Remote Work Expense Reimbursement Agreement Mexico (Acuerdo de Gastos de Teletrabajo)

A Remote Work Expense Reimbursement Agreement Mexico (Acuerdo de Gastos de Teletrabajo) is a bilateral written document between an employer (patrón) and a teleworker (teletrabajador) that specifies the amounts, calculation methods, and payment schedules for reimbursement of costs incurred by the worker at their home office in connection with the performance of their duties. The document is grounded in Article 330-H of the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT), introduced by the Decreto published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 11 January 2021 as part of the comprehensive teletrabajo (remote work) reform that added Articles 330-A through 330-K to the LFT.

Article 330-D, Fracción II LFT establishes the employer's core obligation: to pay or reimburse the worker for the proportional costs of telecommunications services (including internet connectivity) and electrical energy (electricidad) consumed for work purposes at the home office. Article 330-H LFT further specifies that the teletrabajo agreement must include the mechanisms and montos (amounts) for payment of these expenses, making the Acuerdo de Gastos de Teletrabajo a mandatory component of any compliant telework arrangement in Mexico.

The constitutional basis for this reimbursement obligation derives from Article 123, Apartado A, Fracción VII of the Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, which guarantees that workers receive payment for all work-related costs and that the employer bears the costs of production. Article 8 LFT reinforces that remuneration must be sufficient to meet the worker's ordinary needs, and Article 84 LFT establishes that salary includes not only the base wage but all cash and in-kind benefits received in exchange for work — meaning unreimbursed work-from-home expenses effectively reduce the worker's real compensation.

The Acuerdo de Gastos de Teletrabajo operates as a supplement to both the employment contract (contrato individual de trabajo) and the company's Política de Teletrabajo (remote work policy). While the employment contract establishes the fundamental employment terms and the teletrabajo policy establishes company-wide rules, the expense reimbursement agreement is an individualized document that specifies the exact amounts applicable to the specific worker based on their assigned equipment, role, and home office setup. Changes to the reimbursement amounts require a written modification (convenio modificatorio) signed by both parties, since unilateral reduction of a benefit established in a signed agreement constitutes a breach under Article 57 LFT.

The Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS) has issued guidance clarifying that reimbursements paid under Article 330-D and 330-H LFT are considered work-related expense reimbursements (viáticos y gastos de viaje) rather than salary components for purposes of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR), provided they are documented with receipts and paid against actual costs — a distinction with significant ISR implications for both employer and worker. The Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) applies the criteria of Article 28, Fracción V LISR and the complementary Miscelánea Fiscal to determine the deductibility of telework expense reimbursements as business expenses.

NOM-037-STPS-2023 (Teletrabajo — Condiciones de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo), published in the DOF on 8 June 2023, also addresses the employer's equipment and expense obligations, requiring that the Acuerdo de Gastos de Teletrabajo be executed before the telework arrangement begins and be updated whenever equipment is replaced or when the worker's home office configuration changes materially. The NOM additionally specifies that the employer retains ownership of all employer-provided equipment and that the agreement must document the inventory of equipment delivered to the worker.

A Remote Work Expense Reimbursement Agreement Mexico is required under Articles 330-D and 330-H of the Ley Federal del Trabajo for every telework arrangement in which the worker performs more than 40% of their total working hours outside the employer's establishment, since the statutory obligation to reimburse connectivity and electricity costs is mandatory and cannot be waived by either party under Article 5 LFT, which nullifies any contractual provision that eliminates worker rights established in the LFT.

The agreement is needed when an employer first formalizes a telework arrangement with an existing employee who is transitioning from in-person to remote or hybrid work above the 40% threshold. In this case, the Acuerdo de Gastos de Teletrabajo must be executed simultaneously with the Acuerdo de Teletrabajo (the formal telework addendum to the employment contract) and must specify the expenses the employer will cover from the date the remote work arrangement begins.

The document is also required when a worker is hired specifically for a remote position. The expense reimbursement agreement must be included in the onboarding documentation alongside the employment contract and, where applicable, the collective bargaining agreement (contrato colectivo de trabajo — CCT) registered with the Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral (CFCRL). New hire documentation packages for remote workers must demonstrate compliance with Articles 330-A through 330-K LFT from day one of employment.

An Acuerdo de Gastos de Teletrabajo is needed when existing informal expense reimbursement arrangements — such as fixed monthly allowances paid without a formal document, or ad hoc reimbursements processed through expense reports — are regularized to comply with the 2021 LFT reform. Companies that had de facto telework policies in place before the 2021 reform and did not execute formal agreements face STPS inspection risk and worker claims for unpaid expense reimbursements from 12 January 2021 onward.

