Vacation calculator (El Salvador)

What this calculator does

This calculator estimates your vacation pay in El Salvador under art. 177 of the Labor Code: after one year of continuous work you are owed 15 days of rest paid with the ordinary salary of that period plus a 30% surcharge.

It also calculates the proportional vacation of art. 187 when the contract ends before the year is completed: the share of the pay matching the months and days worked.

Who it is for

• Employees about to take their vacation who want to verify the pay they should receive.
• People whose contract ended and need to estimate the proportional vacation of their settlement.
• Employers and payroll staff calculating the benefit before the rest period.
• Accountants reviewing labor settlements.

What information you need

• Your basic salary: monthly (divided by 30 to get the daily salary) or the daily salary directly.
• For the full vacation: one completed year of continuous service (and at least 200 days worked in the year, art. 180).
• For the proportional one: the months and days worked in the current service year.
• The 15 days and the 30% surcharge are already configured per art. 177; you do not need to enter them.

How it is calculated

The daily salary is the monthly salary ÷ 30 (a calculation convention) or the daily salary you enter.

The base is the ordinary salary of the 15 vacation days: 15 × daily salary.

The 30% surcharge of art. 177 is added on that base. The total is base + surcharge.

For the proportional vacation, the base is prorated by the days worked: (months × 30 + days) ÷ 365. This is the standard practice; the Labor Code does not define the exact arithmetic.

Formula

Daily salary (if you enter a monthly one)

daily salary = monthly salary ÷ 30

Full vacation (art. 177)

pay = 15 × daily salary × 1.30

Proportional vacation (art. 187, ÷365 practice)

pay = 15 × daily salary × 1.30 × (days worked ÷ 365)

Worked example

You earn $600 per month and completed one year of continuous service with the 200 worked days.

1. Daily salary: $600 ÷ 30 = $20.00.
2. Ordinary salary of the 15 days: 15 × $20.00 = $300.00.
3. 30% surcharge: $300.00 × 0.30 = $90.00.
4. Total pay: $300.00 + $90.00 = $390.00.

Your vacation pay is $390.00 gross. Payroll deductions (ISSS, AFP, and ISR) are applied to that amount afterwards.

How to interpret the result

The result is gross: vacation pay is subject to ISSS and AFP contributions and to ISR withholding as an extraordinary remuneration, so the net you receive will be lower.

The pay must be delivered immediately before the rest period starts (art. 185).

If you already completed the service year and have not taken the vacation, the pay is owed to you even if the contract ends without employer responsibility (art. 187).

During the employment relationship it is not valid to compensate vacations with money instead of rest (art. 188); payment in money only proceeds when the contract ends.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the 30% surcharge: vacations do not pay just the 15 days of salary, but that amount plus 30%.
• Calculating with the net salary: the base is the ordinary basic salary, before deductions.
• Assuming the result is what reaches your account: it is gross and suffers the payroll deductions.
• Taking the proportional vacation for granted when resigning before the year: the letter of art. 187 grants it when the contract ends with employer responsibility or by de facto dismissal; on resignation it depends on the employer’s practice.
• Ignoring the requirement of 200 days worked in the year for the full vacation (art. 180).

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Código de Trabajo de El Salvador, arts. 177–185 (vacación anual remunerada, texto oficial) — Corte Suprema de Justicia de El Salvador (Art. 177: 15 days paid with the ordinary salary of the period plus 30%. Art. 180: minimum of 200 worked days in the year. Art. 183: daily basic salary base. See docs/research/sv-labor-rules.md, section 12.)
• Código de Trabajo de El Salvador, arts. 187–189 (vacación proporcional, texto codificado oficial) — Codificación oficial (copia alojada por COLSIBA) (Art. 187: proportional vacation is owed when the contract ends with employer responsibility or by de facto dismissal without legal cause; a completed year of service is paid even without employer responsibility. The ÷365 proration is standard practice, not statutory text.)
• Decreto Ejecutivo No. 10 (2025), art. 1 literal g) — retención sobre remuneraciones extraordinarias — Diario Oficial de El Salvador (texto oficial) (Vacation pay is expressly listed among the extraordinary remunerations subject to ISR withholding; it is also included in the ISSS and AFP contribution bases (absent from their statutory exclusion lists).)
• Vacaciones proporcionales en El Salvador — guía práctica — Finiquito Justo (Secondary corroboration of the ÷365 proration practice and of the divergent practice around paying proportional vacation on resignation.)

Last reviewed:

July 21, 2026

Calculation version:

1.0.0

Important notice

The results of these calculators are informative estimates and may differ from official calculations. They do not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Always verify with the competent institutions or a professional.

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