Mexico's federal public servants can start receiving their 2026 Christmas bonus, the aguinaldo, from Tuesday, 10 November, under a presidential decree that sets the payment at the equivalent of 40 days' pay for covered staff.

The decree, signed by President Claudia Sheinbaum and published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 23 October, allows federal agencies to begin disbursing the bonus from 10 November, under guidelines issued by the Finance Ministry, the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público.

Who receives 40 days of aguinaldo

Under the decree, public servants in federal departments and agencies whose employment is governed by the Ley Federal de los Trabajadores al Servicio del Estado receive an aguinaldo equivalent to 40 days of salary. Other groups covered by the decree, including foreign service staff, active members of the armed forces and specified contractors, receive up to 40 days.

Pensioners are also covered. Civil and military pensioners, people receiving pensions of grace and certain beneficiaries whose pensions are paid by the ISSSTE or from the federal treasury can receive a bonus of up to 40 days of their pension payment.

Payments in two instalments

For staff covered by the bureaucratic workers' law, the bonus is paid in two parts: 50 per cent before 15 December 2026 and the remaining 50 per cent by 15 January 2027. Workers who did not work the full year receive a proportional amount based on the time they worked in 2026.

The start of payments on 10 November does not mean every beneficiary will be paid on the same day. Each department and institution will organise its own disbursements under the Finance Ministry's guidelines, so payment dates will vary.

Private-sector workers still get 15 days

The 40-day bonus applies only to the federal public sector groups named in the decree. For workers in private companies, the legal minimum aguinaldo remains 15 days of salary under Article 87 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo, and it must be paid before 20 December 2026. Several bills to raise that minimum have been put before Congress during 2026, but none had been approved when the decree was published.

Part of the bonus is exempt from income tax. In 2026, the exemption covers up to 30 Unidades de Medida y Actualización, worth MX$3,519.30.

The start of the payments comes just before El Buen Fin, Mexico's annual shopping weekend, which runs from 13 to 17 November this year.