Blog/Payroll

Which payroll payments are due in Colombia between December and February?

October 14, 2026·5 min read

Short answer

Five statutory payroll obligations fall between December 2026 and February 2027: the second half of the service bonus and the third delivery of work clothing, by December 20; the new minimum wage and transportation allowance, which the government sets each year from January 1; interest on severance, in January; and the deposit of severance into each employee's fund, before February 15. In this cycle, three of those deadlines fall on a Sunday: December 20, January 31 and February 14.

Why this matters to a parent company

Colombian payroll carries several statutory benefits on top of salary, and a good part of them is paid in the same ten weeks at year-end. For a subsidiary, that means a cash peak in December and January, a cost increase driven by the new minimum wage, and fixed legal deadlines with their own penalties.

The deadlines, in one table

Deadline What is due Who is entitled Law
Sunday, December 20, 2026 Second half of the service bonus (prima de servicios) All employees, including domestic workers Labor Code, art. 306
Sunday, December 20, 2026 Third delivery of work clothing (dotación) Employees earning up to two minimum wages with more than three months of service Labor Code, arts. 230 and 232
Wednesday, December 30, 2026 Last day for the government to set the 2027 minimum wage, if the negotiating commission reaches no agreement by December 15 Everyone paid the minimum wage, or anything calculated on it Law 278 of 1996, art. 8
Sunday, January 31, 2027 Interest on severance Employees with a severance balance at December 31 Law 52 of 1975, art. 1
Sunday, February 14, 2027 Deposit of severance into each employee's severance fund Employees under the annual settlement regime Law 50 of 1990, art. 99

When a deadline falls on a Sunday, the prudent choice is to pay on the last business day before it: Friday, December 18; Friday, January 29; and Friday, February 12.

What is paid in December?

The second half of the service bonus. Article 306 of the Labor Code sets the service bonus (prima de servicios) at 30 days of salary per year, paid in two halves: the first by June 30, the second within the first twenty days of December. Since Law 1788 of 2016, it also covers domestic workers, family drivers and day workers.

The third delivery of work clothing. Article 230 requires employers to give a pair of shoes and a set of work clothes every four months to employees who earn up to twice the minimum wage and have more than three months of service. Article 232 sets the dates: April 30, August 31 and December 20. Article 234 prohibits paying it in cash: it is delivered in kind.

What changes on January 1?

The 2027 minimum wage. Under Law 278 of 1996, the Permanent Commission for Wage and Labor Policy, where employers, unions and government sit together, has until December 15 to agree on it. If there is no agreement, the government sets it by December 30. Each year's decree states when it takes effect; the 2026 decree, for example, set it from January 1.

The 2026 minimum wage, COP 1,750,905 a month, was set by Decree 1469 of 2025. After the Council of State provisionally suspended that decree, Decree 159 of 2026 kept the same amount on a temporary basis until a final ruling.

The transportation allowance. Created by Law 15 of 1959 and set every year by decree, it goes to employees earning up to two minimum wages. For 2026 it is COP 249,095 a month (Decree 1470 of 2025). Employees working remotely receive a digital connectivity allowance in its place.

Both amounts change January payroll for anyone at or near the minimum wage, and also for those close to the two-minimum-wage cap: when the minimum wage rises, the cap rises with it, and some employees can fall below it and become entitled to the transportation allowance and to work clothing.

What is paid in January?

Interest on severance. Colombian employers owe severance pay (cesantías) of one month of salary for each year of service, and proportionally for part of a year (Labor Code, art. 249). Law 52 of 1975 adds interest of 12% a year, calculated on each employee's severance balance at December 31, paid directly to the employee in January of the following year. In this cycle, the deadline is Sunday, January 31, 2027.

What is due in February?

The deposit of severance into the employee's fund. Article 99 of Law 50 of 1990 requires employers to settle each employee's severance at December 31 and deposit it, before February 15 of the following year, in the severance fund the employee chose. In this cycle, the last day is Sunday, February 14, 2027.

Depositing on time requires knowing each employee's fund, especially for those hired during the year.

What happens if a payment is late?

  • Interest on severance: an employer that fails to pay it owes the employee, as compensation and one time only, an additional amount equal to the interest due (Law 52 of 1975).
  • Severance deposit: an employer that misses the deadline owes one day of salary for each delay (Law 50 of 1990, art. 99).

What to do with this

  1. Calculate the December service bonus per employee, based on salary and time worked in the second half of the year, and schedule payment before Friday, December 18.
  2. Check who is entitled to work clothing: salary up to two minimum wages and more than three months of service. Have sizes and deliveries ready before December 20.
  3. Budget January with minimum wage scenarios: the figure is known between December 15 and 30, and it moves the transportation allowance and the two-minimum-wage cap.
  4. Settle severance at December 31 and, on that balance, the 12% annual interest, to be paid before Friday, January 29.
  5. Confirm each employee's severance fund and deposit before Friday, February 12.

Sources

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