Termination Settlement Calculation (Finiquito) Chile

A Termination Settlement Calculation (Finiquito) Chile is a structured worksheet governed by Código del Trabajo Articles 159–163 and Article 172 that itemizes every monetary component owed to a worker at the end of an employment relationship in Chile. The document provides a transparent line-by-line breakdown of indemnización por años de servicio under Article 163, indemnización sustitutiva del aviso previo under Article 162, feriado anual proporcional under Article 73, gratificación legal proporcional under Articles 47–52, remuneraciones pendientes, and all legal deductions for AFP pension contributions (DL 3.500 of 1980), FONASA or ISAPRE health contributions (Ley 18.469/Ley 18.933), and AFC unemployment insurance (Ley 19.728 of 2001).

The calculation worksheet differs from the finiquito laboral instrument itself: while the finiquito (governed by Article 177 of the Código del Trabajo) is the signed and ratified document that produces liberatory effect (poder liberatorio), the calculation sheet is the analytical tool that supports the figures recorded in the finiquito, enabling both the employer and the worker — and any Juzgado de Letras del Trabajo adjudicating a dispute — to verify that every amount was correctly computed under Chilean law.

The Dirección del Trabajo (DT) — Chile's labour inspectorate established under DFL N.° 2 of 1967 — provides an online finiquito calculator (Calculadora de Finiquito) on its website, but this tool does not account for all case-specific variables such as variable remuneration components, commissions, agreed bonuses, or contractual severance enhancements. A structured worksheet like this one ensures all employer-specific figures are captured and verified before the finiquito is signed before a ministro de fe.

The legal framework for the calculation is grounded in Article 172 of the Código del Trabajo, which defines the última remuneración mensual (last monthly remuneration) as the calculation base for severance: it includes base salary (sueldo base), commissions (comisiones), and other fixed regular components, but excludes overtime (horas extraordinarias) and the gratificación legal itself. Article 172 also establishes the 90 UF (Unidades de Fomento) monthly ceiling — approximately CLP 3,420,000 in 2025 as published daily by the Banco Central de Chile — beyond which no component of the calculation base counts for severance purposes.

Social security deductions in the finiquito calculation require care: AFP contributions apply on the base remuneration (cotización obligatoria of 10% plus AFP commission averaging 1.44%), health contributions apply at 7% of imponible remuneration, and the AFC worker contribution applies only to the remuneration components (not to indemnizaciones, which are exempt from AFC under Ley 19.728 Article 13). The SII (Servicio de Impuestos Internos) administers the Impuesto Único de Segunda Categoría applicable to some termination payments, but indemnizaciones por años de servicio within the legal cap are exempt from income tax under Article 178 of the Código del Trabajo.

The calculation worksheet produced by this forms-legal.com template enables employers to verify their obligations before the finiquito signing and gives workers the transparency to understand and confirm every figure before ratification before the Notario Público, Dirección del Trabajo inspector, or Juzgado de Letras del Trabajo secretary acting as ministro de fe.

A Termination Settlement Calculation worksheet for Chile is needed every time an employment relationship ends, regardless of the termination cause invoked under Articles 159, 160, or 161 of the Código del Trabajo. The worksheet ensures the employer calculates the correct terminal benefits before offering the finiquito for signature, protecting both parties from errors that could lead to disputes before the Juzgados de Letras del Trabajo.

The calculation is needed when a worker is dismissed for business necessity (necesidades de la empresa) under Article 161 — the most frequent termination cause in Chilean practice. The employer must compute indemnización por años de servicio (one month per year, capped at 11 years under Article 163), indemnización sustitutiva del aviso previo (one additional month if 30 days' prior written notice was not given under Article 162), and all proportional benefits accrued through the termination date.

The worksheet is needed when a worker resigns voluntarily (renuncia voluntaria) under Article 159 No. 2. Although voluntary resignation does not trigger severance pay, the employer must still calculate and pay feriado proporcional and gratificación legal proporcional. The Dirección del Trabajo has confirmed through Dictámenes that omission of these proportional benefits in voluntary resignation finiquitos exposes the employer to claims and fines.

