13th Month Pay Calculator (Philippines)

A plain-English guide to computing your 13th month pay under Presidential Decree 851, including who is entitled, worked examples, tax rules, and what to do if your employer does not pay.

Your 13th month pay is one-twelfth (1/12) of the total basic salary you actually earned during the calendar year. If you worked the full year at a steady basic salary, it works out to roughly one extra month’s basic pay. If you joined, resigned, or had unpaid time off during the year, you get a prorated amount based on what you actually earned. It is a mandatory benefit for rank-and-file employees in the private sector under Presidential Decree No. 851, and your employer must release it on or before 24 December every year.

This page explains, in plain Philippine English, exactly how 13th month pay works: the law behind it, who is entitled and who is not, how to compute it (with fully worked examples), which parts of your pay count, whether it is taxable, when it must be paid, and what to do if your employer refuses. The calculator at the top of this page does the arithmetic for you; the guide below helps you understand and check the result.

What is 13th month pay and what law requires it?

13th month pay is a mandatory, additional payment equal to at least 1/12 of your total basic salary for the calendar year. It is not a bonus that your employer gives out of goodwill, and it is not optional. It is a legal right of rank-and-file private-sector employees in the Philippines.

The benefit comes from Presidential Decree No. 851, signed in December 1975, which required all employers to pay their rank-and-file employees a 13th month pay. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) enforces the rule and issues a Labor Advisory almost every year reminding employers of their obligations and the 24 December deadline. DOLE has been consistent that no application for exemption or deferment of payment is allowed.

Because it is written into law, 13th month pay is separate from any Christmas bonus, performance bonus, or “14th month” pay that a generous employer might also give. Those extra amounts are discretionary. Your 13th month pay is not.

Is 13th month pay the same as a Christmas bonus?

No. This is one of the most common points of confusion, so it is worth stating clearly: 13th month pay is required by law; a Christmas bonus is a gift from your employer. An employer can choose to give a Christmas bonus, change its amount, or stop giving it. It cannot legally withhold your 13th month pay. If your company gives both, you should receive both. We break down the differences in detail further below.

Who is entitled to 13th month pay?

Every rank-and-file employee in the private sector who has worked for at least one (1) month during the calendar year is entitled to 13th month pay — regardless of position, designation, or employment status, and regardless of how their wages are paid.

That coverage is broad and deliberately so. Based on PD 851 and DOLE guidance, entitled employees include:

• Regular, probationary, and casual rank-and-file employees who worked at least one month during the year.
• Part-time employees — they receive a prorated amount based on what they actually earned.
• Employees paid on a piece-rate basis — computed on total earnings from output during the year, divided by 12.
• Employees on a fixed or guaranteed wage plus commission — the guaranteed/basic portion counts toward the computation.
• Employees with more than one employer — each employer pays 13th month pay based on the salary earned with that employer.
• Resigned or terminated employees — they are entitled to a prorated 13th month pay for the portion of the year they worked, usually released as part of their final pay.
• Employees who were on maternity leave during part of the year, subject to how salary differentials are treated.

The key threshold is simple: if you are rank-and-file and you worked at least one month in the private sector during the calendar year, you have a right to 13th month pay for that period.

Who is NOT entitled to 13th month pay?

Some categories are excluded by law or covered by different rules. The main exclusions are:

• Managerial employees. Under the law, employees whose primary duty is to manage the establishment (and who have real authority to hire, fire, or effectively recommend such actions) are not covered by PD 851. In practice, many companies still choose to give managers a 13th month pay or an equivalent bonus, but they are not legally required to. Job title alone does not decide this — actual duties and authority do.
• Government employees. Workers in government and government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters are covered by separate rules (they receive their own year-end and mid-year bonuses under government compensation laws), not by PD 851.
• Purely commission-based employees. Employees paid solely on commission, boundary, or task basis, with no guaranteed or fixed basic wage, are generally treated as outside the coverage. The nuance: if you receive a guaranteed wage plus commission, the guaranteed portion is covered.
• Household or domestic workers under the old rules. Kasambahays are now covered under the Batas Kasambahay (Republic Act No. 10361), which grants them their own 13th month pay — see the section below. So a kasambahay is entitled, just under a different law.
• Employees already receiving an equivalent benefit. If your employer already pays a benefit equal to or more than the 13th month pay (for example, a “Christmas bonus” that is at least 1/12 of your annual basic salary and is given as a matter of right), that can be credited toward the requirement.

