Payroll in Costa Rica
Get your Costa Rican payroll's CCSS contribution, aguinaldo, and cesantía calculations right, so a compliance gap in year one never quietly erases a protection you're counting on years later.
Total Employer Contribution Rate
26.83% (locked through 2028)
Tax ID
Cédula Jurídica
Primary Registry
CCSS
Payroll in Costa Rica: What You Need to Know
CCSS employer contribution runs at 26.83% of gross salary, locked through December 31, 2028, covering health and maternity, disability, old-age, and death coverage, and several smaller funds, plus INS work-risk insurance separately at roughly 1% to 6% depending on industry. Aguinaldo is calculated as 1/12 of all gross salary earned from December 1 of the prior year through November 30 of the current year, not simply one month's pay, paid by December 20 and exempt from CCSS deductions and income tax. Vacation runs 2 weeks paid per 50 weeks worked. Cesantía under Código de Trabajo Article 29 follows a progressive days-per-year table capped at 8 years of tenure, but only if the employer has been regularly contributing to the Fondo de Capitalización Laboral, otherwise the cap doesn't apply. Preaviso under Article 28 scales from none under 3 months of service to a flat 1 month for anyone over 1 year, without scaling further with additional tenure. Income tax is withheld through 2026 brackets from 0% up to ₡918,000 monthly to 25% above ₡4,727,000, with monthly credits for dependents.
Key Requirements
CCSS employer contribution at 26.83% of gross salary, locked through December 31, 2028, plus INS work-risk insurance separately at roughly 1% to 6% depending on industry
Aguinaldo calculated as 1/12 of all gross salary earned from December 1 of the prior year through November 30 of the current year, paid by December 20 and exempt from CCSS deductions and income tax
Vacation, 2 weeks paid per 50 weeks worked
Cesantía under Código de Trabajo Article 29, a progressive days-per-year table capped at 8 years of tenure only if the employer has been regularly contributing to the Fondo de Capitalización Laboral
Preaviso under Article 28, scaling from none under 3 months of service to a flat 1 month for anyone over 1 year, without scaling further with additional tenure
Income tax withheld through 2026 brackets from 0% up to ₡918,000 monthly to 25% above ₡4,727,000, with monthly credits for dependents
Common Challenges
The 26.83% figure isn't the full employer cost
INS work-risk insurance is a separate, sector-rated mandatory policy stacked on top of CCSS, so the real employer burden is often quoted more accurately as roughly 27% to 33% depending on industry risk class.
The 8-year cesantía cap is conditional, not automatic
It only holds if the employer has been compliant with FCL contributions from the start. Sloppy payroll administration in year one can erase the cap's protection years later, when an employee's tenure finally exceeds 8 years.
Aguinaldo's December 1 to November 30 window means a new hire's first payment isn't simply one month's pay
Payroll must track a rolling 12-month earnings window separate from the calendar year, an easy source of miscalculation for teams used to simpler 13th-salary models elsewhere in LATAM.
How NavviPal Helps
CCSS and INS contribution calculation and remittance, budgeted against the real combined burden rather than the CCSS rate alone
Aguinaldo calculation against the correct December 1 to November 30 earnings window, paid by the December 20 deadline
FCL contribution compliance tracked from day one, so the cesantía 8-year cap holds when it's needed
Preaviso and cesantía calculation correctly scaled to each employee's actual tenure under Articles 28 and 29
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