The document must be updated whenever the worker's home office setup changes materially — for example, when the employer provides additional equipment, when the worker relocates their home office to a different address, when internet connectivity costs change significantly, or when the agreed monthly electricity allowance needs adjustment due to changes in CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad) tariff rates. Changes must be documented through a convenio modificatorio signed by both parties.

The agreement is also needed for ISR and SAT compliance. The SAT requires that expense reimbursements paid to teleworkers be documented with: the signed Acuerdo de Gastos de Teletrabajo specifying the agreed amounts; CFE electricity receipts (recibos de luz) or copies of internet provider invoices (facturas del proveedor de internet) supporting the reimbursement amounts; and the employer's internal expense reimbursement request and approval records. Without this documentation, the SAT may reclassify the reimbursements as taxable salary income subject to ISR withholding under Article 94 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, increasing the worker's ISR burden and the employer's withholding obligations.

A valid Remote Work Expense Reimbursement Agreement Mexico under Articles 330-D and 330-H of the Ley Federal del Trabajo and NOM-037-STPS-2023 must contain the following essential elements.

Party Identification: Full legal name, RFC (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes assigned by the SAT), and domicilio fiscal of the employer (patrón); and full name, RFC, CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población issued by RENAPO), NSS (Número de Seguridad Social assigned by IMSS), job position (puesto), and department of the worker (teletrabajador). The agreement must cross-reference the worker's employment contract and the company's Política de Teletrabajo to establish its place within the overall telework framework.

Home Office Address: The complete address of the worker's home office (lugar de teletrabajo) where the work will be performed, including street address, colonia, municipio or alcaldía, estado, and código postal. NOM-037-STPS-2023 requires that the home office address be registered with the IMSS patron registration, and the agreement should confirm that registration has been or will be completed. If the worker uses more than one remote work location, each must be listed.

Equipment Inventory: A detailed itemized list of all equipment provided by the employer (inventario de equipos y materiales), including: make, model, and serial number of each device; date of delivery to the worker; condition at delivery; assigned value for insurance purposes; and the worker's obligation to return the equipment in equivalent condition upon termination of the telework arrangement or the employment relationship. The equipment remains the property of the employer at all times. Workers must report damage, theft, or loss immediately to IT and HR departments.

Electricity Reimbursement: The agreed method for calculating and paying the electricity cost reimbursement under Article 330-D, Fracción II LFT. Options include: a fixed monthly allowance (pago mensual fijo) calculated based on the estimated electrical consumption of the worker's equipment; a variable reimbursement based on the worker's CFE electricity bill (recibo de luz CFE) with the employer paying the proportional work-related portion calculated by a formula specified in the agreement; or a hybrid approach. The agreement must specify the payment date (for example, with the monthly payroll cycle) and the documentation the worker must provide to support variable reimbursements.

Internet Connectivity Reimbursement: The agreed method for reimbursing the proportional cost of the worker's internet service at the home office under Article 330-D, Fracción II LFT. The agreement should state the agreed monthly amount or the formula for calculating the proportional work-related portion of the worker's internet subscription cost, the documentation required (invoice or receipt from the internet provider), the deadline for submitting documentation, and the payment schedule. The employer's IT department should specify the minimum bandwidth required for the worker's role.

Additional Work-from-Home Costs: Any other work-related costs the employer has agreed to reimburse, such as: ergonomic accessories (wrist rest, monitor stand, keyboard tray) not included in the initial equipment provision; telephone line costs if required for the role; printer ink and paper if the worker is required to print documents for work purposes; and any professional service subscriptions (software licenses, cloud storage) required for the job that are not provided directly by the employer through enterprise accounts.

Payment Mechanics and SAT Compliance: The payment schedule (monthly, bimonthly) and method (direct bank transfer — SPEI to the worker's bank account; or payroll integration), the tax treatment of each reimbursement type (expense reimbursement exempt from ISR under the applicable SAT criteria versus taxable compensation), and the record-keeping obligations of both parties for SAT audit purposes under Article 30 of the Código Fiscal de la Federación (CFF). The agreement should specify that the employer will issue the corresponding CFDI (Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet) for each reimbursement payment.

Duration and Modification: The effective date of the agreement, its duration (typically coterminous with the telework arrangement), and the process for modification. Changes to reimbursement amounts, equipment lists, or home office address require a written convenio modificatorio signed by both parties. Either party may initiate a review of the amounts if there is a material change in costs, such as a significant increase in CFE electricity tariffs or a change in the worker's internet plan.

Forms-legal.com provides this Remote Work Expense Reimbursement Agreement Mexico template as a practical starting point. Employers should consult a licensed abogado laboralista and a tax advisor (contador público certificado — CPC) to confirm the ISR and SAT treatment of each reimbursement category and to align the agreement with the company's Política de Teletrabajo and any applicable CCT provisions before execution.