Severance Calculation Worksheet Mexico (Liquidación)

A Severance Calculation Worksheet Mexico (Liquidación) is the formal calculation document used by Mexican employers and workers to quantify the total monetary compensation owed to a worker whose employment is terminated without justified cause (despido injustificado) or by mutual agreement, under the framework established by Articles 50, 84, 87, and 162 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT), published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 1 April 1970 and last substantially reformed in May 2019. The Liquidación — distinct from the Finiquito (settlement of accrued benefits only) — includes three mandatory statutory components: the constitutional indemnity (indemnización constitucional) of three months' salary under Article 50 LFT, the seniority indemnity of 20 days' salary per year of service under Article 50 LFT, and the prima de antigüedad (seniority premium) of 12 days' salary per year of service under Article 162 LFT, capped at twice the general minimum wage, plus all accrued proportional benefits covered in the Finiquito.

The constitutional basis for severance pay in Mexico is Article 123, Apartado A, Fraction XXII of the Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, which prohibits unjustified dismissal and requires indemnization equivalent to three months' salary plus 20 days per year of service when a worker is dismissed without just cause. This constitutional guarantee is implemented through Articles 48 through 50 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo. Article 48 LFT gives the unjustifiably dismissed worker the right to choose between reinstatement (reinstalación) in the same position with back-wages, or the statutory monetary indemnity (indemnización) — the choice is the worker's, not the employer's.

The 2019 labour reform (Decreto de reforma laboral publicado en el DOF el 1 de mayo de 2019) introduced critical changes to the severance process: all termination disputes must now pass through mandatory pre-litigation conciliation at the Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral (CFCRL) before any Tribunal Laboral proceeding can begin. The CFCRL conciliation stage has a 45-day maximum duration under the reformed Article 684-E LFT. During conciliation, the parties may agree on a negotiated liquidación amount — having an accurate calculation worksheet prepared in advance enables both sides to negotiate from a common factual base and accelerates resolution.

The calculation of the daily salary base for liquidación purposes is governed by Article 84 LFT, which establishes the Salario Diario Integrado (SDI) concept: the worker's daily compensation includes base salary plus the proportional daily value of all recurring benefits — aguinaldo (minimum 15 days under Article 87 LFT), prima vacacional (25% of vacation days under Article 80 LFT), and any other periodic benefits. The SDI is the correct salary base for the constitutional indemnity, seniority indemnity, and prima de antigüedad calculations — use of the base salary alone undervalues the liquidación and exposes the employer to additional liability in Tribunal proceedings.

Article 162 LFT establishes the prima de antigüedad (seniority premium) as an additional mandatory payment equal to 12 days' salary per year of service, calculated on the SDI capped at twice the Salario Mínimo General (SMG). For 2025, the SMG is $278.80 MXN per day in the general zone — meaning the prima de antigüedad SDI cap is $557.60 MXN per day. Workers with more than 15 years of service are entitled to the prima de antigüedad even upon voluntary resignation under Article 162 Fraction III LFT, distinguishing it from the constitutional indemnity which applies only to unjustified dismissal or mutual agreement termination.

The Liquidación worksheet provided at forms-legal.com calculates all components of the total severance package, enables cross-checking between the employer's calculations and the worker's entitlements, and provides the documentation submitted to the CFCRL during mandatory conciliation and to the Tribunal Laboral if litigation proceeds.

A Severance Calculation Worksheet Mexico is required whenever a Mexican employer terminates an employment relationship without a legally justified cause under Article 47 LFT, or when employer and worker agree to terminate the relationship by mutual consent and need to calculate the total compensation owed.

The Liquidación is required in all cases of despido injustificado — termination without any of the justified causes listed in Article 47 LFT (such as fraud, property damage, excessive absences, or insubordination). An employer who dismisses a worker without being able to prove a valid Article 47 cause must pay the full Liquidación: three months' salary constitutional indemnity (Art. 50 LFT) plus 20 days per year of service (Art. 50 LFT) plus prima de antigüedad of 12 days per year (Art. 162 LFT) plus all finiquito components (proportional aguinaldo, vacation, prima vacacional, and PTU).

The worksheet is required when a worker rejects reinstatement under Article 48 LFT and opts for monetary indemnity. Since the 2019 labour reform, workers with more than 20 years of seniority who are dismissed from positions requiring special trust (personal de confianza) or from small establishments with fewer than ten workers may face modified reinstatement rights — the Liquidación worksheet ensures the monetary alternative is correctly valued in these cases.

The document is required when employer and worker negotiate a mutual termination agreement (convenio de terminación por mutuo consentimiento) to be ratified before the CFCRL under the reformed Article 33 LFT. The CFCRL conciliation officer (conciliador) will review the Liquidación calculation to verify that the agreed amount meets the minimum statutory entitlements — agreements below the LFT minimum are not ratified and have no legal effect.

