CALCULATION OF ANNUAL INCOME TAX FOR WORKERS (ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT)

24/12/2020

It is known as annual adjustment to workers’ income tax, the calculation made by employers at the end of each year to determine the definitive annual income tax for workers, subtract the withholdings made in the year and determine the differences where appropriate, which may be in charge or in favor.

According to article 97 of the Income Tax Law, the employer will not be obliged to make the annual calculation of its workers, in the following cases:

a) When the worker has started the provision of services after January 1 of the year in question or they have stopped providing their services before December 1 of the year for which the calculation is made.      

b) When the worker’s income exceeds $ 400,000.00     

c) When the worker communicates in writing to the employer, that he will present his annual declaration.      

The worker can perform his calculation and present his annual return for being obliged to do so or simply to apply his personal deductions and recover a balance in his favor.

The cases in which a worker is obliged to present his annual declaration are provided for in article 98, section III and are the following:

  1. When, in addition to salaries, he obtains income from other chapters of the Law
  2. When you have communicated in writing to the employer that you will submit your annual return
  3. When they stop providing their services before December 31 of the year in question.

When you served two or more employers simultaneously

  • When you rendered your services to persons not obliged to withhold the tax
  • When your income from wages exceeds $ 400,000.

Regarding the differences determined by the employer in the calculation of the annual adjustment, according to article 97 of the Income Tax Law, they have the following treatment:

  • Differences in charge of the worker must be retained and found out by the employer, no later than the month of February of the following year.
  • Differences in favor of the worker must be compensated against the withholding made in the month of December and the withholdings for the following months, at the latest within the following year.

Therefore, although the aforementioned ordinance does not specify the date on which the annual income tax for workers must be calculated, it is necessary to carry it out in the month of December, in order to be able to comply with the above.

Likewise, there is the custom of making this calculation before the payment of the bonus, so that in case the worker is taxed, the difference is made withholding, and taking advantage of the payment of the bonus, it affects his economy less. . In this case, it is recommended to make sure to consider all the income and withholdings of the worker for the year, estimating those that correspond to the last weeks of the year, after the payment of the bonus.

Finally, it is very important to reconcile the information with the payroll CFDI issued in the year, and, where appropriate, make the corrections of the aforementioned CFDI, both for the workers for whom the annual calculation is made, as well as for those who will present the annual declaration on their own, since the payroll CFDIs serve as the basis for the automatic filling of the annual declaration in the SAT system and any error will have as a consequence greater difficulty for the worker to recover his balance in favor.