SMIG, base salary, gross, net, payroll: eight amounts you should no longer confuse

A job interview at Sahel Logistique. The candidate asks “how much will I get?”, the manager answers “120,000 base”, and the accountant is already thinking about the total cost. Three people, three figures, and each believes they are talking about the same salary. This misunderstanding is what leads to miscalculated seniority bonuses, disappointed employees at month-end and blown budgets.

Sahel Logistique (a transport and warehousing company with 42 employees) and its storekeeper Moussa are fictitious. They are used for illustration only.

1. The legal framework: which texts define these amounts?

Every amount on the payslip has its source. Salaries and the charges on them are governed mainly by the following texts:

• Law No. 92-020 of 23 September 1992 on the Labour Code, as amended. Article L.95 defines remuneration, and article L.96 refers to decrees to set the minimum wage (SMIG) and, where there is no collective agreement, the minimum wages by category (Labour Code, article L.96). Article L.97 sets the seniority bonus, and article L.105 lists what the payslip must show: base salary, gross remuneration, deductions, net remuneration.
• Decree No. 2015-363/P-RM of 19 May 2015 setting the guaranteed minimum wage: 40,000 XOF a month since 1 January 2016, not subject to ITS (articles 1 and 2).
• Collective agreements, which classify jobs into categories and set the minimum wage for each. They are binding on the contracts of the employers they cover (Labour Code, article L.77).
• Decree No. 96-178/P-RM of 13 June 1996 implementing the Labour Code, amended by Decree No. 2022-0125/PT-RM of 4 March 2022. Its new article D.86-10, for example, sets the minimum wages for the seven categories of domestic workers.
• The Social Security Code (Law No. 99-041 of 12 August 1999, as amended), articles 187 to 189, which define the base for INPS contributions, and Decree No. 10-578/P-RM of 26 October 2010, which sets the rates of compulsory health insurance (AMO).
• The General Tax Code: articles 1 to 13 for the ITS base, articles 159 to 160 and 183 to 185-B for the employer taxes on salaries. Order No. 99-0892/MF-SG of 18 May 1999 lists the bonuses and allowances exempt from ITS.

Law No. 85-35 of 21 June 1985 completes this framework: it creates the housing tax, equal to 1% of the “gross payroll” borne by public and private employers. It is one of the few texts that use the expression.

The most common mistake

Looking for a single text that defines every “salary”. The Labour Code speaks of minimum wage, base salary, gross and net remuneration. The Social Security Code defines the contribution base. The General Tax Code defines the tax base. Each text has its own base, and they do not overlap.

One salary, several bases: the Labour Code protects, the INPS collects, the tax office taxes.

2. Eight amounts, one payslip

Take Moussa, a storekeeper at Sahel Logistique for six years. On his October payslip alone, eight different amounts can be read or calculated. The table below places them before each is explained in turn.

Amount	What it measures	Who sets it
SMIG	The national floor for every employee	Decree
Category minimum	The floor for the job held	Collective agreement, otherwise decree
Base salary	The price of the job agreed in the contract	Employment contract
Gross salary	Everything paid for the work, before deductions	Result of the payslip
Contributory salary	The base for INPS and AMO contributions	Social Security Code
Taxable salary	The ITS base	General Tax Code
Net salary	What the employee receives	Result of the payslip
Employer cost	Gross plus employer charges	Result of the payroll

Payroll, finally, is not an amount on the payslip: it is the total of the company’s salaries (section 9).

3. The SMIG: the floor for the whole country

The guaranteed interprofessional minimum wage (SMIG) is the wage below which no employee may be paid, whatever the sector. It is set by decree (Labour Code, article L.96): 40,000 XOF a month, i.e. 230.77 XOF an hour, since 1 January 2016 (Decree No. 2015-363/P-RM, article 1).

Why a national floor? It guarantees a minimum income even in sectors without a collective agreement, or for jobs nobody has classified.

The SMIG is also a floor elsewhere: the INPS contribution base can never be lower (Social Security Code, article 189), and it is not subject to ITS (Decree No. 2015-363/P-RM, article 2). For its amount and history, read What is the minimum wage in Mali?

The most common mistake

Believing that paying the SMIG is always enough. The SMIG is the floor for those who have no higher floor. As soon as a collective agreement classifies the job, the category minimum applies, and it is often higher.

What you need to do

• Check that no base salary is below 40,000 XOF a month for a full-time job.
• For part-time work, compare the hourly rate paid with 230.77 XOF.

