As an employer, you must withhold ISR (Mexican income tax) from the wages you pay and remit it no later than the 17th of the following month. Getting withholding right takes two things: the current tax table and knowing when to apply the employment subsidy. Let's go one piece at a time.
The 2026 monthly tax table
| Lower limit | Upper limit | Fixed amount | % on the excess |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | $844.59 | $0.00 | 1.92% |
| $844.60 | $7,168.51 | $16.22 | 6.40% |
| $7,168.52 | $12,598.02 | $420.95 | 10.88% |
| $12,598.03 | $14,644.64 | $1,011.68 | 16.00% |
| $14,644.65 | $17,533.64 | $1,339.14 | 17.92% |
| $17,533.65 | $35,362.83 | $1,856.84 | 21.36% |
| $35,362.84 | $55,736.68 | $5,665.16 | 23.52% |
| $55,736.69 | $106,410.50 | $10,457.09 | 30.00% |
| $106,410.51 | $141,880.66 | $25,659.23 | 32.00% |
| $141,880.67 | $425,641.99 | $37,009.69 | 34.00% |
| $425,642.00 | And above | $133,488.54 | 35.00% |
Besides this monthly table, Annex 8 of the Miscellaneous Tax Resolution publishes the tables for 1, 7, 10 and 15-day periods.
Step by step
- Add up only the taxable earnings for the period; leave the exempt portion out.
- Find the row of the table where that amount falls.
- Subtract the row's lower limit from the income and apply the percentage to the result.
- Add the fixed amount. That is the tax due.
- Subtract any employment subsidy that applies. What remains is the amount to withhold.
Employment subsidy rules for 2026
- Amount: 15.02% of the monthly UMA (Mexico's reference unit for caps and exemptions), that is $535.65 per month. January uses 15.59% of the 2025 UMA, which gives $536.21.
- Who qualifies: workers whose taxable income for the month does not exceed $11,492.66.
- Periods shorter than a month: divide the monthly amount by 30.4 and multiply by the days in the period.
- Never paid in cash: if the subsidy is larger than the tax, withholding is simply zero.
Worked example
An employee on monthly payroll with $10,000.00 of taxable earnings:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Taxable income | $10,000.00 |
| Lower limit | −$7,168.52 |
| Excess | $2,831.48 |
| Excess × 10.88% | $308.07 |
| Fixed amount | $420.95 |
| Tax due | $729.02 |
| Subsidy (income below $11,492.66) | −$535.65 |
| ISR to withhold | $193.37 |
Things to watch
- Using the table for a pay frequency that isn't yours, or dividing the monthly table by a factor different from the one your system uses.
- Skipping the monthly adjustment when you pay weekly or semi-monthly.
- Still granting the subsidy to someone who went over the monthly limit: that calls for the accrued subsidy adjustment.
Legal basis
- Income Tax Law, Article 96: monthly withholding on wages.
- Annex 8 of the 2026 Miscellaneous Tax Resolution: tax tables.
- Decree granting the employment subsidy, published in the Official Gazette (DOF) on December 31, 2025.
- Income Tax Law, Article 99: withholding agent obligations.
In Nomikhor, ISR is calculated automatically with the table for the right pay frequency, the subsidy is applied when it should be and the monthly adjustment runs on its own; CFDI stamping is unlimited, too.