SSO 30%. Exemption resets yearly. Iran payroll, solved.
Iran payroll is not a software toggle. It runs on a 30% social-security engine (employer 23% + employee 7%), a salary-tax exemption that resets every Iranian year with progressive bands to 35%, minimum wages that jump 30–45% annually, and a rial in freefall. Layered on top: comprehensive US and international sanctions that cut most Western banks and payroll platforms out of the country. Compliance here needs genuine in-country presence and sanctions-aware structuring – not a partner hand-off.
native payroll
vs nearest peer
since inception
- Salary Income Tax
- 0–35% progressive
- Corporate Tax
- 25% flat
- Total Social Security
- 30% (ER 23% + EE 7%)
- Employer SSO
- 23% (20% SS + 3% unemp)
- Employee SSO
- 7% of wage
- SSO Wage Ceiling
- 7× minimum wage
- Salary Tax Exemption
- IRR 240m / month (1404)
- Top Marginal Rate
- 35% above IRR 1.92bn/mo
- Overtime Standard
- 140% of hourly rate
- Annual Leave
- 26 working days
- Severance
- 1 month wage / year
- Minimum Wage
- ∼IRR 103.9m / month (1404)
- Currency
- IRR · 1 toman = 10 rial
- Sanctions
- US/int’l – banking cut off
- Foreign Workers
- Work permit + SSO
Payroll compliance: the details that can’t be missed
Iran’s exposure is unlike any other market. The SSO audits contribution bases and levies retroactive premiums with penalties. INTA reconciles monthly salary-tax withholding against an exemption that changes every Iranian year. Labour inspectors enforce mandatory allowances and severance. And above all of it sits a comprehensive sanctions regime that can freeze payments, block banking channels, and expose foreign parent companies to secondary sanctions – risks that never appear on a standard payroll checklist until they materialise.
Sanctions & banking exclusion
Comprehensive US and international sanctions cut Iran off from SWIFT, most correspondent banks, and every major Western payroll platform. Paying salaries, remitting tax/SSO, or funding an entity can trigger blocked transactions and secondary-sanctions exposure for the foreign parent. Requires sanctions-aware structuring, not standard rails.
SSO contribution audits & retroactive premiums
The Social Security Organization audits declared wages against the 7× minimum-wage ceiling and mandatory allowances. Under-declaration triggers retroactive premium assessments at 30% (ER 23% + EE 7%) plus penalties, and can block the clearance certificate needed to operate.
Salary-tax errors on the annual exemption reset
The monthly salary-tax exemption (IRR 240m for 1404) and the progressive bands are re-set each Iranian year by the budget law. Withholding on the prior year’s figures, or misapplying the public-sector 10% flat vs private-sector 10–35% scale, creates INTA reassessments and penalties.
Foreign-worker permits & SSO totalization gaps
Non-Iranians need a valid work permit before employment; unauthorised foreign labour draws heavy fines and deportation. Expat SSO can only be waived with a home-country coverage certificate, and a 3% accident-insurance premium still applies. Gaps expose the employer to full back-contributions.
The three types of providers who struggle with Iran
Global Aggregator Platforms
Platforms like Deel, Remote, and Rippling do not operate in Iran at all – sanctions and banking restrictions keep them out. Where a workaround is offered, it routes through opaque third parties with no owned entity, no SSO relationship, and no sanctions-compliance framework. The compliance and secondary-sanctions liability lands back on you.
- ×No Iran entity – sanctions block onboarding entirely
- ×No SSO or INTA integration – filings unsupported
- ×No sanctions-screening or OFAC-aware payment structuring
- ×Banking rails simply cannot settle Iranian rial payroll
Large Global Payroll Incumbents
The global incumbents have no meaningful Iran presence. Sanctions exposure keeps them off the market, and where coverage is claimed it is delivered through a distant local partner never built for Iran’s SSO ceiling logic, annual exemption resets, or mandatory-allowance structure.
- ×Iran outside supported country list for compliance reasons
- ×SSO 7×-ceiling and allowance logic not modelled
- ×Annual salary-tax exemption reset handled manually, if at all
- ×No in-country authority relationships with SSO or INTA
Local Iranian Firms
Local Iranian accounting and payroll bureaus know the SSO and INTA rules – but they can’t serve a multinational. No proprietary technology, no HRIS integration, no multi-country consolidation, no international data-security certifications, and no framework to keep a foreign parent on the right side of sanctions law.
- ×No proprietary payroll technology – manual, spreadsheet-based
- ×No HCM connector – Workday, SAP, Oracle feeds are custom work
- ×No international data-security certifications (SOC 1/2, ISO 27701)
- ×No sanctions-compliance advisory for the foreign parent entity
The only provider that closes every gap
Mercans is one of the very few global providers that can run Iran payroll compliantly – combining a proprietary payroll engine, in-country compliance capability, direct SSO and INTA knowledge, and sanctions-aware structuring – on one contract, without exposing your parent entity to unmanaged risk.
