Payroll in Peru 2026: EsSalud, pensions, gratificaciones, CTS

In Peru the employer withholds the worker's pension contribution, 13% to the ONP or about 10% plus insurance and commission to an AFP, and the fifth-category income tax, and pays 9% to EsSalud on top. Two gratificaciones a year with a 9% bonus and two CTS deposits add the equivalent of about 3.3 monthly salaries a year.

This guide covers the rules for the private-sector general regime in force in October 2026, with amounts in Peruvian soles (PEN, written S/). Several limits are set in tax units: the UIT is S/ 5,500 in 2026 (Decreto Supremo 301-2025-EF).

Payroll in Peru at a glance

Social security contributions

Each worker belongs either to the public system (ONP) or to a private pension fund (AFP), and the employer withholds and pays the contribution to the right one. The ONP rate is a flat 13%. In an AFP, 10% goes to the worker's individual account, plus a premium for disability and survivors' insurance and the AFP's commission, both published by the banking and pensions supervisor (SBS) for each AFP.

EsSalud costs the employer 9% of the remuneration every month. Gratificaciones are an exception: since Ley 30334 they carry no pension, EsSalud or other contributions, and the employer pays the 9% it would have paid to EsSalud directly to the worker as a bonificación extraordinaria (6.75% when the worker is covered by a private health provider, an EPS).

Pension contributions do not reduce the income tax base: fifth-category tax is calculated on gross pay.

Income tax on salaries (quinta categoría)

Wages are fifth-category income, which includes salaries, gratificaciones and bonuses (Ley del Impuesto a la Renta, art. 34). Each year a worker deducts a fixed 7 UIT (S/ 38,500) and pays tax on the rest at these progressive rates (arts. 46 and 53):

Up to 3 UIT (S/ 16,500) more can be deducted for 30% of home rent, 30% of fees paid to doctors and dentists, 30% of some other professional services and EsSalud paid for household workers, if they are supported by electronic receipts and paid through the banking system. These extra deductions are taken in the annual calculation, and SUNAT refunds any tax withheld in excess.

How the employer withholds each month (Reglamento, art. 40):

1. 1Multiply the current monthly salary by the months left in the year, including the current month, and add the year's ordinary gratificaciones and what was already paid in earlier months.
2. 2Subtract 7 UIT and apply the rates above to get the projected annual tax.
3. 3Divide: January to March, the annual tax ÷ 12; April, (annual tax minus January to March) ÷ 9; May to July, (annual tax minus January to April) ÷ 8; August, (annual tax minus January to July) ÷ 5; September to November, (annual tax minus January to August) ÷ 4; December, the final adjustment.
4. 4In a month with an extraordinary payment, such as profit sharing or a one-off bonus, add the tax on that extra amount at the worker's marginal rate.

With 12 salaries and 2 gratificaciones a year, a monthly salary of up to S/ 2,750 stays within the 7 UIT and pays no income tax.

Minimum wage, working time and mandatory pay

• Minimum wage (remuneración mínima vital): S/ 1,230 a month from 1 October 2026, up from S/ 1,130, under Decreto Supremo 015-2026-TR. The decree plans a second step of S/ 70, to S/ 1,300, to be set by a later decree in the first half of 2027.
• Asignación familiar: 10% of the minimum wage, so S/ 123 a month from October 2026 (S/ 113 before), for workers whose pay is not set by collective bargaining and who support children under 18, or up to 24 while in higher education (Ley 25129). It counts as remuneration for gratificaciones and CTS.
• Gratificaciones (Ley 27735): one full monthly salary for Fiestas Patrias in July and another for Christmas in December, based on the salary at 30 June and 30 November, paid in the first half of the month. Workers with less than a full semester get one sixth per full calendar month. Add the 9% bonificación extraordinaria on each.
• CTS (compensación por tiempo de servicios): the employer deposits in the bank chosen by the worker, by 15 May (for November to April) and by 15 November (for May to October), one twelfth of the computable pay for each full month worked. Computable pay includes one sixth of the gratificación. Workers averaging at least four hours a day are entitled.
• Vacation: 30 calendar days of paid rest after each full year of service, subject to a minimum attendance record. If the rest is not taken in the period that follows, the worker is also owed an indemnity of one monthly salary.
• Working time and overtime: at most 8 hours a day or 48 a week. Overtime is voluntary; the first two hours of the day are paid with at least 25% extra and further hours with at least 35%.
• Insurance: Vida Ley life insurance is paid by the employer from the first day of work, and the SCTR is compulsory in high-risk activities.

