13th Month Pay Calculator and Computation (Philippines 2026)

How to compute 13th month pay

1. List the basic salary you earned each month this year

   Use what you were actually paid as basic salary. A month with unpaid absences counts at the lower amount; paid leave counts in full.

2. Leave out what isn't basic salary

   Overtime, premium and holiday pay, night-shift differential, cost-of-living allowance (COLA) and the cash value of unused leave don't count, unless your contract, CBA or company practice treats them as part of your basic salary.

3. Add the months together

   to get your total basic salary for the calendar year (January to December, or from your first day to your last day if you joined or left during the year).

4. Divide the total by 12

   That's your minimum 13th month pay. Your employer can give more, but not less.

The formula: 13th month pay = total basic salary earned during the year ÷ 12. This is the formula in DOLE's guidelines, and it's what the calculator above uses.

Examples: 13th month pay computation

We worked these out with the same formula. Your own amounts depend on the basic salary you were actually paid.

Worked 6 months? You don't divide by 6. You still divide your total basic salary by 12, which is why someone who worked half the year gets about half a month's pay.

Paid by the day? Use the number of days you were actually paid in the year: count them from your payslips rather than assuming a fixed number, because it depends on your workweek and absences.

DOLE's own example

DOLE's latest guidelines, Labor Advisory No. 16, series of 2025, illustrate the computation for an employee whose full monthly basic salary was ₱18,127.92:

₱209,774.20 ÷ 12 = ₱17,481.18. Notice that the paid leave in June didn't lower anything; only the unpaid days in September and November did. We checked this example, and the one in DOLE's 2024 advisory (₱194,682.50 ÷ 12 = ₱16,223.54), against our calculator's formula: both give DOLE's figures to the centavo.

Piece-rate and commission workers

The 2025 advisory adds two more examples:

• Piece-rate workers (paid by output, not time): 13th month pay = total earnings from production during the year ÷ 12. DOLE's example: ₱120,000 earned from January to December gives ₱10,000.
• Fixed or guaranteed wage plus commission: only the fixed wage counts. Citing the Supreme Court in Boie-Takeda Chemicals, Inc. v. De la Serna, DOLE says commissions are not part of "basic salary". DOLE's example: ₱216,782.12 in fixed wages plus ₱30,000 in commissions gives ₱216,782.12 ÷ 12 = ₱18,065.18. The fixed wage must not be lower than the regional minimum wage.

What counts as basic salary

Under DOLE's guidelines, "basic salary" for the 13th month pay includes all remuneration or earnings your employer pays you for services rendered. It does not include allowances and monetary benefits that aren't part of your regular or basic salary.

The exception that matters: DOLE says these salary-related benefits must be included if they are treated as part of your basic salary through an individual or collective agreement, company practice or policy. If your contract says your basic pay includes a fixed allowance, it counts.

Commission-based workers: if you're paid a fixed or guaranteed wage plus commission, DOLE's 2025 advisory says your 13th month pay is based on the fixed wage only (see the example above). Your company can still give more under its policy or your contract.

Who is entitled to 13th month pay

The 13th month pay is mandatory. PD 851, as modified by Memorandum Order No. 28 (1986), requires employers to pay all their rank-and-file employees a 13th month pay not later than 24 December every year. DOLE's guidelines spell out who's covered:

• Rank-and-file employees in the private sector, whatever their position, designation or employment status (probationary, regular, contractual, project-based), and however they're paid.
• Employees who worked at least one month during the calendar year.
• Workers paid on a piece-rate basis, or a fixed or guaranteed wage plus commission.
• Employees with more than one employer.
• Employees who resigned or were terminated: they get the proportionate amount for the time they worked.
• Employees on maternity leave who received a salary differential.
• Kasambahay (domestic workers): the Batas Kasambahay (RA 10361, Sec. 25) says a domestic worker "is entitled to a thirteenth month pay as provided for by law".

Not covered by PD 851:

• Managerial employees. The law covers rank-and-file employees. Whether managers get a 13th month pay depends on their contract or company policy.
• Government employees. Their year-end benefits come from a separate law (RA 6686), which the TRAIN law treats alongside the 13th month pay for tax purposes.

Did you leave your job this year? You're still entitled. Your 13th month pay is 1/12 of the basic salary you earned from January to your last day.

On maternity leave? DOLE's guidelines include employees on maternity leave who received a salary differential. The 13th month pay itself is still computed from the basic salary you earned during the year; the maternity benefit is an SSS benefit, not basic salary. See the SSS maternity benefit guide.

When it must be paid

• Deadline: on or before 24 December every year. This comes from PD 851 itself, so it applies in 2026 too. DOLE repeats it in its yearly advisory: the latest one (Labor Advisory No. 16, s. 2025, dated 15 November 2025) set 24 December 2025.
• No exemption or deferment: DOLE's advisory says no request or application for exemption from paying the 13th month pay, or for deferring it, will be accepted.
• Employer report: employers report their compliance through the DOLE Online Compliance Portal at reports.dole.gov.ph. The 2025 advisory set 15 January 2026 as the deadline; past advisories have used 15 January of the following year.
• Monitoring: compliance is monitored by the DOLE Regional, Field or Provincial Office that covers the workplace. If your employer doesn't pay, that's the office to contact.

DOLE issues a new advisory each year with that year's dates. When the 2026 advisory comes out, the dates in it are the ones that apply.

Is 13th month pay taxable?

Not up to ₱90,000. The TRAIN law (RA 10963) excludes "13th month pay and other benefits" from taxable income, but the total exclusion is capped at ₱90,000 a year, and that ₱90,000 covers all of these together:

• the 13th month pay under PD 851;
• benefits of government employees under RA 6686;
• benefits of employees not covered by PD 851; and
• other benefits such as productivity incentives and Christmas bonus.

So you add your 13th month pay to your other bonuses. Only the part above ₱90,000 is taxable.

The calculator does this check when you enter your other bonuses. Your employer handles the actual withholding tax.

Common mistakes

• Dividing by the months you worked. Always divide by 12. Divide by 6 and you'd get a full month's pay for half a year's work.
• Adding overtime and holiday pay when your company doesn't treat them as basic salary.
• Deducting paid leave. Days on paid leave count in full; only unpaid days lower your total.
• Treating the Christmas bonus as the 13th month pay. They're separate. The 13th month pay is required by law; a bonus isn't. Both count toward the same ₱90,000 tax-free cap.
• Forgetting a raise. Use the new salary from the month it took effect, as in the example above.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

Sources

• Presidential Decree No. 851 and its implementing rules (Lawphil)
• Memorandum Order No. 28, s. 1986, all rank-and-file employees covered (Lawphil)
• DOLE Labor Advisory No. 16, s. 2025: Guidelines on the Payment of Thirteenth-Month Pay (DOLE Bureau of Working Conditions, PDF)
• DOLE Labor Advisory No. 13, s. 2024: Guidelines on the Payment of Thirteenth Month Pay (DOLE Bureau of Working Conditions, PDF)
• Republic Act No. 10963 (TRAIN law), NIRC Sec. 32(B)(7)(e): 13th month pay and other benefits up to ₱90,000 (Lawphil)
• Republic Act No. 10361 (Batas Kasambahay), Sec. 25 (Lawphil)

Last checked 26 October 2026. See how we research and the updates log.