What SIPE is and how to file payroll with the CSS

The SIPE (Sistema de Ingresos y Prestaciones Económicas) is the online platform of the Caja de Seguro Social (CSS) where employers file the monthly payroll and pay employer/employee contributions in Panama — also known simply as "CSS SIPE." Every company with staff registered with the CSS must declare and pay through the SIPE each month.

What is reported in SIPE?

• Each employee's salary for the month.
• The employee (9.75%) and employer (13.25%, with the Ley 462 ramp) contributions.
• Education tax (1.25% employee, 1.50% employer).

Estimate any amount with the social security calculator.

How to file the payroll in SIPE, step by step

1. Close the month's payroll with each worker's salary, absences and changes.
2. Generate the SIPE file (bulk-upload format) or review the pre-filled payroll the CSS makes available to the employer.
3. Log in to SIPE with your employer number, upload the file and check the totals match.
4. Pay the total (employee + employer contribution) online or at an authorized bank, within the deadline.
5. Save the receipt of filing and payment.

When is it paid?

The employer withholds the employee's contribution when paying salary and remits the total to the CSS within the following month. Find all the year's dates in the 2026 payroll calendar.

What if you're late? Late-payment surcharges

Paying the SIPE late generates progressive surcharges (from 2% up to 15% of the amount owed) plus interest, and the CSS has coactive authority to collect. Withholding the employee's contribution and not remitting it may even be a crime. Details in the CSS late-payment surcharges guide.

The SIPE file

Payroll is uploaded to the CSS in the SIPE (bulk-upload) format. nominaHQ generates that file automatically from your payroll, so you don't have to build it by hand.

Where do you pay SIPE?

Payment is made online from the SIPE portal itself (by card or account debit) or in person at a bank authorized by the CSS, presenting the filing receipt. The payment receipt is your backup in case of any review.

SIPE (CSS) vs. Planilla 03 (DGI)

SIPE is the obligation with the CSS; don't confuse it with the Planilla 03, the monthly report of salaries and ISR withheld filed with the DGI. Both are monthly and mandatory, but with different authorities.

Source: Ley 51/2005 (consolidated text), Caja de Seguro Social. Reference only; confirm deadlines and procedure with the CSS and your accountant.