Payroll in North Macedonia 2026: contributions, PIT and MPIN

In North Macedonia the employer withholds 28% social contributions and 10% personal income tax from each gross salary and pays them to the Public Revenue Office (UJP) when it pays the salary. There are no employer contributions on top, so gross pay is the full salary cost. Each month's salary is reported on the MPIN calculation.

Payroll in North Macedonia at a glance

Social security contributions

All contributions are borne by the insured employee and calculated, withheld and paid by the employer. In July 2026 an amendment to the Law on Mandatory Social Insurance Contributions (Official Gazette no. 148 of 6 July 2026) moved 1.1 points from unemployment to pension insurance. According to UJP, the new rates apply from the July 2026 salary through the December 2026 salary:

What to watch:

• Lowest and highest base. UJP sets the 2026 bases from the average gross salary of MKD 69,141: the lowest base is MKD 34,570 (50%) and the highest MKD 1,106,256 (16 times), for salaries of January to December 2026.
• Top-up to the lowest base. When a salary is below the lowest base, contributions are paid on the difference too: (50% of the average salary − gross pay) × the contribution rate. When part of the month is sick leave, the minimum is counted in proportion to the hours of effective work.
• 2027. The announcement covers salaries up to December 2026; check UJP for the rates that apply from January 2027.

Personal income tax on salaries

Personal income tax (персонален данок на доход) is withheld at a flat 10%. UJP's guide sets out the monthly calculation for a full month of work:

1. 1Gross pay − contributions − personal allowance = tax base
2. 2Tax base × 10% = personal income tax
3. 3Gross pay − contributions − personal income tax = net pay

Personal allowance. For 2026 it is MKD 10,932 a month, or MKD 131,184 a year in the annual calculation. The Minister of Finance announces it before each year, indexed to the planned growth of net salaries. For an employee working fewer hours than the full month, the gross pay and the allowance are both calculated by the hours worked.

Minimum wage, working time and mandatory pay

• Minimum wage. Under the Law on Minimum Wage, as amended in 2022, the gross minimum wage is adjusted every March by 50% of the growth in the average net salary and 50% of the growth in the cost-of-living index of the previous year, using State Statistical Office data, and it may not be lower than 57% of the previous year's average net salary. The Minister of Economy and Labour publishes the adjusted amount in the Official Gazette, and it applies from the March salary. Full-time pay may not be lower than the minimum wage.
• 13th salary. Not mandatory: the Labour Relations Law only says the employer may pay a 13th salary if it is able to (Article 105).
• Working time. Full-time work may not exceed 40 hours a week, normally over five working days.
• Overtime. At most 8 hours a week and 190 hours a year, and no more than 8 hours a week on average over three months. Pay supplements for overtime, night work, shifts and work on the weekly rest day or public holidays are set by law and collective agreements.
• Annual leave. At least 20 working days, which a collective agreement or the contract can extend to 26.
• Sick leave. The employer pays salary compensation for the first 30 days of sickness or injury; after that, health insurance pays.

Monthly payroll calendar and filings

1. 1On payday. Pay the salary at the latest 15 days after the end of the month, and pay the contributions and the personal income tax the same day: the payment date of the salary is the due date of the contributions. If the salary is not paid, the contributions fall due on the 15th of the following month.
2. 2By the 10th of the following month. File the MPIN (Месечна пресметка за интегрирана наплата), the monthly calculation of contributions and personal income tax, electronically with UJP, using the current version of UJP's client software. The declaration and the payment order come back by e-mail within 24 hours.
3. 3On every payment. Give each employee a written calculation of the salary, the contributions and the salary compensations, showing the taxes and contributions calculated and paid, and an annual one by 31 January of the next year (Article 110).
4. 4Every day. Keep records of working time. Employers with more than 25 employees must record full working time and overtime electronically at every location; smaller employers keep an attendance sheet with start and end times.

Worked example: MKD 60,000 a month

An employee working a full month in October 2026, single, earning MKD 60,000 gross:

For a salary of January to June 2026 the total is the same, but the split differs: MKD 11,280.00 pension (18.8%) and MKD 720.00 unemployment (1.2%).

Common mistakes

1. 1Keeping 18.8% and 1.2% in payroll software for salaries from July 2026.
2. 2Adding employer contributions on top of gross pay, as in other countries: in North Macedonia they come out of gross pay.
3. 3Not prorating the personal allowance for employees who work fewer hours than the full month.
4. 4Paying contributions on less than MKD 34,570 without the top-up to the lowest base.
5. 5Missing the MPIN deadline of the 10th, or paying contributions after the salary has been paid.
6. 6Not giving the written salary calculation with every payment and the annual one by 31 January.
7. 7Exceeding 190 hours of overtime a year or 8 hours a week.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly ships a built-in payroll profile for North Macedonia: the flat 10% tax and the personal allowance as modelled, the contribution rates and the maximum contribution base, checked against official sources in October 2026. It applies the January to June 2026 rates to earlier pay periods and the new rates from July 2026. It calculates gross to net and the contributions, produces payslips, and supports recurring payroll adjustments and imports of employees and payroll data; an administrator can adjust the rates in the payroll tax settings. The profile models one employee in a primary job, single, without dependants, at national level, so the minimum wage, the top-up to the lowest base, collective agreements and personal circumstances must be checked.

For North Macedonia it also prepares each run's MPIN calculation as an XML file in UJP's format, which you then submit to UJP yourself.

Alongside payroll, the human resources module handles leave requests and approvals with a leave calendar and HR documents, and attendance and time tracking records working hours and overtime. To close the books after the payroll run, see our month-end close checklist.