Global Payroll Services in Puerto Rico

Already have a Puerto Rico entity, or running payroll across several countries? We place you with a vetted Puerto Rico payroll partner who keeps federal FICA/FUTA and Hacienda’s territorial withholding 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 Puerto Rico involves

If you already employ people through your own Puerto Rico entity, you stay the legal employer, but you still have to run payroll correctly every month: federal FICA and FUTA to the IRS, Hacienda’s own territorial income tax, and Puerto Rico’s own unemployment insurance and disability insurance filings, not a single combined return. This is where a specialist payroll partner earns its place: you keep the employment relationship, they keep the mechanics right across both systems.

01

You stay the employer

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

02

Accurate every cycle

Federal FICA/FUTA and Hacienda territorial income tax calculated and withheld correctly, payslips issued, and statutory filings made to Hacienda, the Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos, and the IRS, 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 Puerto Rico 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 Puerto Rico payroll partner, and onboard your employee data.

02 — Set up calculations

Hacienda income tax withholding, federal FICA/FUTA, and Puerto Rico’s own unemployment and disability insurance configured correctly to current rules, so every payslip is right from the first run.

03 — Run monthly payroll

Salaries calculated, federal and Hacienda withholding applied, payslips issued, and people paid on schedule, every cycle.

04 — File & reconcile

Statutory filings to Hacienda, the Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos, and the IRS made on time, with annual reconciliation handled for you.

What payroll in Puerto Rico costs

Your statutory employer costs, plus a payroll partner fee. Puerto Rico’s employer burden is predictable but split across a federal layer and a territorial layer; the value of the partner is accuracy and time, in a system where a mainland-US assumption is the easiest mistake to make.

Employer statutory cost

7.65% FICA plus 0.6% FUTA (both federal, FUTA capped at USD 7,000), plus Puerto Rico’s own unemployment insurance (1.2% to 5.4% for established employers, 2.8% for new employers, also capped at USD 7,000) and disability insurance (up to 0.3%, capped at USD 9,000), configured correctly for your business every payroll run.

Minimum wage (2026)

USD 10.50 per hour, in force since 1 July 2024, one flat territory-wide rate with no regional variation to track.

Income tax (employee)

Five bands from 0% up to 33% under Hacienda’s own Internal Revenue Code, calculated and filed correctly on every payslip, distinct from the mainland IRS tables.

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

Puerto Rico runs a federal layer and a territorial layer side by side, and treating it like a mainland US state is the easiest, most visible mistake on a payslip. 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

Dual-system rules that expose risk

The federal-versus-Hacienda withholding split, the daily-overtime rule under Law 4-2017, and the mandatory Christmas bonus deadline every November. 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 federal/territorial split Hacienda never misses

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

Tax & deduction rates

Treating Hacienda’s five-band territorial income tax as if it were the mainland federal table. Missing the daily-overtime trigger at 8 hours rather than only at 40 a week. Missing the mandatory Christmas bonus or a vacation/sick-leave accrual entitlement. Each is easy to get wrong alone and visible to Hacienda and the Departamento del Trabajo when you do.

Filings, deadlines & reporting

Late remittance to Hacienda, the Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos, or the IRS, 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 Puerto Rico payroll partner right.

What managed payroll covers

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

Tax, FICA/FUTA & Hacienda filings

Compliant Puerto Rico payroll processed monthly, with federal FICA/FUTA and Hacienda territorial income tax correct every run.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with federal FICA/FUTA and Hacienda territorial income tax calculated, withheld, and filed correctly each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: vacation (1.25 days/month), sick leave (1 day/month), the mandatory Christmas bonus, and Law 80 just-cause protection on exit.

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 Puerto Rico.

Do I need a Puerto Rico entity to use payroll services?

Yes. Payroll outsourcing assumes you are the legal employer, which usually means you have a Puerto Rico 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.

Federal FICA and FUTA calculation and remittance, Hacienda territorial income tax withholding, Puerto Rico’s own unemployment and disability insurance, statutory benefits including the mandatory Christmas bonus, payslips, and all statutory filings to Hacienda, the Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos, and the IRS. You keep the employment relationship; they keep it compliant and on time.

Treating it as a mainland US state. Hacienda runs a genuinely separate income tax system from the federal IRS tables, Law 4-2017 requires overtime after 8 hours in a day rather than only after 40 in a week, and a statutory Christmas bonus is due every November-December regardless of what the mainland parent company’s payroll calendar assumes. A good payroll partner reconfigures every payslip calculation for these territory-specific rules, not just the federal ones.

Predictable at the federal layer, 7.65% FICA plus 0.6% FUTA (capped at USD 7,000), plus Puerto Rico’s own unemployment insurance (1.2% to 5.4%, capped at USD 7,000) and disability insurance (up to 0.3%, capped at USD 9,000), plus a classification-rated CFSE workers’ compensation premium. 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 Puerto Rico payroll, and manage the handover so nothing is missed.

Need compliant payroll in Puerto Rico?

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 (Departamento de Hacienda, Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos, IRS, PwC). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your payroll.