An engine built for Iran’s SSO ceiling and yearly exemption resets
G2N Nova™ is the world’s only API-first gross-to-net payroll engine. It natively models Iran’s 30% SSO split, enforces the 7×-minimum-wage insurable ceiling, applies the annual salary-tax exemption and progressive 10–35% bands, and handles mandatory housing, food, and child allowances as distinct calculation layers. Every rate the budget law changes each Iranian year is versioned, not hardcoded.
Iran capability with sanctions-aware structuring – not a blind hand-off
Running Iran is not just a compliance problem, it is a sanctions problem. Mercans pairs in-country payroll and compliance knowledge of the SSO, INTA, and the Ministry of Labour with structuring that keeps your parent entity on the right side of OFAC and international restrictions. When the budget law resets the exemption, when the minimum wage jumps, when the rial is redenominated – we adjust before it hits your run.
Enterprise data-security posture multinationals require
Payroll data for Iranian employees still has to meet the standards a global head office demands. Mercans holds BCR approval, ISO 27701, SOC 1 & 2, and ISO 27017/27018 certifications, backed by zero security breaches since inception – the same posture we bring to every one of the 160+ countries we run, applied to a market where data handling and payment traceability carry unusual scrutiny.
Where Mercans wins on every Iran-specific capability
Each row is an Iran-specific capability. Each cell shows native coverage as a fill bar – full = native in-platform, half = partial / manual workaround, empty = gap.
Iran Capability Coverage · 8 dimensions
OFAC-aware structuring
budget-law driven
housing · food · child
Every rate. Every cap. Every obligation.
Iran payroll operates on exact numbers that the budget law changes every Iranian year, over a sanctions-constrained payment layer. Mercans builds every figure below into G2N Nova™ and monitors them proactively – so a rate change never reaches you as a penalty notice.
Iran · Rate & Compliance Dashboard
Live 2025–26The Exemption and Bands Reset Every Iranian Year
The salary-tax exemption (IRR 240m/month for 1404) and the progressive 10–35% bands are re-issued by the annual budget law and take effect from 21 March. Public-sector staff pay a flat 10% after exemption; private-sector staff climb the full scale. G2N Nova™ versions both – not as hardcoded values.
→ Yearly exemption + band versioning in G2N Nova™SSO Runs to a 7×-Minimum-Wage Ceiling
The 30% SSO contribution (ER 23% + EE 7%) applies to insurable earnings up to seven times the daily minimum wage, and two-sevenths of the employee share is deductible from taxable salary. Both the cap and the deduction move with the annual wage circular.
→ Dynamic 7× ceiling + 2/7 tax offset in G2N Nova™Mandatory Allowances Change the Base
Housing, food/consumables, marriage, and child allowances set by the Supreme Labour Council are paid on top of base wage; several are SSO-liable and enter the contribution base. Omitting them understates both SSO and the eventual severance settlement.
→ Statutory allowance tracking in HR Blizz™Payments Move Through a Sanctions Filter
Comprehensive US and international sanctions constrain banking, so salary funding and statutory remittances must be structured and screened to avoid blocked transactions and secondary-sanctions exposure for the foreign parent. This sits over, not beside, the payroll calculation.
→ OFAC-aware structuring on every Iran runRun an Iran payroll. Right here, right now.
Switch worker type. Move the slider. Every number you see is the same calculation G2N Nova™ runs in production – 30% SSO split, the 7×-minimum-wage ceiling, the annual salary-tax exemption, and progressive 10–35% bands exposed live.
Iran Social Contribution Calculator · Live
G2N Nova™ engineEight things only Iran experts know to handle
These are the details that don’t appear in standard payroll guides – but appear in every SSO audit, INTA reassessment, and sanctions-compliance review we’ve encountered running Iran payroll.
The Salary-Tax Exemption Resets Every Iranian Year
Each year’s budget law re-sets the tax-free salary threshold – IRR 240m/month (IRR 2.88bn/year) for 1404. Withholding on the previous year’s exemption over- or under-deducts for months until corrected. Public-sector staff pay a flat 10% after exemption; private-sector staff face the 10–35% progressive scale.
SSO Contributions Are Capped at 7× the Minimum Wage
Insurable earnings for the 30% SSO contribution are capped at seven times the daily minimum wage. Above the ceiling no premium is due, but the cap moves every year with the minimum wage. Contributing on uncapped pay over-withholds and distorts SSO filings.
Two-Sevenths of Employee SSO Is Tax-Deductible
Two-sevenths of the employee’s 7% social-security share is deductible from taxable salary before the income-tax bands apply. Missing this quietly over-taxes every employee, every month – a classic error for providers not built for Iran.
Mandatory Allowances Sit on Top of Base Wage
The Supreme Labour Council mandates housing (IRR 9m/mo), food/consumables (IRR 22m/mo), a marriage benefit, and a child allowance (~IRR 10.4m/mo per child) for 1404 – on top of base wage. Several are SSO-liable, changing the contribution base materially.
Severance Is One Month’s Wage Per Year of Service
On termination the statutory minimum is one month’s last wage for each year of continuous or alternate service, pro-rated for partial years. End-of-year bonus (Eydi) obligations and unused-leave payout compound the final settlement.
