Aguinaldo and 13º Salário: Year-End Bonuses and Temu in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina
By Stash by TipidNation · November 5, 2026 · 5 min read
Mexico, Brazil and Argentina each guarantee a year-end bonus by law, but the payment dates differ. Brazil’s first 13º salário installment is due by 30 November, while Mexico’s aguinaldo and Argentina’s second SAC installment arrive in mid-December. Knowing which date applies to you tells you when the money is actually available.
Three Countries, Three Calendars
The bonuses sound alike, yet the rules are not interchangeable. Each country sets its own deadline, its own split and its own grace period. Reading them side by side shows why a shopper in São Paulo is working with different timing than one in Monterrey or Córdoba.
Mexico: One Payment, Before 20 December
Under Article 87 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo, workers are owed an aguinaldo of at least 15 days of salary, paid before 20 December. Mexico’s labor defense office, PROFEDET, publishes this in its public FAQ on the benefit. Workers who have not completed a full year receive a proportional share. In practice this means the money often lands in the second or third week of December, and some employers pay it early.
For readers in Mexico, the useful number is the date, not the amount. If you are comparing marketplaces before the holidays, our breakdown of Temu Mexico against Amazon and Mercado Libre covers shipping and returns, and the Temu Mexico page lists the current bundle terms for that market.
Brazil: The 13º Salário in Two Installments
Brazil is the only one of the three that splits the payment by statute. The first installment, roughly half of the salary with no deductions, is due by 30 November. The second is due by 20 December, with taxes and social security taken out at that point. In 2026 the 20th falls on a Sunday, so the practical deadline for the second installment is Friday, 18 December. Employers may pay earlier than either date.
That makes Brazil the market where bonus timing and the sale calendar overlap most. The first installment arrives while November events are still running, including the Temu 11.11 sale page and the Black Friday page. Brazilian buyers also face import duty collected at checkout, a point we explain in the Temu vs Mercado Livre and Shopee comparison. The Temu Brazil page shows how the bundle works there.
Argentina: Aguinaldo as the Second SAC Installment
Argentina calls the benefit the Sueldo Anual Complementario, or SAC, and pays it twice a year, at the end of June and in December. The December installment is due on 18 December under Ley 27.073, and employers get a short grace period of a few business days. The amount is half of the highest monthly gross pay earned in the semester, so it varies by worker.
Argentine shoppers weigh a different set of factors, mainly local pricing and the way marketplaces handle imports. We lay those out in Temu vs Mercado Libre and Amazon in Argentina, and the Temu Argentina page has the current offer for that country.
A Sensible Order of Operations
A bonus is easy to spend in your head before it exists. A few habits keep the sale season from turning into a December regret:
- Wait for the deposit. Employers may pay on the last permitted day, and a short delay changes nothing about a sale page.
- Separate needs from wants. Replacing a worn-out item is different from filling a cart because a discount banner is open.
- Check delivery time against your need. Overseas orders commonly take one to three weeks, so anything required before the holidays should be ordered with that in mind.
- Keep a ceiling. Decide a total before you open the app, not after.
What the Data Does and Does Not Say
We checked the legal deadlines against published sources for each country, and the dates above reflect them. What we did not find is any Temu program built around aguinaldo, 13º salário or the SAC, so we are not describing one. The overlap is a matter of timing: people have a bit more room in their budget at the same time the seasonal sale pages are active.
Questions Worth Answering
No. Mexico requires the aguinaldo to be paid before 20 December. Brazil splits the 13º salário in two, with the first installment due by 30 November and the second by 20 December (which moves to Friday 18 December in 2026 because the 20th is a Sunday). Argentina's second SAC installment is due on 18 December, with a short grace period for employers.
Only if the purchase would make sense on an ordinary month's budget. A bonus that has not been paid yet is still a plan, not money in the account, and employers can pay on the last permitted day. Waiting a week costs little, and most sale pages stay open long enough to compare.
We have not found any Temu program tied to these bonuses, so we do not treat one as real. What the site does publish are the general seasonal sale events and the country bundle terms, which you can read on the country pages before deciding.