Monthly payroll calendar and filings

1. 1On the first day of work: register the worker in the T-Registro (with your Clave SOL) on the day they start, whatever the contract, and give them the registration record by the next business day. Ask whether they are in the ONP or an AFP, and take out Vida Ley cover.
2. 2Every payday: give the boleta de pago by the third business day after payment. It shows the employer's name and RUC, the worker's details and pension code, days and hours worked, overtime, earnings, deductions and the employer's contributions. With the worker's agreement, and when pay goes into a bank account, it can be delivered electronically. Keep duplicates for five years.
3. 3Every month, the PLAME: declare and pay the remuneration, the fifth-category withholding, EsSalud and ONP contributions in the Planilla Mensual de Pagos (Formulario Virtual 0601, or the simpler 601 Plame Web for employers with up to ten workers), on SUNAT's schedule by the last digit of the RUC. For the September 2026 period the dates run from 16 October (digit 0) to 23 October (digits 8 and 9). AFP contributions are declared and paid to each worker's AFP.
4. 4May and November: deposit the CTS by the 15th.
5. 5July and December: pay the gratificación and the 9% bonus by the 15th.
6. 6December: make the final adjustment of the year's fifth-category withholding.
7. 7When someone leaves: pay the pending benefits, including the proportional gratificación, within 48 hours.

Worked example: S/ 4,000 a month

Lucía works in Lima for S/ 4,000 a month all year. She is in the ONP, single, without children (so no asignación familiar) and has no other income.

Because her salary does not change, every step of the article 40 schedule gives the same S/ 116.67, or S/ 1,400 over the year. In July and December she also receives a gratificación of S/ 4,000 and a bonus of S/ 360, with no ONP or EsSalud. The bonus is taxable, so it adds S/ 28.80 of tax each time at her 8% rate.

In May and November the employer deposits S/ 2,333.33 of CTS: (S/ 4,000 + one sixth of S/ 4,000) ÷ 12 × 6 months. Adding salaries, EsSalud, gratificaciones with the bonus and CTS, Lucía costs about S/ 65,707 a year, or S/ 5,476 a month, before the Vida Ley premium.

Common mistakes

1. 1Keeping S/ 1,130 after 1 October 2026 for minimum-wage workers and for the asignación familiar, which became S/ 123.
2. 2Deducting ONP or AFP from gratificaciones, or forgetting to pay the 9% bonus with them.
3. 3Leaving the gratificaciones out of the tax projection, which under-withholds all year and leaves a large December adjustment.
4. 4Registering the worker in the T-Registro after the first day or handing over the registration record late.
5. 5Depositing the CTS after the 15th of May or November, which the labour inspectorate treats as a serious infringement.
6. 6Paying gratificaciones late: the first-half-of-July and first-half-of-December dates cannot be changed by agreement.
7. 7Not taking out Vida Ley from day one, or not keeping copies of the boletas for five years.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly ships a built-in payroll profile for Peru, checked against official sources on 1 October 2026: the fifth-category scale and the 7 UIT deduction as modelled for a constant monthly salary with two gratificaciones a year, the 13% ONP contribution, the 9% EsSalud contribution and the S/ 1,230 minimum wage. It calculates gross to net and employer contributions, produces payslips and supports recurring payroll adjustments as well as employee and payroll imports; an administrator can adjust the rates in the payroll tax settings.

The calculation approximates the official monthly procedure of article 40 of the income tax regulations, so check it against that procedure for variable pay, mid-year starts and December. The profile models one employee in a primary job, single, without dependants, at national level, so AFP members, gratificaciones and the 9% bonus, CTS, the extra 3 UIT deduction, Vida Ley and SCTR must be checked. Clientlly does not file the T-Registro or the PLAME, or pay AFPs: you do that through SUNAT Operaciones en Línea and each AFP.

Alongside payroll, the human resources module handles leave requests and approvals with a leave calendar, useful for the 30 days of vacation, and keeps HR documents, while attendance and time tracking records working hours and overtime for the boleta. To close the books after each payroll run, see our month-end close checklist.