The calculation is needed when a company undergoes a change of employer (sustitución patronal) under Articles 41 through 44 LFT — workers transferred without their consent to a new legal entity are entitled to the same severance as if dismissed, calculated on their total seniority with the original employer. The Liquidación worksheet documents seniority continuity and benefit accruals through the ownership change.

The document is required for payroll and IMSS reporting: once the total Liquidación amount is agreed and paid, the employer must file the Baja del Trabajador (worker de-registration) with the IMSS through the SUA and issue the final CFDI de nómina reflecting all severance components. ISR treatment of liquidación payments differs by component — constitutional indemnity is ISR-exempt under Article 93 Fraction XIII LISR up to the amount that results from multiplying the number of years of service by the annual exemption limit; amounts exceeding the exemption are taxable at the ISR rate applicable to the worker's income level.

A valid Severance Calculation Worksheet Mexico under Ley Federal del Trabajo arts. 50, 84, 87, and 162 must contain the following essential components to be accepted by the CFCRL conciliation officer and to be enforceable as evidence before the Tribunales Laborales.

Worker and Employer Identification: Full legal names, RFCs, employee number, job title, and IMSS NSS of the worker; employer's razón social, RFC, and Registro Patronal. Seniority data requires precise entry date (fecha de ingreso) and termination date (fecha de baja), as seniority is calculated to the day under LFT standards — fractions of a year are prorated proportionally for all severance components.

Salario Diario Integrado (SDI) Calculation: Step-by-step calculation of the SDI under Article 84 LFT: (1) base daily salary (salario diario base); (2) proportional daily aguinaldo value = (days of aguinaldo ÷ 365) × daily salary, minimum 15 days under Article 87 LFT; (3) proportional daily prima vacacional value = (vacation days × 25% ÷ 365) × daily salary, using the reformed Article 76 LFT vacation table (12 days after year 1, increasing by 2 per year); (4) any other recurring benefits (bonos, vales de despensa as a percentage of SDI if included under Article 27 LSS). SDI = base salary + all proportional benefit values. The SDI is the salary base for the constitutional indemnity and seniority calculations.

Constitutional Indemnity — 3 Months (Indemnización Constitucional — Art. 50 Frac. I LFT): 90 days × SDI. This is the floor indemnity for any unjustified dismissal — it does not depend on years of service and applies even to workers with less than one year of employment.

Seniority Indemnity — 20 Days per Year (Indemnización por Antigüedad — Art. 50 Frac. II LFT): years of service (calculated to completed years plus proportional fraction) × 20 × SDI. There is no salary cap on the SDI used for the 20-days-per-year calculation — the worker's actual SDI applies regardless of how high it exceeds the minimum wage.

Seniority Premium — 12 Days per Year (Prima de Antigüedad — Art. 162 LFT): years of service × 12 × SDI, with the SDI capped at twice the SMG (for 2025: maximum $557.60 MXN/day in the general zone). The prima de antigüedad applies to all workers with 15 or more years of service upon voluntary resignation, and to all workers regardless of seniority upon unjustified dismissal or mutual termination.

Finiquito Components (Accrued Benefits): Proportional aguinaldo for the portion of the year worked (días trabajados en el año ÷ 365) × 15 × daily salary under Article 87 LFT; accrued but untaken vacation days at daily salary rate under Article 76 LFT (using the 2022-reformed vacation table); proportional prima vacacional on accrued vacation days at 25% under Article 80 LFT; proportional PTU for the current fiscal year under Articles 117–131 LFT (estimated if the annual result is not yet known).

ISR Treatment of Liquidación Components: Identify which components are ISR-exempt under Article 93 Fraction XIII LISR and which are taxable. The constitutional indemnity (3 months + 20 days per year) is ISR-exempt up to an amount calculated as (years of service × the annual limit set by the SAT, which is a multiple of the daily UMA value × 365). Amounts exceeding the statutory ISR exemption are subject to ISR withholding at the worker's applicable rate using the special one-time ISR calculation procedure (tasa efectiva) under Article 174 of the LISR Reglamento.

Total Liquidación Amount and Payment Method: A clearly visible grand total (total de liquidación) summing all components, the agreed payment method (bank transfer referencing the worker's CLABE — Clave Bancaria Estandarizada, or certified check — cheque de caja), and the payment date. CFCRL-ratified agreements specify the payment date and the consequences of non-payment under the reformed LFT enforcement provisions.

Forms-legal.com provides this Severance Calculation Worksheet Mexico as a practical tool for CFCRL conciliation preparation and Tribunal Laboral proceedings. Every liquidación should be reviewed by a licensed Licenciado en Derecho or abogado laboralista before submission to the CFCRL, to confirm that the SDI calculation, ISR treatment, and seniority years are correctly computed under current LFT and LISR provisions.