Final Settlement Payment Receipt Mexico (Recibo de Liquidación)

A Final Settlement Payment Receipt Mexico (Recibo de Liquidación) is a legal document signed by an employee (trabajador) upon receipt of the full payment of all labour benefits and entitlements owed upon termination of the employment relationship, governed by the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT) Article 987, which establishes the requirements for valid waivers and settlement receipts (finiquitos and liquidaciones) in Mexican labour law. The recibo de liquidación simultaneously serves as proof of payment (comprobante de pago) and, depending on its content, as a waiver (renuncia) of any further labour claims before the Tribunal Federal de Conciliación y Arbitraje (TFCA) or the Junta de Conciliación y Arbitraje (JCA) competente.

Mexican labour law distinguishes two types of employment termination payments. A finiquito is the document acknowledging payment of benefits accrued and owed at the time of termination — regardless of the cause — including prorated aguinaldo (Christmas bonus under LFT Article 87), prorated vacation pay (vacaciones proporcionales under LFT Article 80), the vacation premium (prima vacacional at 25% minimum under LFT Article 80), and any outstanding wages (salarios caídos or salarios devengados). A liquidación is broader — it includes all finiquito components plus the statutory severance compensation (indemnización constitucional) of 90 days' salary under LFT Article 50 and the seniority premium (prima de antigüedad) of 12 days per year under LFT Article 162, payable when termination is unjustified (injustificada) or when the employee terminates for cause attributable to the employer (rescisión por causa imputable al patrón under LFT Article 51).

LFT Article 987 is the pivotal provision governing the validity of settlement receipts (recibos de liquidación and finiquitos). Under Article 987 LFT, a recibo de liquidación signed by an employee before a labour authority (autoridad laboral) — specifically before the TFCA, JCA, or the Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral (CFCRL) established by the 2019 labour reform — is presumed to be a full and final settlement of all labour claims (finiquito total). Article 987 LFT also provides that receipts signed before a Notario Público or signed by the employee and ratified within a certain period also have presumptive force, though the specific requirements have evolved with the 2019 reform.

The 2019 Labour Reform (Reforma Laboral) transformed the enforcement of settlement receipts in Mexico. The reform created the CFCRL (Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral) to handle pre-judicial conciliation — employers and workers must attempt conciliation at the CFCRL before filing labour lawsuits in the new Tribunales Laborales (labour courts replacing the old Juntas de Conciliación). Settlement agreements and recibos de liquidación ratified before the CFCRL have the force of res judicata (cosa juzgada) and bar any subsequent labour lawsuit on the same subject matter under LFT Article 987.

For ISR (Impuesto sobre la Renta) purposes, severance payments (indemnizaciones por separación) are subject to special tax treatment under LISR Articles 93 Section XIII and 95 — the exempt portion of severance is calculated based on years of service and average daily salary, and amounts above the exempt threshold are subject to ISR withholding by the employer.

A Final Settlement Payment Receipt Mexico (Recibo de Liquidación) is required whenever an employment relationship is terminated in Mexico and the employer makes payment of the worker's full entitlements under the Ley Federal del Trabajo.

The document is mandatory when an employer terminates a worker without justified cause (despido injustificado) under LFT Article 48, triggering the obligation to pay: 3 months' salary (indemnización constitucional under LFT Article 50 Section II), 20 days' salary per year of service (prima de antigüedad additional compensation under some court interpretations), prorated aguinaldo, prorated vacation, vacation premium, and any outstanding wages. The recibo de liquidación documents that all these components have been paid and received.

The document is also needed when a worker voluntarily resigns (renuncia voluntaria) or when termination is mutually agreed (separación por mutuo consentimiento). In voluntary resignation, only a finiquito (not full liquidación) is typically owed — the finiquito covers prorated aguinaldo, vacation, vacation premium, and unpaid wages but not the constitutional severance of 3 months' salary. However, many employers pay voluntarily resigning workers a separation package (bono de separación) beyond the statutory minimum — the recibo de liquidación must itemise this voluntary payment separately from statutory entitlements.

Under LFT Article 987, a recibo de liquidación ratified before the CFCRL, TFCA, JCA, or Notario Público bars the worker from subsequently filing a labour lawsuit claiming unpaid benefits covered by the receipt. Employers should obtain ratified liquidación receipts to avoid the risk of workers filing labour claims after receiving payment — LISR Article 50 provides workers up to 2 months to contest dismissal before the labour authority, and unratified liquidación receipts carry significant litigation risk.