If you are unsure which category you fall into — especially the managerial vs. rank-and-file question — confirm with your HR department or DOLE, because the answer depends on your actual duties, not just your title.

How do you compute 13th month pay? (The exact formula)

The formula is: total basic salary earned during the calendar year ÷ 12. That’s it. The tricky part is knowing what counts as “basic salary” and how to handle months you did not fully work.

A useful way to think about it for a monthly-paid employee:

• Add up all the basic salary you actually received from January to December.
• Divide that total by 12.
• The result is your 13th month pay.

If you earned a steady basic salary and worked the whole year with no unpaid days, the total is simply your monthly basic × 12, and dividing by 12 gives you exactly one month’s basic salary. If you had unpaid absences, joined mid-year, or resigned mid-year, your “total basic salary earned” will be lower, and so will your 13th month pay. The calculator above follows exactly this logic.

Worked example 1: Full year, no absences

Maria worked the entire calendar year at a basic salary of ₱20,000 per month, with no unpaid absences.

• Total basic salary earned = ₱20,000 × 12 = ₱240,000
• 13th month pay = ₱240,000 ÷ 12 = ₱20,000

Because she worked the full year at a constant salary, her 13th month pay equals exactly one month of basic salary. This is the simplest and most common case.

Worked example 2: Prorated for a new hire

Jose started work on 1 August and worked through 31 December — that is 5 whole months — at a basic salary of ₱18,000 per month.

• Total basic salary earned = ₱18,000 × 5 = ₱90,000
• 13th month pay = ₱90,000 ÷ 12 = ₱7,500

Notice that even though Jose worked 5 months, we still divide by 12, not by 5. The divisor is always 12. This is why an employee who worked only part of the year receives a prorated amount — they earned basic salary for fewer months, so the total being divided is smaller.

Worked example 3: Prorated for a resigned employee

Ana resigned effective 31 July after working 7 whole months at ₱25,000 per month basic salary.

• Total basic salary earned = ₱25,000 × 7 = ₱175,000
• 13th month pay = ₱175,000 ÷ 12 = ₱14,583.33

Ana is still entitled to this prorated 13th month pay even though she left before December. It should be released as part of her final pay, which DOLE guidance says should generally be paid within 30 days from the date of separation. Resigning does not forfeit the 13th month pay you already earned.

Worked example 4: A year with unpaid absences or leave

Ben has a basic salary of ₱22,000 per month, but during the year he took a total of one month of unpaid leave (for example, unpaid absences on top of his paid leaves). Effectively he was paid basic salary for 11 months’ worth of work.

• Total basic salary actually earned = ₱22,000 × 11 = ₱242,000
• 13th month pay = ₱242,000 ÷ 12 = ₱20,166.67

The important principle: 13th month pay is based on the basic salary you actually earned. Unpaid absences reduce the total you earned, so they reduce your 13th month pay. Paid leaves that formed part of your basic salary are already included in what you earned, so they do not reduce it.

A note on maternity leave: maternity benefits are largely funded by the Social Security System (SSS), and the SSS maternity benefit itself is not “basic salary” earned from your employer. However, any salary differential your employer pays on top of the SSS benefit may be treated as part of your basic salary for 13th month purposes. This area can get technical, so confirm the exact treatment with your HR or DOLE for your specific situation.

Summary of worked examples

In every case the divisor stays at 12. Only the “total basic salary earned” changes.

What is included and excluded in “basic salary”?

Basic salary means your fixed base pay for regular work — and it excludes allowances, overtime, premiums, and other add-ons unless your company has integrated them into your basic rate. Getting this right matters, because including the wrong items inflates your 13th month pay and excluding integrated items shortchanges you.

As a rule, “basic salary” is your straight-time pay for your normal hours. It does not include the extra amounts you earn for working beyond normal conditions.

The recurring theme is the word “integrated.” If an allowance or premium has been made a permanent, guaranteed part of your basic wage — whether by law, contract, or long-standing company practice — it counts. If it is a separate add-on that varies with hours, output, or circumstances, it does not. When in doubt, ask HR how your basic rate is defined in your payslip and contract, and confirm with DOLE if you think an integrated item is being wrongly excluded.

