Costa Rica Public Holidays: 2026 Dates and Pay Rules

Holiday rules matter more than most teams expect. Some official holidays in Costa Rica are mandatory paid, and some are non-mandatory paid, so what you owe can shift based on whether someone is paid weekly, monthly, or quincenal. If an employee works a holiday, the usual floor is double pay, and holiday overtime can raise those hours to triple pay.

2026 Costa Rica public holidays calendar

Mandatory paid means employees get the day off with pay unless an exception applies. Non-mandatory paid means the day off may be granted, but pay treatment can differ depending on salary modality.

What counts as an official public holiday in Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s Labor Code separates holidays into mandatory paid holidays and non-mandatory paid holidays. For payroll purposes, your holiday list should come from the Ministry of Labor’s published calendar for the year, and your pay treatment should follow the rules tied to the employee’s salary modality. That matters most when you run weekly payroll, because the result can be different from monthly or quincenal payroll.

Paid day off rules for employees in Costa Rica

If an employee does not work, what you owe usually depends on two things: how the person is paid, and whether the pay method covers all calendar days or only days actually worked.

If someone is paid by unit of time, such as by day, week, month, or quincena, the holiday value is generally the employee’s ordinary daily pay. If the person is paid by piecework or production, the holiday is generally based on the average daily earnings from the prior week.

Then comes the second question. In Costa Rica, weekly payroll often means you pay only for days actually worked. In that setup, mandatory paid holidays generally require an extra simple day’s pay even when the person does not work. Non-mandatory paid holidays, by contrast, are generally not paid when they are not worked.

Monthly and quincenal systems work differently because those systems usually pay all calendar days in the period, including holidays. In that setup, the ordinary holiday pay is already built into the salary, so there is no separate additional holiday payment when the employee takes the day off.

Holiday pay rules when an employee works in Costa Rica

If the employee is on weekly pay in a non-commercial activity, and the holiday is a mandatory paid day, working that day generally means you move from the ordinary holiday entitlement to double pay for the day worked. If the holiday is non-mandatory paid, and the person works, the additional amount is typically simple rather than double.

If the employee is on monthly or quincenal pay, or on weekly pay treated as commercial for payroll purposes, the holiday is already included in salary. In that case, if the employee works a holiday, whether mandatory paid or non-mandatory paid, you generally add one extra simple day so total pay for that holiday reaches double pay. 

This means the same holiday can lead to a different payroll result depending on the employee’s salary structure, even though the holiday itself has not changed.

Holiday overtime pay in Costa Rica

If overtime hours are worked on a holiday, the overtime premium can increase total compensation to triple pay for those overtime hours. In practice, payroll should separate regular holiday hours from holiday overtime hours instead of lumping everything into one code.

Substitute day rules for Costa Rica holidays

In Costa Rica, the default approach is pay treatment, not banking a replacement day off later. If an employee works a holiday, the normal legal question is how that day must be paid, not whether you can swap it for another day off.

That said, some employers choose to offer a substitute day through internal policy, or a collective agreement may provide for it in specific settings. If you take that approach, document it clearly, apply it consistently, and make sure it does not undercut the minimum legal pay entitlement.

Required work on a public holiday in Costa Rica

As a general rule, employees cannot be forced to work on a public holiday. Costa Rica’s Labor Code treats holidays as non-working days, and the Ministry of Labor has said employees who refuse holiday work generally cannot be sanctioned for that refusal. The main exception is for activities that fall within legal carve-outs, including certain essential, continuous, or specially regulated operations. If your business needs holiday coverage in Costa Rica, validate that exception locally before making any decisions.

Employer compliance checklist for holiday payroll

A clean setup leads to clean results.

• Confirm the 2026 holiday calendar. Check the official list and note which dates are mandatory paid versus non-mandatory paid.
• Document salary modality. Record whether each employee is paid weekly, monthly, or quincenal, and whether pay is time-based or piecework.
• Set up payroll codes. Separate holiday pay, holiday worked premium, and holiday overtime so finance can review each item quickly.
• Keep manager instructions simple. Spell out who approves holiday work, how time must be coded, and what employees should expect on payslips.

Payroll tips 

Decide holiday coverage before the week starts, not after schedules are already full. Make timekeeping easy with a dedicated Holiday Worked code so payroll is not guessing later. And if you run weekly payroll, double-check weeks that include mandatory paid holidays because that is where underpayments usually happen.

If you manage teams across more than one country, it also helps to compare local time-off practices against your wider leave strategy. Our guide to paid vacation days by country is a useful starting point, especially if Costa Rica is one part of a broader regional hiring plan.

FAQs

Are public holidays in Costa Rica always paid?

No. Some are mandatory paid and some are non-mandatory paid. The final payroll result also depends on salary modality.

What happens if a holiday falls on a weekend?

You still apply the holiday rules for that date unless a specific legal transfer rule applies for that year. For 2026, the official calendar already lists the dates employers should follow.

Do you have to give a substitute day if someone works a holiday?

Usually no. The default rule is premium pay, not a banked day off, unless your policy or agreement gives something more generous.

What is the pay rate if someone works overtime on a holiday?

Holiday overtime is typically paid at triple pay.

Are holiday bonuses the same as holiday pay?

No. Holiday pay covers work or time off tied to official public holidays. Separate year-end bonus rules can apply in some countries, which is why it helps to keep those concepts distinct. Pebl’s overview of holiday bonuses in seven countries shows how those obligations differ from standard holiday pay.

How an Employer of Record (EOR) can help

An employer of record is a third party that legally employs your team member in Costa Rica on your behalf. This allows you to hire without establishing a local entity, avoiding the hidden costs of entity establishment. 

The EOR handles salary offers, employment contracts, payroll, tax withholding, statutory benefits, and all ongoing compliance. You manage the day-to-day work normally while the EOR takes care of just about everything else.

For employers testing the market, or those who need to scale quickly, an EOR is usually the right choice. You get to reduce risk, move faster, and know all local laws and regulations will be followed.

Pebl handles holidays in Costa Rica

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve got your sights set on Costa Rica. Maybe you’ve even found the perfect talent. There’s a lot that needs to be taken care of before you can start hiring—researching taxes, finding experts in local labor law, finding a payroll processor, and more. It takes a lot of time and a lot of money. Wouldn’t it be great if there were an easier way?

With Pebl, there is.

Our EOR platform allows you to hire in Costa Rica, pay, and manage employees there and in 185+ countries around the world without setting up your own local entity. That means your new talent starts in days, not months. We handle it all: onboarding, benefits, salary benchmarking, payroll, and compliance with all local regulations. Every public holiday, overtime or double time pay the law requires, we make sure it happens. All you have to do is stay focused on leading your team.

When you’re ready to do things the easy way, let us know.

This information does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or tax advice and is for general informational purposes only. The intent of this document is solely to provide general and preliminary information for private use. Do not rely on it as an alternative to legal, financial, taxation, or accountancy advice from an appropriately qualified professional. The content in this guide is provided “as is,” and no representations are made that the content is error-free. 

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