4. The category minimum: the floor for your sector

Moussa is not “an employee” in general: he holds a storekeeper’s job, classified in a category of the grid in the collective agreement that binds Sahel Logistique. That category has its own minimum wage.

The category minimum wage is the lowest wage the employer may pay for a job in a given category. It is set by the collective agreement. Where there is no agreement, a decree sets it (Labour Code, article L.96, 4°). To find out which agreement binds you, read Which collective agreement applies to my company?

The 1996 decree gives an example. For domestic workers, the minimums range from 40,000 XOF (category I) to 49,000 XOF (category VII) a month (Decree No. 96-178/P-RM, new article D.86-10). Category I is at SMIG level; the others are above it.

The amount used to calculate seniority

The category minimum is not only a floor. It is on this amount, not on the base salary, that the statutory seniority bonus is calculated: 3% after three years, 5% after five years, then 1% more per year, up to 15% (Labour Code, article L.97). An agreement or the contract may provide more. See also the seniority bonus and, for classification and grids, The category minimum wage.

Example. Suppose Sahel Logistique’s agreement sets the minimum for Moussa’s category at 75,000 XOF (fictitious amount). Moussa has six years’ seniority.

Seniority rate: 5% at five years + 1% for the sixth year = 6%
Seniority bonus: 75,000 × 6% = 4,500 XOF

What the confusion costs

Paying less than the category minimum breaches the collective agreement (Labour Code, article L.77), punishable by a fine of 10,000 to 50,000 XOF, and 20,000 to 100,000 XOF for a repeat offence (article L.316). Failing to pay the seniority bonus is punishable by 5,000 to 18,000 XOF (article L.320). In both cases, the fine does not remove the obligation to pay the back pay.

The SMIG protects everyone. The category minimum protects the job. And it is what drives seniority.

What you need to do

• Classify each employee in a category of the applicable agreement, and show it on the payslip, as article L.105 requires.
• Update the grid of minimums at each collective revaluation.
• Set up the seniority bonus on the category minimum, unless a more favourable clause applies.

5. The base salary: what the contract says

Moussa’s contract provides 120,000 XOF a month. This is his base salary: the fixed amount agreed for the job and for normal working hours, excluding bonuses and allowances.

The Labour Code does not set its amount. It only requires it as a payslip entry (Labour Code, article L.105) and includes it in remuneration (article L.95). There is one limit: it cannot be lower than the category minimum. Between the two, the difference is a matter of negotiation. To go further, read Base salary.

The most common mistake

Calculating seniority on the base salary “because it is simpler”. For Moussa, this would give 120,000 × 6% = 7,200 XOF instead of 4,500 XOF, i.e. 2,700 XOF too much every month. It is not illegal, since it is more favourable, but it is a commitment that becomes a custom and that you will not easily withdraw.

What you need to do

• Write the base salary and the category in every contract.
• Check on hiring and at every change of job that the base salary reaches the category minimum.

6. The gross salary: everything the employer pays for the work

The gross salary is total remuneration before deductions. The payslip must show it “with all its components, in particular base salary, bonuses, allowances, overtime, benefits in kind” (Labour Code, article L.105). The components are explained in the composition of the gross salary.

Example. Moussa’s October payslip.

Base salary: 120,000 XOF
Seniority bonus: 4,500 XOF
Performance bonus: 20,000 XOF
Travel allowance (actual mission expenses, against receipts): 10,000 XOF
Gross salary: 120,000 + 4,500 + 20,000 + 10,000 = 154,500 XOF

The most common mistake

Quoting a gross salary to a candidate who hears a net salary. On a payslip like Moussa’s, the difference exceeds 20,000 XOF a month. Always say which amount you mean.

What you need to do

• Show each component of gross pay on a separate line of the payslip.
• State in job offers and contracts whether an amount is gross or net.

7. Contributory salary and taxable salary: two different bases

Gross pay is not the base for deductions. Two other amounts are calculated from it, each under its own rules.

The contributory salary, base for INPS and AMO

INPS contributions are based on all remuneration, including benefits in kind and various allowances, except sums that reimburse expenses (Social Security Code, article 187). The base cannot be lower than the SMIG (article 189). The AMO contribution covers the base salary and taxable bonuses and allowances (Decree No. 10-601/P-RM, article 5).

