During this month of June, employers must pay the first installment of the complementary annual salary, better known as aguinaldo. The payment of this additional salary has a series of particularities that must be taken into account.
First of all, we must remember that the bonus It is one twelfth of the total remuneration received by the worker in the respective calendar year. Therefore, semiannually the amount to be paid is 50% of the highest monthly remuneration accrued for all concepts within that semester. Any non-remunerative item is excluded, such as social benefits, one-time bonuses, bonuses linked to the termination of the employment contract, complementary benefits of art. 105 of the Law, among others.
According to the Employment Contract Law, It is paid in 2 installments during the year: the first expires on June 30, 2024; while the second is valid until December 18, 2024. The Small businesses have payment periods divided into installments instead of two. For example, this is the case of collective agreements such as the inrubber and related industries, as well as the gastronomic, hotels and restaurants branch.
With respect to overtime, commissions and all other variable remuneration, these are part of the monthly remuneration accrued and must be considered for the purposes of establishing which is the highest for the semester. It is not appropriate to average variable remunerations.
Also, Both monetary and in-kind remuneration must be considered. For example, the value corresponding to the transfer of use of a company car for private use.
In the event that the employment relationship is terminated, for example, due to resignation, dismissal or death of the worker, The part of the complementary annual salary must be received in proportion to that accrued in the fraction of the semester worked. In turn, the supplementary annual salary must be settled on the compensation in lieu of notice, the integration of the month of dismissal and untaken vacations.
If any employee did not work continuously during the semester, whether due to unpaid leave, maternity leave, temporary work incapacity where a non-remunerative monetary benefit is paid, period of leave, unpaid job reservations in accordance with the employment contract law, suspensions due to force majeure or economic causes, The supplementary annual salary installment must be paid in proportion to the time of paid service.
Regarding the treatment of the bonus in the Income Tax, It is explained in three ways: fully taxed, fully exempt and part exempt and part taxed. To determine the treatment of the half bonus, first, it must be established whether the average monthly gross remuneration and/or income for the annual fiscal period exceeds or does not exceed the sum of $974,516.
So, If the average monthly remuneration and/or gross income for the annual fiscal period exceeds $974,516, the bonus is fully taxed by Profits; However, if the aforementioned average does not exceed $974,516, it is exempt. By law, the treatment in Earnings of the first installment is provisional, since it must be given definitive treatment once the remunerations for the entire year are received.
In the case of employees included in the schedular tax on the highest incomes, It allows them to deduct an annual non-taxable minimum of 180 minimum vital and mobile salaries and that amount is not increased by the effect of the bonus. Although there is no regulatory norm that specifically establishes the obligation to withhold income tax for those included in the schedular tax, the AFIP, through its website, indicated that the withholding regime of the General Resolution of the AFIP 4003, considering 15 minimum monthly salaries that, for the first semester, amount to $2,340,000. Consequently, many employers practice monthly income tax withholdings.