The calculation is needed when employment ends by mutual agreement (mutuo acuerdo) under Article 159 No. 1, often with negotiated severance exceeding the statutory minimum. The worksheet records both the statutory entitlements and any agreed additional payments, giving transparency for the ministro de fe ratification under Article 177.

The form is needed when a worker's dismissal under Article 160 (for cause) is anticipated to be challenged before the Juzgados de Letras del Trabajo. Having a precise calculation ready helps the employer demonstrate good faith and quantifies potential exposure to the recargo (surcharge of 30%–100% under Article 168) if the dismissal is declared unjustified.

The calculation worksheet is also needed by workers themselves to independently verify whether the amounts offered by the employer in the finiquito are correct under Chilean law — particularly when the last remuneration included variable components, commissions, or contractual bonuses that the employer may have excluded from the Article 172 calculation base.

A Termination Settlement Calculation Chile under Código del Trabajo Articles 159–163 must capture all mandatory components to produce an accurate and legally defensible finiquito calculation.

Party Identification: Full name, RUT, and domicile of both the employer (including legal representative for legal entities) and the worker. The RUT (Rol Único Tributario, assigned by the SII) is essential for cross-referencing AFP, FONASA/ISAPRE, and AFC contribution records.

Employment Data: Start date (fecha de ingreso), end date (fecha de término), exact duration in years/months/days, job title (cargo), and the applicable termination cause (causal) with reference to the corresponding article of the Código del Trabajo.

Last Monthly Remuneration (Base de Cálculo): The última remuneración mensual under Article 172 — including sueldo base, fixed commissions, and regular allowances — capped at 90 UF. The 90 UF cap is the UF value published by the Banco Central de Chile on the last day of the calendar month preceding the termination date.

Indemnización por Años de Servicio (Article 163): Calculated as last monthly remuneration × complete years of service (fractions of a year do not generate entitlement under Article 163), capped at 11 monthly payments. Applies only when termination is under Article 161 (business necessity or desahucio) or voluntary agreed severance under Article 159 No. 1.

Indemnización Sustitutiva del Aviso Previo (Article 162): One month's last remuneration if the employer did not give the required 30 days' written notice. The notice must be given by carta de despido delivered personally or by carta certificada. Partial notice periods reduce the payment proportionally per Article 162 inciso 4.

Feriado Proporcional (Article 73): Accrued but untaken annual leave calculated at 1.25 working days per month of service in the current vacation period (after completing the qualifying year). The calculation uses the daily rate: last monthly remuneration ÷ 30 × number of accrued days. Article 68 of the Código del Trabajo grants workers in Regions XI, XII, and Provincia de Palena 20 days of annual leave instead of the standard 15.

Gratificación Legal Proporcional (Articles 47–52): The pro-rata share of annual profit-sharing for the current fiscal year through the termination date. Chile's Código del Trabajo provides two methods: payment of 25% of annual profits distributed among workers proportionally to their annual remuneration (Article 47), or a simplified fixed method of 25% of annual remuneration capped at 4.75 Ingresos Mínimos Mensuales (IMM) per year — most employers use the capped method per Article 50.

Pending Remuneration: Any unpaid base salary, overtime (horas extraordinarias at the 150% rate under Article 32), commissions, or bonuses accrued through the last day worked but not yet paid on the regular payroll cycle.

Legal Deductions: AFP obligatory contribution (10% + commission), health contribution (7% to FONASA or ISAPRE), second-category income tax (Impuesto Único de Segunda Categoría administered by the SII) on applicable components. Note that indemnizaciones por años de servicio within the Article 163 legal cap are exempt from income tax under Article 178 of the Código del Trabajo.

Total Net Payment: The gross sum of all components minus all legal deductions — this is the monto líquido that the employer pays the worker in the finiquito.

Forms-legal.com provides this calculation worksheet as a reference tool for Chilean termination settlements. All finiquito calculations should be verified by a licensed Abogado or a certified payroll professional (counter with libro de remuneraciones expertise), and the resulting amounts must be ratified before a ministro de fe under Article 177 to achieve full liberatory effect. Los usuarios de forms-legal.com pueden descargar este documento de forma gratuita en formato PDF o DOCX, completar los campos del formulario guiado y obtener un documento listo para firma.