Dominican Republic EOR, TSS and INFOTEP Payroll Guide (SFS, AFP, SRL, Salario de Navidad, Zona Franca)

TSS contributions, caps and INFOTEP

The Tesoreria de la Seguridad Social (TSS) collects three contributions under Law 87-01: family health insurance (SFS), pension (AFP) and occupational risk (SRL). INFOTEP, the national vocational training institute, collects its 1% levy alongside. Each TSS branch has a different cap expressed in multiples of the cotizable minimum wage, so the caps move whenever the minimum wage table is updated.

The SRL rate depends on the employer's risk class: 1.0% base plus 0.10% to 0.60%. Offices and contact centers sit near the bottom; construction and manufacturing near the top. The calculator uses 1.20% as a default.

Because the caps are multiples of a minimum wage that differs by company size, check where a senior salary sits against each cap before you quote total cost. A salary above 4 minimum wages stops accruing SRL first, then SFS above 10, then AFP above 20.

ISR income tax and a worked monthly payroll

Employee income tax (ISR) is withheld monthly on salary after the employee's SFS and AFP contributions, using the annual DGII scale divided by 12. The scale below is the one DGII has applied in recent years; confirm the 2026 brackets with DGII before payroll.

A bilingual customer support team lead in Santo Domingo on DOP 65,000 a month, SRL at 1.20%, salary below every cap:

Remittance deadlines, TSS and DGII

Dominican payroll runs on two portals. TSS generates a monthly invoice (factura) from the employer's payroll submission in the SUIR system; DGII receives the ISR withheld through the monthly IR-3 return.

• TSS (SUIR): payroll novelties (hires, exits, salary changes) are reported in SUIR, which produces the monthly invoice for SFS, AFP and SRL. Payment is due early in the following month, commonly by the third working day; late payment carries surcharges and can suspend employees' health coverage.
• DGII: ISR withheld from salaries is declared and paid on the IR-3 return, commonly due by the 10th of the following month, with an annual IR-13 reconciliation.
• INFOTEP: collected together with the TSS invoice.
• Ministry of Labor: annual staff roster and work schedule filings.

The TSS and DGII dates are not in our core statutory dataset; confirm them with TSS and DGII. Ask an EOR for the paid TSS invoice and IR-3 receipt each month.

Cesantia, preaviso and final settlement

Under the Labor Code (Law 16-92), an employer who ends a contract without cause (desahucio) pays notice (preaviso) and severance (cesantia), plus the proportional Christmas salary and accrued vacation. Daily salary is monthly salary divided by 23.83.

The settlement must be paid within 10 days of termination; after that the Code adds one day of salary for every day of delay, which can exceed the original amount on a slow offboarding. Dismissal for cause (despido) avoids cesantia only if the cause is one listed in the Code and the Ministry of Labor is notified within 48 hours. A resignation for employer fault (dimision) costs the same as desahucio. Get the notification and the signed settlement receipt filed before final pay.

Worked case: DOP 65,000 a month, 4 years. Daily salary = 65,000 / 23.83 = DOP 2,727.65. Cesantia = 21 x 4 = 84 days x 2,727.65 = DOP 229,122.60. Preaviso if not worked = 28 x 2,727.65 = DOP 76,374.20. Add the proportional Navidad and vacation. Run it in the severance calculator; for leave rules see the leave playbook.

Zona Franca, the 80/20 rule, work permits and banking

Zona Franca. Most nearshore contact centers operate under the free zone regime, which grants corporate tax and import exemptions to qualifying operators. Free zone status applies to the operating company, not to an EOR's employees, so a BPO that wants the incentives eventually needs its own entity or a free zone shelter operator.

Nationals quota. The Labor Code requires that at least 80% of an employer's workforce be Dominican, and the same share of the payroll. Expat-heavy teams on one EOR entity rarely hit this, but confirm.

Work permits. Foreigners need a residence and work authorization from the Direccion General de Migracion; a work visa process typically takes months.

Banking and FX. Salaries are paid in DOP by bank transfer. The peso floats; at benchmark DOP 63.5, a 2.5% spread on a 25-seat team costs about USD 9,575 a year. Several Dominican banks offer USD accounts, so ask whether the provider can be funded in USD at a disclosed rate.

EOR, own entity or payroll bureau in the Dominican Republic

For 25 support agents and leads at DOP 65,000 a month, statutory employment cost including the Navidad accrual is USD 383,010 a year at benchmark FX.

• Global EOR at USD 599 PEPM list: USD 179,700 a year, which is 47% of the employment cost itself. At contact-center salaries, a flat global fee is the dominant cost. Remote and Papaya Global are solid where the team is small and spread across countries.
• Direct regional EOR at USD 250 PEPM benchmark: USD 75,000 a year.
• Own entity plus bureau: at USD 35 PEPM, USD 10,500 a year plus setup, and the route to free zone incentives.

Compare Jamaica vs the Dominican Republic for BPO and Rippling vs Pebl, read the audits of Remote, Papaya Global and Multiplier, and the nearshore BPO playbook. Then run the Dominican Republic employer cost calculator.