Is 13th month pay taxable?

Your 13th month pay is tax-exempt up to ₱90,000. Only the amount above ₱90,000 — combined with your other bonuses — is subject to income tax. For most rank-and-file employees, this means the entire 13th month pay arrives tax-free.

Under the Tax Code as amended by the TRAIN Law (Republic Act No. 10963) and implemented through BIR regulations, the ₱90,000 ceiling is a combined cap. It covers your 13th month pay plus other benefits such as your Christmas bonus, performance bonus, productivity incentives, and similar “other benefits” (that are not classified as de minimis). You add all of these together, and the first ₱90,000 of that total is exempt from income tax. Anything beyond ₱90,000 is added to your taxable income for the year.

Example: 13th month pay above the ₱90,000 cap

Suppose Grace has a monthly basic salary of ₱80,000 and worked the full year. Her 13th month pay is ₱80,000. During December her employer also gives a Christmas bonus of ₱30,000.

• Total “13th month + other benefits” = ₱80,000 + ₱30,000 = ₱110,000
• Tax-exempt portion = ₱90,000
• Taxable portion = ₱110,000 − ₱90,000 = ₱20,000

Only that ₱20,000 excess is added to Grace’s taxable income and taxed at her applicable income tax rate. The first ₱90,000 remains tax-free. If Grace had received no Christmas bonus, her ₱80,000 13th month pay would have been entirely tax-exempt because it is below the ₱90,000 cap.

This is general information, not tax advice. For your exact tax computation and withholding, confirm with your employer’s payroll/HR or the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). If you are also managing your own tax records, you will need a Tax Identification Number — see our guide on how to get a TIN number.

When must 13th month pay be paid?

Your employer must release your 13th month pay on or before 24 December each year. This deadline is fixed by law and DOLE reiterates it annually. DOLE has repeatedly stressed that no delays, exemptions, or deferments are allowed.

Some employers choose to split the payment: half around mid-year (for example, in May or June) and the other half in December. This is allowed as long as the full amount is completed on or before 24 December. If your company pays a mid-year portion, that is an advance on the same benefit — not a separate bonus — and it is credited toward your total 13th month pay for the year.

Employers are also required to file a compliance report with DOLE (typically by 15 January of the following year) confirming that they have paid the 13th month pay. If you never received yours, that reporting requirement is part of what DOLE uses to monitor and enforce compliance.

13th month pay vs. 14th month pay vs. Christmas bonus

Only 13th month pay is required by law. “14th month pay” and Christmas bonuses are voluntary benefits some employers give on top of it. Here is how they compare:

In short: you are legally guaranteed the 13th month pay. A 14th month pay or a Christmas bonus is a nice extra, but your employer is not breaking the law if it does not give one. All of them share the same ₱90,000 tax-exempt bucket.

13th month pay for resigned or terminated employees

If you resigned or were terminated during the year, you are still entitled to a prorated 13th month pay for the months you worked. Leaving your job does not erase the benefit you already earned.

The computation is the same as any prorated case: total basic salary you earned from January up to your last day, divided by 12 (see Ana’s example above). This amount should be released as part of your final pay (sometimes called “back pay” or “last pay”). Under DOLE Labor Advisory guidelines, final pay should generally be released within 30 days from the date of separation, unless a more favorable company policy or agreement provides otherwise.

Be careful with quitclaims. When you receive your final pay, you may be asked to sign a document acknowledging full settlement. Make sure your prorated 13th month pay is actually included and correctly computed before you sign, since signing a quitclaim can complicate later claims. If the amount looks wrong, raise it with HR first, and escalate to DOLE if it is not resolved.

Do part-time, probationary, kasambahay, and private-school teachers get 13th month pay?

Yes to part-time and probationary rank-and-file employees, yes to kasambahays (under their own law), and generally yes to private-school teachers — with some nuances.

