Costa Rica employer payroll charges 2026
A ₡1,000,000 monthly salary costs a Costa Rican employer ₡1,268,300 in 2026, because ₡268,300 in social charges, the 26.83%, comes on top. All ten items are listed one by one, with the worker's 10.83% shown apart and not counted as a company cost. Free in your browser.
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Worked example
- Gross monthly salary
- 1,000,000
- Employees with this salary
- 1
- Monthly payroll
- 1,000,000
- Health insurance SEM (9.25%)
- 92,500
- Pension IVM (5.58%)
- 55,800
Hiring in Costa Rica costs more than the gross salary. In 2026, on top of every colón (₡, the local currency) of pay, the employer owes 26.83% in social charges: the health and pension insurance of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS, the national social security fund), contributions to several public institutions, and those required by Law 7983, the worker protection law. Separately, 10.83% is deducted from the worker's own gross pay. Enter a gross monthly salary and how many people earn it, and the calculator shows each charge on its own line, the employer total, the worker deduction and the total monthly cost. It is an estimate based on the general rules published by the CCSS, and it leaves out the INS occupational risk policy and income tax.
What the employer pays: the 26.83% line by line
For 2026 the CCSS publishes ten employer items, all charged on gross monthly salary. Two are the fund's own insurance schemes: Sickness and Maternity Insurance (SEM) at 9.25%, and Disability, Old Age and Death Insurance (IVM), the public pension scheme, at 5.58%. Four go to other institutions: a 0.25% employer quota to Banco Popular y de Desarrollo Comunal, 5.00% to Asignaciones Familiares, the family allowances fund, 0.50% to IMAS, the social assistance institute, and 1.50% to INA, the national vocational training institute.
The last four come from the Ley de Protección al Trabajador (Law 7983): another 0.25% to Banco Popular, 1.50% to the Labour Capitalisation Fund (FCL), 2.00% to the complementary pension scheme (OPC) and 1.00% that the CCSS labels “INS”. Together they add up to 26.83%. That 1.00% is not the occupational risk policy: the INS policy for riesgos del trabajo is paid separately, and its premium depends on the company's line of business.
What comes out of the worker's pay: 10.83%
The worker's share is not an employer cost: it is deducted from the employee's gross salary. In 2026 it comes to 10.83%: 5.50% for SEM, 4.33% for IVM and 1.00% for Banco Popular. The IVM share stays at 4.33% from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028 under transitional provision XI of the IVM Regulation, and rises to 4.50% from 2029.
The calculator shows this deduction on a separate line, so you know how much to take off the payslip, but it does not add it to the company's cost. Nor does it work out income tax on wages, which is a separate calculation: in 2026 the first ₡918,000 a month is exempt under Decree 45333-H, and anything above that is taxed in brackets.
A worked example: a ₡1,000,000 salary
For one person earning ₡1,000,000 gross a month, the employer charges break down as follows: SEM ₡92,500, IVM ₡55,800, Asignaciones Familiares ₡50,000, OPC ₡20,000, INA ₡15,000, FCL ₡15,000, “INS” ₡10,000, IMAS ₡5,000, and two amounts of ₡2,500 for Banco Popular, the quota and the contribution. The employer total is ₡268,300, so that salary costs the company ₡1,268,300 a month. The worker has ₡108,300 deducted as their own share.
With three people on ₡450,000 each, the base is ₡1,350,000: employer charges come to ₡362,205, worker deductions to ₡146,205 and the total cost to ₡1,712,205. Every amount is rounded to two decimals.
What this estimate does not cover
The calculator applies the general rates to the salary you enter. It leaves out the INS occupational risk policy, whose premium depends on the activity and is quoted by the INS. It also does not adjust to the minimum contribution base the CCSS has set since January 2026, ₡346,789 for SEM and ₡324,590 for IVM: if you pay less, for instance for part-time work, ask the CCSS how much is contributed.
The aguinaldo, the year-end bonus paid in December, carries no social charges under article 7 of Law 2412, and according to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MTSS) neither does cesantía, the severance payment based on length of service, so do not add them to the month's salary. If the month includes overtime, commissions, pay in kind or sick leave, or a collective agreement applies, confirm your case with the CCSS, the MTSS or a Costa Rican employment lawyer.
