Colombia service bonus (prima de servicios): what you get this semester
Prima de servicios is a Colombian statutory benefit. CST article 306, as amended by Law 1788 of 2016, requires the employer to pay 30 days of salary per year in two instalments: half by 30 June and the other half within the first twenty days of December. It is due for the full semester or in proportion to time worked. The paragraph covers domestic workers, family drivers, day workers, and farm workers.
This page estimates one semester bonus for an employment contract. It is not Mexico’s aguinaldo, not a Christmas bonus, and not U.S. severance.
With a monthly wage of COP 2,000,000, 180 days, and allowance 0, the base is COP 2,000,000 and the semester bonus is COP 1,000,000 ((2,000,000 × 180) ÷ 360).
Not legal advice and not a MinTrabajo ruling. Article 306 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 is prima de servicios calculated?
The statute grants 30 days of pay per year, full semester or proportional. Payroll convention turns that into:
Bonus = (monthly wage + transport allowance) × days worked in the semester ÷ 360
A 180-day commercial semester is exactly half a month of pay (15 of the 30 annual days). A full year is two semester payments, not one December bonus.
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 |
| Semester days | 180 |
| Divisor | 360 (commercial year) |
| Bonus | COP 1,000,000 |
Examples (same numbers as the engine)
| Case | Wage | Days | Allowance | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full semester | COP 2,000,000 | 180 | COP 0 | COP 1,000,000 |
| Half semester | COP 2,000,000 | 90 | COP 0 | COP 500,000 |
| Zero days | COP 2,000,000 | 0 | COP 0 | COP 0 |
| Calendar 181 | COP 2,000,000 | 181 | COP 0 | COP 1,005,555.56 |
| With allowance | COP 1,800,000 | 180 | COP 200,000 | COP 1,000,000 |
Article 307 says the bonus is not salary. Article 249 (cesantías: one month per year) is a different benefit and is not in this result.
Sources
- Colombian Substantive Labour Code, arts. 306 and 307 (Bogotá SISJUR reprint of Decree 2663 of 1950).
- Law 1788 of 2016, art. 2 (universal access, including domestic work). Official Gazette 49,927 of 7 July 2016.
- CST arts. 127 and 128 (what is salary); art. 249 (cesantías, not included).
- Minimum wage and transport allowance: annual Government / MinTrabajo decree; check the Diario Oficial. This tool does not freeze those amounts.
Legal texts last checked: 3 September 2026.
It is a statutory service bonus under CST article 306 (Law 1788/2016): 30 days of pay per year, in two semester instalments. It is not Mexico’s aguinaldo and not U.S. severance.
Half by 30 June and the other half within the first 20 days of December, for the full semester or in proportion to time worked.
This tool uses the 360-day payroll convention: (monthly wage + transport allowance) × days worked in the semester ÷ 360. A 180-day semester is half a month of pay.
Colombian payroll practice includes it when the worker is entitled. Enter the amount yourself; the calculator never injects it or looks up the minimum wage.
Article 306 pays the full semester or a proportion of time worked. Change the days field (0 to 186).
No. Cesantías (art. 249), 12% cesantías interest, vacation, and unjust-dismissal indemnity (art. 64) are out of scope. Independent contractors are not article 306 employees.
Budget tools (not the same benefit): monthly budget, monthly savings, and currency converter.