In any payroll department in Mexico you will hear about "the EMA" and "the EBA" all the time. They are the two billing statements that IMSS (Mexico's Social Security Institute) makes available so you know how much you owe in employer-employee contributions. Here is what each one includes, how they differ and when they are due.
The EMA in a nutshell
The Monthly Advance Statement (EMA, Emisión Mensual Anticipada) is IMSS's calculation of the contributions paid every month, based on the enrollment changes you have filed. It includes these branches:
- Sickness and maternity (fixed fee, excess, cash benefits and pensioners' medical expenses).
- Occupational risk.
- Disability and life.
- Childcare and social benefits.
The EBA in a nutshell
The Bimonthly Advance Statement (EBA, Emisión Bimestral Anticipada) calculates what is paid every two months:
- Retirement, old-age and severance at advanced age (RCV).
- Employer contributions to Infonavit (the workers' housing fund) and loan repayments for employees with an Infonavit mortgage.
Quick comparison
| Item | EMA | EBA |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly | Bimonthly |
| What it includes | IMSS insurance branches (sickness and maternity, occupational risk, disability and life, childcare) | RCV and Infonavit (contributions and loan repayments) |
| When it is paid | Every month, for the previous month | In odd-numbered months, for the previous two-month period |
Payment dates
The deadline is the 17th of the month following the period being paid; if that day is not a business day, it moves to the next business day.
- EMA: paid every month. In October you pay September; in November, October.
- EBA: paid in January, March, May, July, September and November, for the two-month period that just ended. So in September you pay July-August, and in January you pay November-December of the previous year.
That is why odd-numbered months weigh more on cash flow: the previous month's EMA and the two-month EBA fall due together.
Why is it called "advance"?
Because IMSS builds it from what it knows before you pay: the enrollment changes already filed (hires, terminations and salary updates) and the registered Infonavit loans. If something happened in your payroll that you did not report to IMSS, or you entered something different in SUA (the IMSS payment software), the statement and SUA will not match.
Use them to check your SUA
The statement is your best reference to validate SUA before paying. Compare item by item and, when something does not match, drill down employee by employee. We explain the method in how to reconcile the IMSS statement against SUA.
In Nomikhor you download the EMA and EBA, run the Nomikhor–SUA–IDSE reconciliation to see differences by employee, and export to SUA without retyping anything.