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PTU profit sharing calculator 2026 (Mexico)
Enter your monthly salary and the PTU your employer announced. The calculator applies the legal cap, separates the tax-free share and shows what you actually receive.
Reviewed by Radif Partners · Editorial policy
Net PTU
MX$16,191
Legal cap: MX$45,000
| PTU payable (after the cap) | MX$20,000 |
|---|---|
| Tax-free (15 UMA) | MX$1,760 |
| Taxable | MX$18,240 |
| ISR (art. 96) | − MX$3,809 |
| Net PTU | MX$16,191 |
| ISR under art. 174 RLISR | MX$3,269 |
PTU, short for participación de los trabajadores en las utilidades, is Mexico’s mandatory profit sharing. Companies must distribute 10 % of their taxable income to their workforce, a rate set by the National Commission resolution published in the Official Gazette on 3 February 2009. Article 123 of the Federal Labour Law splits the pool into two halves, one by days worked and one by salary. Article 127 leaves out directors, administrators and general managers as well as domestic workers, requires 60 days of work from temporary staff and caps each payment at 3 months of salary or the average of the last three years, whichever is better for the employee. The ISR law exempts 15 UMA, MX$1,759.65 in 2026. On a MX$45,000 salary, a MX$60,000 PTU leaves MX$43,224 after article 96 withholding. The calculator applies the cap and the exemption, then estimates withholding under both legal methods.
From the announced PTU to the net amount
| Monthly salary | Announced PTU | Payable after cap | Tax-free | Taxable | ISR (art. 96) | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MX$12,000 | MX$10,000 | MX$10,000 | MX$1,760 | MX$8,240 | MX$1,488 | MX$8,512 |
| MX$20,000 | MX$25,000 | MX$25,000 | MX$1,760 | MX$23,240 | MX$5,134 | MX$19,866 |
| MX$30,000 | MX$120,000 | MX$90,000 | MX$1,760 | MX$88,240 | MX$24,925 | MX$65,075 |
| MX$45,000 | MX$60,000 | MX$60,000 | MX$1,760 | MX$58,240 | MX$16,776 | MX$43,224 |
| MX$45,000 | MX$180,000 | MX$135,000 | MX$1,760 | MX$133,240 | MX$41,440 | MX$93,560 |
| MX$80,000 | MX$90,000 | MX$90,000 | MX$1,760 | MX$88,240 | MX$28,236 | MX$61,764 |
Two rows hit the cap. On MX$30,000 a month, the most anyone can receive without a higher three-year average is MX$90,000. The tax-free share never exceeds MX$1,759.65, so on a large profit share almost all of it is taxed at your marginal rate. In companies with strong profits, PTU can exceed a full month of salary, which is why it matters when you compare a Mexican offer with a package from abroad.
Estimate your share from the company’s figures
The pool depends on the taxable income the company reports for the year, so new hires often have no idea what to expect. If you know roughly the taxable income, the headcount and the average salary, the simulator applies the article 123 split.
Estimate your PTU from company figures
Your estimated PTU
MX$10,941
| Distributable profit (10%) | MX$200,000 |
| Half by days worked | MX$5,000 |
| Half by salary | MX$5,941 |
Assumes everyone worked the full year; before the three-month salary cap.
Take a subsidiary with MX$10,000,000 of taxable income and 80 employees averaging MX$220,000 a year. A manager earning MX$540,000 gets MX$6,250 from the days half, exactly like a junior colleague, and MX$15,067 from the salary half, for MX$21,317 in all. That is below three months of their salary, so the cap does not bite.
Points that surprise foreign employees
Profit is measured on the Mexican entity’s taxable income, not on the group’s worldwide results. A multinational that is very profitable at group level can have a Mexican subsidiary with little or no taxable income, and then the pool is small or zero. Conversely, a lean local entity can pay a generous PTU in a year the group reports a loss.
This tool does not give a payment date: ask your employer when it pays. Remember too that the taxable part is added to the month’s pay. If your salary sits near the employment subsidy limit, that month can lose the subsidy. The final tax is settled in the annual tax return, where PTU joins the rest of your income.
Limits of this tool
It does not compute the company’s taxable income or audit its return, and it assumes the PTU figure you enter is the amount before the cap. For the rest of your yearly benefits, see the aguinaldo calculator and the vacation premium calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is PTU and do expats working in Mexico receive it?
PTU (participación de los trabajadores en las utilidades) is the statutory share of company profits, 10 % of the employer’s taxable income, split among its employees. Nationality is irrelevant: an expatriate on a Mexican payroll takes part like any colleague, unless they are the director, administrator or general manager, whom article 127 section I excludes.
Can a temporary or fixed-term worker receive PTU?
Yes, if they worked at least 60 days for the company during the year, under article 127 section VII of the Federal Labour Law. Below that threshold a temporary worker (trabajador eventual) does not take part. Above it, their share is worked out like everyone else’s: half by days worked and half by the salary earned in the year.
I employ a housekeeper in Mexico. Do I owe her PTU?
No. Section VI of article 127 states that domestic workers (personas trabajadoras del hogar) do not take part in profit sharing. A private household is not a business with taxable profits to distribute. Other obligations to domestic staff, such as the aguinaldo, paid vacation and the vacation premium, still apply in full.
How is the profit pool divided between employees?
Article 123 splits the distributable amount into two equal halves. The first is shared by days worked, regardless of pay, so everyone with a full year receives the same. The second is shared in proportion to each person’s salary for the year. A high earner therefore gets more from the second half only, before the 3-month cap.
Why was my PTU cut below what the company calculated?
Because of the cap in article 127 section VIII: your PTU cannot exceed 3 months of salary or the average you received over the last three years, whichever favours you more. On MX$45,000 a month the cap is MX$135,000, so a calculated MX$180,000 is paid as MX$135,000. Enter your three-year average in the calculator’s advanced field.
Related calculators and guides
Sources
- DOF 03/02/2009, Fifth National PTU Commission resolution (10% of taxable income)
- Federal Labour Law (Ley Federal del Trabajo), current text (Orden Jurídico Nacional)
- Income Tax Law (Ley del ISR), articles 93, 95, 96 and 152 (Orden Jurídico Nacional)
- Income Tax Regulations, article 174 (withholding on aguinaldo, PTU and vacation premium)
Written by Radif Partners
Publisher of calculators and practical guides · ISR, IMSS and Mexican labour-law benefits
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Rates 2026, checked on