Honduras has a population of over 9 million people with Spanish as the official language and a number of indigenous languages spoken. There are many challenges to operating a business in Honduras, so it is important to understand the payroll, labor, and compliance requirements before starting a business there.

Payroll and Tax Considerations

  • Minimum wage varies depending on the size of the company and the industry. The minimum monthly wage varies from HNL 6,762 – 12,357
  • Overtime is paid at 125% for daytime hours, 175% for night hours, and 200% for holidays
  • Severance payments vary from 10 – 30 days wages
  • Personal income tax is progressive and varies from 0-25% There is a flat tax rate of 10% on income from capital assets

HR and Statutory Requirements

  • Employees are entitled to paid annual leave after working 12 months for the same employer. Paid leave starts 10 days for 1 year of service and goes up to 20 days after 4 years of service
  • Paid sick leave is earned at a rate of 2 days per month after the first 12 months, up to 120 sick days
  • Females receive fully paid maternity leave for up to 10 weeks (70 days) upon proof of pregnancy with medical certificate
  • There are no provisions for paternity leave
  • There are 2 types of pension programs: social insurance and mandatory individual account
  • The retirement age to qualify for old-age pension is 65 for men and 60 for women. They must have made at least 180 pension contributions

Holidays in Honduras

  • January 1 – New Year’s Day
  • April 14 – Maundy Thursday
  • April 15 – Good Friday
  • April 16 – Holy Saturday
  • May 1 – Labor Day / May Day
  • September 15 – Independence Day
  • October 3 – Morazan’s Day
  • October 12 – Columbus Day
  • October 21 – Army Day
  • December 25 – Christmas Day

If you are just getting started, or would like to simplify operations in Honduras, we can help. Blue Marble has a cloud-based payroll platform with customized reporting to manage employees across 150+ countries. You can view payroll in real time across all countries and currencies and ensure compliance with automated updates to in-country regulations. We have a dedicated US-based service team and in-country experts to help when questions come up. Simplify your payroll in Honduras – click here to get started