What you can do with it
Budget a new hire
Before advertising a position, see what the salary you offer really costs: at ₡750,000 gross a month, the company pays ₡201,225 in social charges and the total cost rises to ₡951,225.
Check the monthly payroll
Compare the line-by-line breakdown with what your payroll software or accountant calculates, including for several people on the same salary, and spot a rate that was applied wrongly.
Explain a payslip
Show a worker why 10.83% comes off their gross pay and how it splits between SEM, IVM and Banco Popular; on a ₡750,000 salary the deduction is ₡81,225.
Weigh a job offer in Costa Rica
If you are moving to Costa Rica for work, see how much of your gross salary goes to the CCSS and how much the employer pays on top of it.
FAQ
How much are employer social charges in Costa Rica in 2026?
26.83% of gross monthly salary, according to the rates published by the CCSS. Separately, 10.83% is deducted from the worker's pay. The INS occupational risk policy is not part of the 26.83% and is paid on its own.
How much does a ₡1,000,000 salary cost an employer in Costa Rica?
₡1,268,300 a month: the salary plus ₡268,300 in employer social charges. On top of that comes the premium for the INS occupational risk policy, which depends on the company's activity.
How much CCSS is deducted from an employee's salary?
10.83% of gross pay in 2026: 5.50% for SEM, 4.33% for IVM and 1.00% for Banco Popular. On a ₡1,000,000 salary that is ₡108,300. From 2029 the IVM share rises to 4.50%.
Is the aguinaldo subject to social charges?
No. Article 7 of Law 2412 exempts the aguinaldo, Costa Rica's year-end bonus, from social charges, and it is also exempt from income tax up to one twelfth of what was earned. Work out the charges on the monthly salary only.
Do social charges include the INS occupational risk insurance?
No. The 1.00% that the CCSS labels “INS” within the worker protection law contributions is a different item. The occupational risk policy is taken out with the INS itself, and its premium depends on the company's activity.
What if the salary is below the CCSS minimum contribution base?
Since January 2026 the CCSS has set a minimum base of ₡346,789 for SEM and ₡324,590 for IVM. This calculator does not apply that adjustment: it uses the salary you enter. For part-time work, ask the CCSS how much is contributed.
Related tools
For developers — API access
Everything on this page is available programmatically. This section is for teams who want to wire it into their own systems; everyone else can just use the tool above.
API endpoint
Prefer to automate it? One authenticated POST creates the task; the result comes back by webhook or a signed link. The same capability also runs here on the web, by email and from Telegram — and soon from our app too.
Call it from your stack
curl -X POST https://api.kit.forhosting.com/fin/cargas-sociales-costa-rica \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $KIT_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"gross_salary":1000000}'const res = await fetch("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/fin/cargas-sociales-costa-rica", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Authorization": `Bearer ${process.env.KIT_KEY}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"gross_salary": 1000000
})
});
const { task_id } = await res.json();import os, requests
res = requests.post(
"https://api.kit.forhosting.com/fin/cargas-sociales-costa-rica",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['KIT_KEY']}"},
json={
"gross_salary": 1000000
},
)
task_id = res.json()["task_id"]<?php
$res = file_get_contents("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/fin/cargas-sociales-costa-rica", false, stream_context_create([
"http" => [
"method" => "POST",
"header" => "Authorization: Bearer " . getenv("KIT_KEY") . "\r\nContent-Type: application/json",
"content" => '{"gross_salary":1000000}',
],
]));
$task = json_decode($res, true);body := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"gross_salary":1000000}`)
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.kit.forhosting.com/fin/cargas-sociales-costa-rica", body)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+os.Getenv("KIT_KEY"))
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)Example request
{
"gross_salary": 1000000
}Example response
{
"task_id": "tsk_a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6",
"type": "fin.cargas_sociales_costa_rica",
"status": "queued",
"_links": {
"result": "/tasks/tsk_…/result"
}
}The API is asynchronous: the call returns a task_id immediately and the result arrives by webhook. Polling is capped at 1 req/s per task.
Pricing
Published price — no tokens, no invented credits. A failed task is never charged.
Errors
| HTTP | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
401 | unauthorized | Missing or invalid API key. |
402 | insufficient_balance | Your balance doesn't cover the task price. |
404 | unknown_type | That task type doesn't exist. |
429 | rate_limited | Too many requests. Use the webhook instead of polling. |