscripción, and SAT updates and publishes the deduction values each year (Article 2 of the reform).
• Over-withholding: Decreto 10-2012, Art. 79, already requires the employer, at the year-end liquidation, to refund amounts withheld in excess and report to SAT within the first two months of the calendar year. Recalculate each worker’s projection with the new deduction.

Total Cost Per Employee: Worked Examples

Our arithmetic from the rates above. Bono 14 and aguinaldo are accrued at one-twelfth of a month’s salary each month; vacation is accrued at 15 days of salary a year (salary ÷ 30 × 15 ÷ 12), an approximation, since the Code’s minimum is 15 working days. IRTRA and INTECAP are not included (rates not sourced here).

Base Salary: Q5,000/month

Ratio: Q6,825.17 / Q5,000 = 1.365x the gross salary

Q10,000/month Employee

Ratio: Q13,400.33 / Q10,000 = 1.34x

Q20,000/month Employee (Professional)

Ratio: Q26,550.67 / Q20,000 = 1.33x

The ratio falls slightly as salary rises because the Q250 bonificación is a fixed amount.

Other Costs to Consider

• Vacation: every worker is entitled to paid vacation after each year of continuous work for the same employer, at least 15 working days (Código de Trabajo, Art. 130)
• Severance (indemnización): if an indefinite contract ends after the probation period through unjustified dismissal, the employer owes one month of salary per year of continuous service, proportional for less than a year (Código de Trabajo, Art. 82). It is calculated on the average salary of the last six months (Art. 82 b), and Decreto 42-92, Art. 4, says the Bono 14 is taken into account in that calculation, in the proportion corresponding to six months of service

Setting Up Payroll: Step by Step

1. Register as an employer with IGSS.
2. Put the contract in writing. Verbal contracts are allowed only for agricultural or livestock work, domestic service, casual or temporary work of up to 60 days, and a set piece of work worth no more than Q100 (Código de Trabajo, Art. 27). In every other case the contract is written in three copies, and the employer sends one to the Dirección General de Trabajo within 15 days of signing, changing or renewing it (Art. 28).
3. Enrol each worker with IGSS.
4. Set up a payroll system: a spreadsheet, payroll software, or an accountant.
5. Run the monthly planilla: pay salary and bonificación, report IGSS through the Planilla Electrónica de la Seguridad Social, withhold ISR, and file and pay the withholding in the first 10 days of the next month.
6. Pay the bonuses on time: Bono 14 in the first half of July; aguinaldo half in the first half of December and half in the second half of January. Keep the signed receipts.
7. Close the year: the IVA planilla is filed with SAT in the first 10 business days of January, and you reconcile your withholdings with the final return the worker must file (Art. 72 a); then calculate the final ISR and refund any excess under Art. 79.

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting the Q250 bonificación. Decreto 78-89, Art. 4, tells the labour authorities to enforce it and apply the Código de Trabajo’s sanctions.
• Paying below the minimum wage. EY reports a fine of 8 to 18 non-agricultural monthly minimum wages for not paying the minimum wage.
• Relying on a verbal contract outside the Art. 27 cases. The Code requires a written contract and a copy filed with the Dirección General de Trabajo (Art. 28).
• Treating employees as independent contractors. Under Código de Trabajo Art. 18, an individual employment contract exists, whatever it is called, when a person is bound to provide personal services or carry out work for another, personally, under continued dependence and direction, for pay. See our employee vs contractor guide.
• Not preparing for severance: at one month of salary per year of service (Art. 82), set money aside as you go rather than at termination.
• Skipping Bono 14 or aguinaldo: without a signed record of payment, the aguinaldo is presumed unpaid (Decreto 76-78, Art. 7).

When to Outsource Payroll

Whether to run payroll yourself or hand it to an accountant depends on your headcount and how comfortable you are with the IGSS and SAT filings above. For what accountants charge, see our accountant fees page.

Related Guides

• Business Formation Hub — The pillar overview
• Entity Types — Which entity is right for you
• IGSS Employer Registration — How to register as an employer
• FEL Providers Comparison — Electronic invoicing providers
• Worker IGSS Enrollment — For each employee
• MIPYME Registration — Benefits for small businesses
• Accountant Fees — How much to budget for payroll outsourcing

Checked 8 October 2026 against the sources named on this page: AG 256-2025 (EY, AGN), IGSS, Decretos 42-92, 76-78, 78-89, 37-2001 and 10-2012, the Código de Trabajo and Prensa Libre on Decreto 13-2026. Minimum wages, IGSS rates and ISR deductions change; confirm current figures with MINTRAB, IGSS and SAT before setting up payroll.