Global Payroll Services in Colombia

Already have a Colombian entity, or running payroll across several countries? We place you with a vetted Colombian payroll partner who keeps income tax, pension, health, ARL, and parafiscal filings exactly right, while you stay the legal employer and we stay on your side.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Multi-country ready

What running payroll in Colombia involves

If you already employ people through your own Colombian entity, you stay the legal employer, but you still have to run payroll correctly every month: income tax withholding to DIAN, pension and health contributions to the employee’s chosen fund and EPS, ARL premiums by risk class, and parafiscal payments to SENA, ICBF, and the Caja de Compensación Familiar, five separate lines rather than one. This is where a specialist payroll partner earns its place: you keep the employment relationship, they keep the mechanics right across all five.

01

You stay the employer

You stay the legal employer of your Colombian staff. The payroll partner runs the monthly mechanics; you keep the employment relationship.

02

Accurate every cycle

Income tax, pension, health, and ARL calculated and withheld correctly, payslips issued, and statutory filings made to DIAN, UGPP, and the relevant EPS and pension fund on schedule, every month.

03

Multi-country consolidation

Run payroll across several markets under one partner and one process, rather than a different vendor and standard in every country.

How managed Colombian payroll works, step by step

From onboarding your employee data to filing and reconciliation.

01 – Scope & onboard

We map your entity, headcount, and where you employ people, place you with the right vetted Colombian payroll partner, and onboard your employee data.

02 – Set up calculations

Income tax, pension, health, ARL, and parafiscal contributions configured correctly to current Colombian rules, so every payslip is right from the first run.

03 – Run monthly payroll

Salaries calculated, income tax, pension, health, and ARL withheld, payslips issued, and people paid on schedule, every cycle.

04 – File & reconcile

Statutory filings to DIAN, UGPP, and the employee’s EPS and pension fund made on time, with the prima de servicios and cesantías cycle handled for you.

What payroll in Colombia costs

Your statutory employer costs, plus a payroll partner fee. Colombia’s employer burden is predictable in structure but split across four lines and layered with exemptions; the value of the partner is accuracy and time, in a system where mistakes are visible and penalised.

Employer pension, health & ARL

employer pension 12% plus employer health 8.5%, with employer parafiscales SENA (2%), ICBF (3%), and Caja de Compensación (4%) on top. The health, SENA, and ICBF portions drop to zero once your company qualifies under Ley 1819 de 2016, for each employee earning under 10x the minimum wage, which a payroll partner tracks so you never over- or under-pay it.

Minimum wage (2026)

COP 1,750,905 per month (the SMMLV) for 2026, one national rate with no regional variation, plus a mandatory transport subsidy for lower earners.

Income tax (employee)

Progressed through bands denominated in the UVT (Unidad de Valor Tributaria), which DIAN resets every year, an adjustment that alone can shift take-home pay independent of any raise, one of the more common payroll surprises for a foreign employer.

Payroll partner fee

A transparent per-employee or per-payslip fee. We benchmark across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct.

Why run it through Bradford Jacobs

One partner, many countries

If you run payroll across several markets, we consolidate it through vetted partners under one point of contact, not a different vendor and a different standard in every country.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

Pricing you can’t get direct

Colombia runs payroll across five separate mandatory lines, pension, health, ARL, and two parafiscal schemes, and getting the exemption thresholds wrong on a payslip is an easy, visible mistake. We benchmark across our payroll network for rates typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate for you at renewal.

  • 15-25% below direct
  • Network benchmarking
  • Renegotiated for you

Four-line rules that expose risk

The pension/health/ARL contribution split, the parafiscales exemption thresholds, and the UVT-based withholding table that DIAN resets every year. We place you with partners who get the specifics right, and we stay on your side if anything needs escalating.

  • Direct escalation
  • No support queues
  • Named account contact

20+ years and the local detail

Two decades running compliant payroll across global markets, the deadlines, the filings, the year-end detail that exposes risk.

  • Two decades of payroll
  • Deadlines & filings
  • Year-end handled

Built to scale across markets

Run payroll in one country or twenty through one partner and one process. As you add markets, the standard does not fragment, you keep a single point of contact and consistent compliance everywhere.

  • One process everywhere
  • Single point of contact
  • Consistent compliance

The payroll slips DIAN never misses

These are the ones that catch foreign employers, and the reason a specialist partner pays for itself.

Tax & deduction rates

Misapplying the UVT-based income-tax withholding table. Getting the pension/health/ARL split or a parafiscales exemption wrong. Missing the prima de servicios or cesantías deadline. Each is easy to get wrong alone and visible to DIAN and UGPP when you do.

Filings, deadlines & reporting

Late remittance to DIAN, UGPP, an EPS, or a pension fund, where penalties and interest apply automatically. None of these are hard for a specialist; all are easy to get wrong alone. That is the whole case for getting your Colombian payroll partner right.

What managed payroll covers

One transparent fee covers the full monthly payroll cycle. No hidden extras.

Tax, pension, health & ARL

Compliant Colombian payroll processed monthly, with income tax, pension, health, and ARL correct every run.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with income tax, pension, health, and ARL calculated, withheld, and filed correctly each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, the prima de servicios, cesantías, sick pay, and maternity/paternity leave.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on running compliant payroll in Colombia.

Do I need a Colombian entity to use payroll services?

Yes. Payroll outsourcing assumes you are the legal employer, which usually means you have a Colombian entity. If you have no entity and do not want one yet, you need an EOR instead, where the partner is the legal employer. We will confirm which applies to you.

Income tax calculation and remittance, employer and employee pension, health, and ARL contributions, parafiscal payments, statutory benefits and leave, payslips, and all statutory filings to DIAN, UGPP, and the relevant EPS and pension fund. You keep the employment relationship; they keep it compliant and on time.

Two real changes land in mid-2026: the standard workweek finishes its phase-down to 42 hours from 15 July 2026 under Ley 2101 de 2021 (pay is not reduced by the cut), and the Sunday/holiday surcharge continues its graduated rise toward 100% by 2027 under Ley 2466 de 2025, alongside an earlier night-shift start time (7pm instead of 9pm). A good payroll partner adapts payslip calculations to both without missing a cycle.

It depends on salary level: broadly employer pension 12%, employer health 8.5%, employer ARL from 0.522% to 6.96% by risk class, and employer parafiscales SENA 2%, ICBF 3%, and Caja de Compensación 4%. The health, SENA, and ICBF elements are commonly exonerated below a 10x-minimum-wage threshold. Add the transparent payroll partner fee and you have your all-in cost.

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons companies come to us. One point of contact and a consistent process across markets, rather than a separate provider and a different standard in every country.

Yes. When you incorporate and become the legal employer, we move your people from the EOR arrangement onto your own compliant Colombian payroll, and manage the handover so nothing is missed.

Need compliant payroll in Colombia?

Tell us your entity setup and headcount and we will come back with the right partner and pricing you will not get direct, usually within a day. One process, every country you operate in.

Tax and labour data verified July 2026 (DIAN, UGPP, Ministerio del Trabajo). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your payroll.