13th Month Pay Deadline 2026: On or Before December 24

On or before 24 December 2026. Section 1 of Presidential Decree No. 851 sets the date as no later than 24 December of each year.

An employer may split the payment. Half can come before the school year opens, and the rest by 24 December. The DOLE handbook adds that no request to skip or delay the payment will be accepted. After paying, employers file a compliance report online at reports.dole.gov.ph by 15 January of the next year. For the 2026 payment, that is Friday, 15 January 2027.

13th month pay deadlines for 2026, source: https://nwpc.dole.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Workers-Statutory-Monetary-Benefits-Handbook-2024-Edition.pdf

Both dates are also on our 2026 deadlines calendar.

All rank-and-file employees in the private sector who worked at least one month in the calendar year. Your job title, your type of contract and how you are paid do not matter. Probationary, contractual, part-time and piece-rate workers are covered. If you work for two or more private employers, each one owes you a 13th month pay.

The original 1975 decree covered only workers earning up to ₱1,000 a month. The Revised Guidelines of 16 November 1987 removed that ceiling, as the Supreme Court explained in Honda (2005).

Some groups are outside PD 851:

• managerial employees;
• government workers, including most government-owned and controlled corporations;
• workers paid purely by commission, boundary or task.

Kasambahay get 13th month pay under their own law, the Batas Kasambahay. Our glossary entry on 13th month pay explains the legal terms.

At least 1/12 of the total basic salary you earned in the year. Basic salary does not include overtime, night shift differential, holiday pay, COLA or the cash value of unused leave. The exception is when your contract, CBA or company practice treats them as part of basic pay.

Example with a made-up salary: you earn ₱18,000 a month and worked all 12 months of 2026 with no unpaid absences.

• Total basic salary: ₱18,000 × 12 = ₱216,000
• 13th month pay: ₱216,000 ÷ 12 = ₱18,000

If you had five days of unpaid leave, the salary you lost those days comes off the total first. Paid leave days still count. Our 13th month pay calculator does the math for any salary, month by month.

You still get it, pro-rated. You receive 1/12 of the basic salary you earned from your first workday of 2026 up to your last day.

Example with a made-up salary: you worked January to August 2026 at ₱16,500 a month.

• Total basic salary: ₱16,500 × 8 = ₱132,000
• 13th month pay: ₱132,000 ÷ 12 = ₱11,000

This amount is usually released with your final pay. Our final pay calculator adds it to your unpaid salary and unused leave, and the final pay guide explains the release rules.

Only above ₱90,000. Your 13th month pay and other benefits, such as a Christmas bonus, productivity incentive or cash gift, are tax-free up to ₱90,000 in total for the year. The limit comes from the TRAIN law (RA 10963), as applied in BIR Revenue Regulations No. 11-2018.

Example with made-up amounts: your 13th month pay is ₱80,000 and your Christmas bonus is ₱20,000. The total is ₱100,000, so ₱10,000 is added to your taxable income. To see how that changes your tax, use our withholding tax calculator.

If your employer has not paid by 24 December, keep your payslips and contract. You can ask DOLE for help through a Request for Assistance (SEnA), as our guide explains. This post is general information, not legal, tax or payroll advice.