Human resources departments of companies operating in Mexico require signed and ratified recibos de liquidación as part of their personnel file closure process, for IMSS (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social) employee deregistration (baja), and for SAT payroll CFDI de nómina final issuance. The IMSS requires the employer to process the baja within 5 days of termination under the Ley del Seguro Social Article 37.

The Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS) and the CFCRL (Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral) maintain records of ratified liquidación settlements — employers in regulated industries such as mining, petroleum, aviation, and federal transportation must ensure their liquidación processes comply with sector-specific collective agreements (contratos colectivos de trabajo) which may establish higher indemnity amounts than the LFT statutory minimums.

A valid Final Settlement Payment Receipt Mexico (Recibo de Liquidación) under LFT Article 987 and Mexican labour practice must include the following elements:

Employee and Employer Identification (Datos del Trabajador y Patrón): The employee's full name, CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población), NSS (Número de Seguro Social — IMSS registration number), RFC, job title (puesto), and department (área o departamento). The employer's corporate name, RFC, and registered address. The IMSS employer registration number (registro patronal) should also be included for IMSS deregistration purposes.

Employment Dates (Fecha de Ingreso y Fecha de Terminación): The start date (fecha de ingreso) and end date (fecha de terminación) of the employment relationship, which determine the exact years and months of service (antigüedad) for calculating prima de antigüedad (LFT Article 162: 12 days per year) and prorated benefits.

Daily Salary and Integrated Salary (Salario Diario y Salario Diario Integrado): The contractual daily salary (salario diario) and the integrated daily salary (salario diario integrado — SDI) which includes all components under LFT Article 84: base salary plus proportional portions of aguinaldo, vacaciones, prima vacacional, and any additional benefits (prestaciones). The SDI is the basis for IMSS contribution calculations and for liquidación indemnity calculations.

Itemised Benefit Calculation (Desglose de Conceptos): Each benefit component must be calculated and stated separately: - Indemnización constitucional (LFT art. 50): 90 days × SDI (if applicable) - Prima de antigüedad (LFT art. 162): 12 days × years × min(SDI, 2× minimum wage) - Aguinaldo proporcional (LFT art. 87): 15 days per year × days worked ÷ 365 × daily salary - Vacaciones proporcionales (LFT art. 76): vacation days earned per seniority table × daily salary - Prima vacacional (LFT art. 80): 25% of vacation pay - Salarios devengados: outstanding wages for days worked but not yet paid - Partes proporcionales de PTU (LFT art. 117): proportional profit-sharing if applicable

ISR Withholding on Severance (Retención de ISR): The employer must calculate and disclose the ISR withholding on the indemnización amount above the LISR Article 93 Section XIII exempt threshold, calculated based on years of service and average annual salary. The net amount after ISR withholding must be shown.

Employee Declaration and Release (Declaración del Trabajador): A statement by the employee that they have received the full amount stated, that the payment covers all labour benefits owed, and that they have no further claims (reclamaciones) against the employer for the period of employment — this release is valid under LFT Article 987 when signed voluntarily and ratified before the appropriate authority.

Signatures and Witnesses (Firmas y Testigos): The employee's handwritten signature, the employer's representative's signature, and two witnesses (testigos). The employer's representative must hold a valid poder notarial (power of attorney) authorising them to sign liquidación documents and enter into settlement agreements on behalf of the empresa — this authority document should be referenced in the liquidación.

Ratification Reference (Referencia de Ratificación): A statement identifying whether the liquidación is being signed before the CFCRL (Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral), a Notario Público, a Tribunal Laboral, or signed privately with ratification pending. The ratification venue, date, and folio number (once ratified) should be recorded on the document or attached as an addendum. Under LFT Article 987, ratification before the CFCRL provides the strongest preclusive effect against subsequent labour claims.

SAT Nómina CFDI Reference (Referencia al CFDI de Nómina Final): The employer must issue a final CFDI de nómina covering all liquidación components — the CFDI UUID (Folio Fiscal) and issuance date should be cross-referenced in the liquidación receipt to link the civil labour document with the fiscal payroll record required by the SAT under LISR Article 27 Section X.

Forms-legal.com provides this Final Settlement Receipt Mexico template as a reference for labour termination documentation. Ratification before the CFCRL, Notario Público, or labour authority is strongly recommended to give the document full legal finality under LFT Article 987.