Colombia cesantías: what accrues this year
Cesantías are a Colombian statutory savings benefit. CST article 249 requires the employer to pay one month of salary per year of service, and a proportion for a fraction of a year.
Law 50 of 1990, article 99, sets the special regime for later contracts: final liquidation on 31 December (year or fraction); 12% annual interest or a proportion; and deposit of the amount before 15 February of the following year in the fund the worker chooses. Law 52 of 1975 created that interest on year-end balances.
This page estimates cesantías + interest for a year or fraction for an employment contract. It is not U.S. severance, not Mexico’s aguinaldo, and not prima de servicios.
With a monthly wage of COP 2,000,000, 360 days, and allowance 0, cesantías are COP 2,000,000 and interest is COP 240,000 ((2,000,000 × 360) ÷ 360, then × 12%).
Not legal advice and not a MinTrabajo ruling. Article 249 does not print “360”: we use the Colombian payroll 360-day commercial year. Check the current minimum wage and transport allowance in the Diario Oficial. Independent contractors (prestación de servicios) are out of scope.
How are cesantías and the 12% interest calculated?
Cesantías = (monthly wage + transport allowance) × days worked in the year ÷ 360
Interest = cesantías × days worked × 0.12 ÷ 360
A 360-day commercial year is exactly one month of pay. Full-year interest is 0.12 × cesantías.
Transport allowance is not salary (CST art. 128), but settlement practice adds it when the worker is entitled. The field defaults to 0; paste it yourself.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Monthly wage | COP 2,000,000 |
| Transport allowance | COP 0 |
| Base | COP 2,000,000 |
| Year days | 360 |
| Cesantías | COP 2,000,000 |
| 12% interest | COP 240,000 |
Examples (same numbers as the engine)
| Case | Wage | Days | Allowance | Cesantías | Interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial year | COP 2,000,000 | 360 | COP 0 | COP 2,000,000 | COP 240,000 |
| Half year | COP 2,000,000 | 180 | COP 0 | COP 1,000,000 | COP 60,000 |
| Zero days | COP 2,000,000 | 0 | COP 0 | COP 0 | COP 0 |
| Calendar 365 | COP 2,000,000 | 365 | COP 0 | COP 2,027,777.78 | COP 246,712.96 |
| With allowance | COP 1,800,000 | 360 | COP 200,000 | COP 2,000,000 | COP 240,000 |
Cesantías go to the fund; interest is paid by the employer to the worker (not deposited). Partial withdrawals are typically for housing or education; the balance is paid out when the contract ends.
Sources
- Colombian Substantive Labour Code, art. 249 (Bogotá SISJUR reprint of Decree 2663 of 1950).
- Law 50 of 1990, art. 99 (31 Dec liquidation, 12% interest, deposit before 15 February). Función Pública, norma i=281.
- Law 52 of 1975 (annual interest on private-sector cesantías). Official Gazette 34,475 of 26 January 1976. Constitutional Court C-393/2011 restates the 12% on 31 December balances or a fraction.
- Función Pública Concept 83161 of 2019: interest is paid in January, in practice by 31 January.
- Minimum wage and transport allowance: annual decree; check the Diario Oficial. This tool does not freeze those amounts.
Legal texts last checked: 3 September 2026.
A statutory savings benefit under CST article 249: one month of pay per year of service, proportional. It is not U.S. severance and not Mexico’s aguinaldo.
This tool uses the 360-day payroll convention: (monthly wage + transport allowance) × days worked in the year ÷ 360. A 360-day year is one month of pay.
Law 52/1975 and Law 50/1990 art. 99: 12% per year on the cesantías caused, or a proportion. The employer pays the worker; it is not deposited in the fund.
Cesantías go to the fund before 15 February of the following year (Law 50 art. 99). Interest is paid in January, in practice by 31 January.
Colombian payroll practice includes it when the worker is entitled. Enter the amount yourself; the calculator never injects it.
No. Prima (art. 306), vacation, and unjust-dismissal indemnity (art. 64) are out of scope. Independent contractors are not article 249 employees.
Budget tools (not the same benefit): monthly budget, monthly savings, and currency converter.