Foreign Workers Need Permits and Trigger Special SSO Rules
Non-Iranians need a work permit before starting. Their employer pays SSO at 20% (unemployment insurance excludes foreigners). SSO can be waived only with a home-country coverage certificate, in which case a 3% accident-insurance premium applies instead.
Every Payment Must Clear Sanctions Screening
Comprehensive sanctions block standard banking rails. Salary funding, tax and SSO remittance, and vendor payments must be structured and screened so that neither the local entity nor the foreign parent triggers a blocked transaction or secondary-sanctions exposure.
Rial vs Toman, Devaluation, and Redenomination
Wages are quoted in toman (1 toman = 10 rial) but filed in rial, and the currency is being redenominated (four zeros removed). Rapid devaluation means fixed-rial thresholds erode within a year, so FX handling and conversion controls are essential.
One workforce. Two entirely different compliance tracks.
Open-ended contracts on full SSO and severance rights vs. fixed-term and project workers on limited-duration terms require two distinct compliance frameworks, two sets of termination rules, and two different separation entitlements. Mercans runs both simultaneously on every pay cycle.
Parallel Compliance Engines
Full 30% SSO from Day 1. Employer 23% (20% social security + 3% unemployment) and employee 7% on insurable earnings, capped at seven times the minimum wage. SSO enrolment mandatory before the start date.
Mandatory allowances on top of base wage. Housing, food/consumables, marriage, and per-child allowances set by the Supreme Labour Council. Several are SSO-liable and enter the contribution base.
Severance and Eydi obligations. One month’s wage per year of service on termination, plus the statutory end-of-year bonus (Eydi) and unused-leave payout at separation.
Monthly salary-tax withholding to INTA. Progressive 10–35% withholding after the annual exemption, filed monthly. Public-sector staff instead pay a flat 10% after exemption.
Same SSO and salary-tax treatment as permanent staff. No reduced rates – full 30% SSO and the 10–35% salary-tax scale apply identically. The 7×-minimum-wage ceiling applies equally.
Fixed-term contracts must state a definite duration. Repeated renewal of fixed-term contracts for permanent work is challenged as de facto open-ended employment, carrying full severance exposure.
Severance accrues even on short terms. One month’s wage per year of service is pro-rated for partial years, so even fixed-term separations carry a statutory payout.
Misclassification is a primary audit trigger. Treating de facto employees as contractors draws SSO back-contributions plus penalties and can block the entity’s clearance certificate.
Every obligation. Every authority. Mercans owns the calendar.
Iran compliance runs across INTA, the SSO, and the Ministry of Labour on monthly, annual, and event-triggered cadences – over a sanctions-constrained payment layer. Mercans’ managed payroll absorbs every filing as standard scope. You don’t track deadlines. We do.
Salary-Tax Withholding Return
Monthly withholding of employee salary tax after the annual exemption, on the progressive 10–35% scale (flat 10% for public-sector staff). Filed with INTA. Late filing triggers penalties and interest on the unpaid tax.
SSO Premium List & Payment
Monthly wage list and payment of the 30% SSO premium (ER 23% + EE 7%) on insurable earnings up to the 7×-minimum-wage ceiling. Late or under-declared lists draw retroactive assessments and block the clearance certificate.
Exemption & Band Reset (Nowruz)
From 21 March the budget law re-sets the salary-tax exemption and progressive bands for the new Iranian year. Withholding must switch to the new figures from the first payroll of the year to avoid reassessment.
Supreme Labour Council Wage Circular
The annual minimum wage and mandatory allowances (housing, food, marriage, child) are set for the new year, resetting the SSO 7× ceiling and the contribution base. Effective from the start of the Iranian year.
Annual Salary-Tax Reconciliation
Annual reconciliation of salary tax withheld against the year’s payroll, filed with INTA. Discrepancies against the monthly returns trigger audit review and adjustment.
Severance, Eydi & Leave Settlement
Final settlement applying one month’s wage per year of service, plus the statutory end-of-year bonus (Eydi) and unused-leave payout. Pro-rated for partial years and alternate service.
Work Permit & Expat SSO Registration
Foreign workers require a valid work permit before employment. Expat SSO is at 20% (no unemployment) or waived with a home-country coverage certificate, in which case a 3% accident-insurance premium applies instead.
Sanctions Screening on Every Payment
Salary funding, tax and SSO remittance, and vendor payments are screened and structured so neither the local entity nor the foreign parent triggers a blocked transaction or secondary-sanctions exposure.
Iran is one market. Mercans covers the wider Middle East.
For companies running payroll across the Middle East, complexity multiplies – not adds. Each market runs its own tax authority, social-insurance body, and filing mandate, and several carry their own sanctions and FX constraints. Mercans covers the region on a single platform with country-specific compliance engines running in parallel.
covered
1 contract
consolidation
MENA
Every filing. Every format. Submission-ready.
Mercans generates the exact file types INTA, the SSO, and the Ministry of Labour expect to receive – not formatted summaries that need reworking before you can submit them.
