13th Month Pay Calculator

How to Compute 13th Month Pay

Under Presidential Decree No. 851, private employers must pay rank-and-file employees a 13th month pay of at least one-twelfth (1/12) of the total basic salary they earned in the calendar year. DOLE repeated the rule in Labor Advisory No. 16, Series of 2025. That's the legal minimum. Your employer can give more through company policy, an employment contract or a collective bargaining agreement.

Worked example

Ana earned ₱20,000 a month from January to June and ₱22,000 a month from July to December after a raise. In October she took 2 days of leave without pay, and her daily rate is ₱1,000.

For a raise like Ana's, use Month by month mode. DOLE's own illustration in its 2024 Handbook on Workers' Statutory Monetary Benefits works the same way: ₱184,219.96 of basic salary earned, with 10 days and 1 day of leave without pay taken out, gives a 13th month pay of ₱15,351.66.

What counts as basic salary

DOLE defines basic salary as all pay for services rendered. It does not include overtime, premium pay, night shift differential, holiday pay, cost of living allowance (COLA) or the cash value of unused vacation and sick leave. The exception: if your contract, CBA, company practice or policy treats any of these as part of your basic salary, they count. Commissions don't count when you're paid a fixed wage plus commission; DOLE cites the Supreme Court's Boie-Takeda ruling on this.

If you worked only 4 or 6 months

New hires and employees who resigned or were terminated still get 13th month pay, in proportion to the time they worked during the year, per the DOLE-BWC 13th month pay FAQ. You only need to have worked at least one month in the calendar year.

• Started in September at ₱18,000 a month: 4 months × ₱18,000 = ₱72,000. ₱72,000 ÷ 12 = ₱6,000.
• Resigned at the end of June at ₱20,000 a month: 6 months × ₱20,000 = ₱120,000. ₱120,000 ÷ 12 = ₱10,000. It comes as part of your final pay, which DOLE says must be released within 30 days after you leave unless your company's policy is better (DOLE, January 2026).

If you had absences

Paid leave doesn't change your 13th month pay, because you were still paid. Leave without pay does, because that salary was never earned. In DOLE's handbook example, one day of leave without pay lowers that month's basic salary by one day's pay. Your daily rate is usually on your payslip. If it isn't, this calculator can estimate it with DOLE's equivalent-monthly-rate factors: 261 days a year for a 5-day week and 313 for a 6-day week. Company policies differ, so your payslip rate is more accurate.

When is 13th month pay released?

On or before December 24. Employers may also pay half before the regular school year opens and the other half by December 24. DOLE doesn't accept requests to skip or delay it. Last year's reminder, Labor Advisory No. 16, Series of 2025, was signed on November 15, 2025. As of October 21, 2026, DOLE hadn't posted its 2026 advisory yet.

Is 13th month pay taxable?

Up to a point. Under the TRAIN law (RA 10963), as implemented by BIR Revenue Regulations No. 11-2018, your 13th month pay plus other benefits, like a Christmas bonus, productivity incentive, loyalty award or cash gift, are tax-exempt up to a combined ₱90,000 a year. Anything above that is added to your taxable compensation. Whether you actually owe tax on it depends on your total taxable income for the year. The calculator's tax section is an estimate to help you plan, not tax advice.

Who is covered

• Covered: rank-and-file employees in the private sector who worked at least one month in the calendar year, whatever their position, designation or employment status (so contractual and probationary workers too), and however they're paid. DOLE names piece-rate workers, people with a fixed wage plus commission, people with more than one employer, and employees who resigned, were terminated or were on maternity leave.
• Kasambahay: domestic workers are entitled to 13th month pay under Section 25 of the Batas Kasambahay (RA 10361), per DOLE's handbook.
• Not covered by PD 851: managerial employees, meaning those who can set and carry out management policy or hire, fire, discipline or effectively recommend those actions. Also excluded are workers paid purely by commission, boundary or task (piece-rate workers are still covered).
• Government employees: PD 851 doesn't cover government agencies or most GOCCs. Government workers get a year-end bonus instead, under separate Department of Budget and Management rules. As of the DBM's November 2025 announcement, it equals one month of basic pay as of October 31, plus a ₱5,000 cash gift. This calculator doesn't cover it.

Think you were underpaid or not paid at all? Talk to HR first. You can also contact the DOLE regional office for your workplace, or call the DOLE hotline at 1349, per DOLE's December 2025 release.

Plan it before it lands

December has a way of spending a bonus before you decide anything. Our guide on how to budget your 13th month pay walks through listing December's real costs first, then splitting the rest between bills, debt, ipon and guilt-free fun. To put part of it toward savings, the ipon challenge generator and the emergency fund calculator help you pick a target.

Sources

• DOLE, Labor Advisory No. 16, Series of 2025: Guidelines on the Payment of Thirteenth-Month Pay (November 15, 2025)
• DOLE-BWC, Handbook on Workers' Statutory Monetary Benefits, 2024 Edition, chapter 13
• DOLE-BWC, FAQs on 13th Month Pay
• BIR, Revenue Regulations No. 11-2018 (TRAIN law withholding rules)
• DBM, Year-end bonus and cash gift release (November 4, 2025)

Rules checked on October 21, 2026.