• Part-time employees: Entitled. Because they earn less basic salary over the year, their 13th month pay is naturally smaller (prorated by what they actually earned), but the right applies.
• Probationary employees: Entitled, as long as they worked at least one month during the calendar year. Employment status does not remove the right; it only affects the amount if they worked part of the year.
• Kasambahay (domestic workers): Entitled under the Batas Kasambahay (RA 10361). A house helper, cook, gardener, or similar domestic worker who has rendered at least one month of service is entitled to a 13th month pay from their employer.
• Private-school teachers: Generally entitled as rank-and-file employees. Their computation can be affected by how their teaching load and pay are structured across the school year, so the exact figure may need HR’s specific computation.

If your working arrangement is unusual — seasonal work, project-based employment, or multiple part-time jobs — the safest move is to confirm your specific entitlement and computation with your employer or DOLE.

What should you do if your employer does not pay your 13th month pay?

If your employer fails to pay your 13th month pay on or before 24 December, you can file a complaint with DOLE — it is a violation of the law, and DOLE actively monitors compliance.

Practical steps:

• Start with a written follow-up. Politely ask HR or your employer in writing (email or letter) for your 13th month pay and keep a copy. Sometimes it is a payroll delay that gets fixed once flagged.
• Gather your records. Collect your payslips, employment contract, and any proof of your basic salary and dates worked. These support your computation if there is a dispute.
• Call the DOLE hotline 1349. This helpline is available to receive labor complaints and inquiries. You can also use DOLE’s online query/complaint channels.
• File at the nearest DOLE Regional or Field Office. DOLE can call the employer to a conference under its Single Entry Approach (SEnA), a mandatory 30-day conciliation-mediation step designed to settle labor issues quickly and without a formal case.
• Escalate if unresolved. If SEnA does not settle the matter, DOLE will advise you on the next steps, which may involve the appropriate labor arbitration body.

You do not need to tolerate non-payment. The right to 13th month pay is protected by law, and pursuing it through DOLE is free and does not require a lawyer to begin. On a related note, if you encounter fake “employers” or job scams that dangle bonuses to lure you in, read our guide on how to report online scams in the Philippines.

Frequently asked questions (including common Taglish questions)

Kailan dapat ibigay ang 13th month pay?

On or before 24 December every year. Some employers give half around the middle of the year and the balance in December, but the full amount must be completed by 24 December. Walang pwedeng i-delay o i-exempt, ayon sa DOLE.

Magkano ang matatanggap ko kung kalahating taon lang ako nagtrabaho?

You get a prorated amount: add up the basic salary you actually earned during your months of work, then divide by 12. For example, six months at ₱20,000 basic = ₱120,000 total, divided by 12 = ₱10,000. The divisor is always 12, never the number of months you worked.

May tax ba ang 13th month pay?

Tax-free up to ₱90,000, combined with your other bonuses. Only the amount above ₱90,000 is taxed. For most rank-and-file employees, the full 13th month pay is tax-exempt.

Kasama ba ang overtime at allowances sa computation?

No. The computation uses only your basic salary. Overtime pay, holiday and night-shift premiums, and most allowances are excluded — unless your company has integrated a specific allowance into your basic wage.

Nag-resign ako, may 13th month pay pa ba ako?

Yes. Resigned and terminated employees are entitled to a prorated 13th month pay for the months worked during the year, usually released as part of your final pay (generally within 30 days of separation).

For your reference, if you are also getting your government IDs and contributions in order after starting or leaving a job, you may find our guide on how to register with SSS online useful.

Key takeaways

• 13th month pay = total basic salary earned in the calendar year ÷ 12.
• It is mandatory for rank-and-file private-sector employees under PD 851; managerial, government, and purely commission-based workers are outside its coverage (kasambahays are covered by their own law).
• The divisor is always 12, even for prorated cases — new hires, resignees, and those with unpaid leave simply earned less basic salary to divide.
• Exclude overtime, premiums, night differential, and most allowances unless they are integrated into basic pay.
• It is tax-free up to ₱90,000, combined with other bonuses; the excess is taxable.
• It must be paid on or before 24 December. If it is not, you can file a complaint with DOLE (hotline 1349).

Disclaimer: Gabay is an independent civic guide. We are not affiliated with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), or any government agency. This page provides general information only and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Labor and tax rules can change and can depend on your specific circumstances, so always confirm the details with DOLE, the BIR, or your employer before acting. The calculator on this page runs entirely in your browser and does not collect, transmit, or store any of the figures you enter.