Private-Sector THR Taxed While ASN Not, Purbaya Says It’s Fair
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has spoken out after protests over private-sector workers’ THR being taxed. He said the tax rules for THR for private-sector employees and Civil Servants (ASN) are already fairly applied.
According to him, the tax for ASN is borne by the government because they are government employees. The mechanism for withholding THR tax for private-sector workers follows the rules of each company, whether borne by the employee or borne by the company.
‘That is a fairly fair tax calculation process. For ASN, the government bears it (the employer is the government). So, private-sector workers, if you protest, protest to your boss,’ he said at the Ministry of Finance, Jakarta Pusat, cited by detikFinance on Saturday (7/3/2026).
At the same time, the Director General of Taxes at the Ministry of Finance, Bimo Wijayanto, said similarly that THR for ASN and TNI/Polri is taxed. However, because ASN work under the government, the tax is borne by the government.
‘All THR are taxed. This THR is part of irregular income as far as he knows; it can be one or two THR payments, and the 13th salary. If ASN TNI/Polri, it is taxed too, simply because funding from the APBN is borne by the government,’ he said.
Bimo explained there is a scheme whereby the THR tax is borne by the company for private-sector employees. The policy follows each company.
‘Some private-sector employees have a gross-up covered by their own company, so they receive the full amount,’ he added.
How THR Tax Is Calculated
For information, the Directorate General of Taxes of the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) says that the tax calculation for THR is carried out using the Average Effective Rate (TER) and then multiplied by gross income.
The calculation example is as follows:
Mr. Rana, a permanent employee who worked a full year in 2025 with a monthly income of Rp 10,000,000 and no other income, married with no dependents, receives THR equal to one month’s salary in March 2025, overtime in February, May, November, and a December bonus equal to one month’s salary. The calculation is:
Annual gross income: Rp 145,960,000
Annual employment allowance (5% of gross income or maximum Rp 6,000,000): Rp 6,000,000
Pension contributions Rp 200,000 per month: Rp 2,400,000
Net annual income: Rp 137,560,000
PTKP K/0: Rp 58,500,000
Taxable income: Rp 79,060,000
PPh Article 21 payable for the year
Layer I 5% up to Rp 60,000,000: Rp 3,000,000
Layer II 15% up to Rp 250,000,000: Rp 2,859,000
Layer III 25% up to Rp 500,000,000: Rp 0
Layer IV 30% up to Rp 5,000,000,000: Rp 0
Layer V 35% above Rp 5,000,000,000: Rp 0
Total PPh Article 21 payable for the year: Rp 5,859,000
PPh Article 21 payable January–November Rp 4,688,600
PPh Article 21 payable December Rp 1,170,400