Spanish payroll explained

The short version

• Salaries in Spain are quoted as gross per year (salario bruto anual).
• They are often paid in 14 payments: 12 monthly ones plus two extra payments in June and December.
• Your employer deducts about 6.5% for Social Security and an income tax withholding (retención de IRPF) that usually ranges from 0% to over 30%, depending on your salary and family.
• The withholding is only an advance. Your real tax is settled each spring in the annual tax return (declaración de la renta).

Want your own figures? Use the Spain net salary calculator.

Gross and net

When a Spanish employer offers you "30.000 €", they mean €30,000 gross a year. Note that Spain writes thousands with a dot and decimals with a comma: 30.000,50 € is thirty thousand euros and fifty cents. What you actually receive is the net salary, shown on your payslip (nómina) as líquido a percibir.

14 payments: the extra months

Most collective agreements (convenios colectivos) give workers two extra payments (pagas extra) a year, usually in June and December. If your contract says 14 payments, your annual salary is divided by 14, not 12. Some employers instead spread the extras across the 12 months (pagas prorrateadas). The annual total is the same; only the timing changes.

Social Security contributions

Both you and your employer contribute to Social Security (Seguridad Social), which funds pensions, healthcare, sick pay and unemployment benefit. The rates for 2026 under the General Scheme are:

These rates apply to your contribution base (base de cotización), which is basically your monthly salary with the extra payments spread over the year. The base has a monthly maximum of €5,101.20 in 2026. Above it, a small solidarity contribution applies to the excess.

Income tax (IRPF) withholding

Spain's personal income tax is called IRPF (Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas). Instead of paying it all at the end of the year, your employer withholds a percentage from every payslip. That percentage is calculated once for the whole year, using an official algorithm published by the Tax Agency, and it depends on:

• your expected gross salary for the year;
• your family situation, children, age and any disability, which you declare to your employer on form 145 (modelo 145);
• the type of contract: temporary contracts under a year have a 2% minimum.

The withholding uses a progressive scale. Each rate applies only to the part of your taxable income within that band:

General scale used to calculate withholding. In the annual tax return, each region applies its own half of the scale, so your final tax may be slightly different.

Before the scale is applied, several reductions come off your income: your Social Security contributions, a flat €2,000 for employment expenses, an extra reduction for lower earnings, and a personal allowance (mínimo personal) of €5,550, which goes up with children and age. That is why the percentage actually withheld is much lower than the top rate you reach.

The annual tax return

Every year, usually from April to the end of June, you file the tax return for the previous year. It compares the tax you really owe with what was withheld: if too much was withheld, you get a refund; if too little, you pay the difference. People with a single employer and a salary below €22,000 are generally not required to file, although it is often worth doing to claim a refund.

Special cases

The Beckham Law

If you move to Spain for work and have not been a Spanish tax resident in the previous five years, you may be able to opt for the special regime for inbound workers (régimen especial de impatriados). Under it, employment income is taxed at a flat 24% up to €600,000 a year, and 47% above that. You must apply within six months of registering with Spanish Social Security. Get professional advice: the rules have several requirements.

Non-residents

If you work in Spain but are not a tax resident, which usually means spending fewer than 183 days a year in Spain, you pay non-resident income tax (IRNR) instead of IRPF: generally a flat 24%, or 19% if you live in another EU or EEA country.

Basque Country and Navarre

These two regions have their own tax systems, with different withholding tables.

Freelancers

Self-employed workers (autónomos) pay a monthly Social Security fee based on their net earnings and file quarterly tax returns. None of the payroll rules above apply to them.

Glossary: Spanish payslip terms

Need numbers? Use the severance pay calculator if your job is ending, or the unemployment benefit calculator to see what you would receive from SEPE.