The taxable salary, base for ITS

ITS applies to everything that pays for work, except expense reimbursements and bonuses that a text exempts under conditions (Order No. 99-0892/MF-SG). The pension contribution is deducted, up to 4% of gross pay (General Tax Code, article 7). The full calculation is explained in Calculating ITS in Mali.

Example. Moussa’s two bases.

Gross salary: 154,500 XOF
Less the mission expense reimbursement: 154,500 − 10,000 = 144,500 XOF
INPS and AMO contributory salary: 144,500 XOF
Taxable salary before deduction: 144,500 XOF
Less the INPS pension contribution: 144,500 × 3.6% = 5,202 XOF
Monthly net taxable income: 144,500 − 5,202 = 139,298 XOF, rounded to 139,000 XOF

Here, the two bases coincide before the pension deduction. They diverge as soon as a bonus is exempt from ITS without being an expense reimbursement: it then stays in the INPS base but leaves the tax base.

Gross says what you pay. The base says what is subject to contributions or tax.

What you need to do

• Set up three separate settings in the payroll software for each bonus: gross, contributory, taxable.
• Require receipts for every expense reimbursement; otherwise it becomes remuneration again.

8. The net salary: what reaches the account

The net salary is gross pay minus deductions: employee contributions, ITS, and possibly garnishments, assignments or advance repayments. The payslip must show each deduction, then the “net remuneration” (Labour Code, article L.105). The step-by-step calculation from gross to net is detailed in From gross to net: calculating net salary in Mali.

Example. Moussa’s net pay, single with no children.

Gross salary: 154,500 XOF
INPS pension (employee share): 144,500 × 3.6% = 5,202 XOF
AMO (employee share): 144,500 × 3.06% = 4,422 XOF
Monthly ITS: 11,609 XOF (annual scale on 139,000 × 12 = 1,668,000 XOF, less two points)
Net salary: 154,500 − 5,202 − 4,422 − 11,609 = 133,267 XOF

The most common mistake

Promising a “guaranteed net” and bearing the ITS. Tax paid by the employer becomes a taxable benefit in kind (Order No. 99-0894/MFC-SG, article 4): the base rises, the tax rises too, and the calculation goes round in circles.

What you need to do

• Negotiate salaries in gross terms, and give the net figure for information only.
• Hand over the payslip at the time of payment, with the details of each deduction.

9. Employer cost and payroll: the company’s view

The employer cost

The employee looks at net pay. The company pays gross pay plus employer charges. Employer INPS and AMO contributions and the ANPE levy range from 18.9% to 21.9% depending on the company’s work-accident rate (INPS). On top come the tax levies on salaries: flat-rate employer contribution (CFE) 3.5%, vocational training tax 2%, youth employment tax 2% (General Tax Code, articles 160, 184 and 185-B) and housing tax 1% (Law No. 85-35). For details, read Employer charges.

Example. Moussa’s cost to Sahel Logistique, with a 2% work-accident rate.

Gross salary: 154,500 XOF
Employer INPS, AMO and ANPE contributions: 144,500 × 19.9% = 28,756 XOF
CFE, training tax, youth employment tax and housing tax: 144,500 × 8.5% = 12,283 XOF
Employer cost: 154,500 + 28,756 + 12,283 = 195,539 XOF

For 133,267 XOF paid to Moussa, the company spends 195,539 XOF. The gap between what the employee receives and what the employer pays reaches 62,272 XOF a month here.

Payroll

Payroll (masse salariale) is the total gross salaries paid by the company to all its staff over a period: a month or a year. It is not an individual amount: Sahel Logistique’s payroll adds up the month’s 42 gross salaries.

It does not include employer charges. Adding those charges gives the total staff cost, a different notion. Gross payroll is the base for employer taxes, such as the 1% housing tax (Law No. 85-35, article 2).

Net pay is the employee’s figure. Employer cost is the recruiter’s. Payroll is the company’s.

What you need to do

• Budget each recruitment as employer cost, never as gross pay alone.
• Track gross payroll every month: it is the base for your employer tax returns.

Key takeaways in 6 points

1. Never pay a full-time employee less than 40,000 XOF a month: that is the SMIG.
2. Classify each employee in a category and pay at least that category’s minimum, set by your collective agreement.
3. Calculate the statutory seniority bonus on the category minimum, not on the base salary.
4. Show on the payslip the base salary, each component of gross pay, each deduction and the net amount.
5. Distinguish three bases: gross, contributory salary (INPS, AMO) and taxable salary (ITS).
6. Budget in employer cost and track gross payroll, the base for employer taxes.