Net Salary in Spain: How It Is Calculated, Step by Step (2026)

If you have just received a job offer in Spain, the number in the contract is gross pay, and Spanish payslips can be confusing: pagas extra, IRPF withholding, cotizaciones. This guide walks through the full calculation by hand with 2026 figures, so you can check your payslip, compare offers and understand why a pay rise never feels as big as it looks.

There are four steps: Social Security, work-income allowances, the IRPF tax bands and the personal and family allowance. At the end you will find a worked example and a gross-to-net table.

Step 1: Social Security contributions

Employees in Spain contribute 6.50% of their contribution base in 2026, which in practice is gross salary including the share of extra payments:

• Common contingencies: 4.70%. Funds pensions, sick leave and healthcare.
• Unemployment: 1.55% on a permanent contract (1.60% on a temporary one).
• Vocational training: 0.10%.
• MEI (Intergenerational Equity Mechanism): 0.15%. The total MEI in 2026 is 0.90%, and the employer pays the other 0.75%.

The base is capped: in 2026 the maximum contribution base is €5,101.20 a month (€61,214.40 a year). Above that, you contribute on the cap plus a small solidarity contribution on the excess.

Example: €30,000 × 6.50% = €1,950 a year.

Step 2: Net work income and allowances

IRPF is not charged on gross pay. First, Social Security is subtracted to get net work income. Then two amounts are deducted:

• €2,000 of general expenses that every employee can deduct (article 19.2.f of the IRPF Act).
• The work-income reduction (article 20), which only helps low salaries: €7,302 if net work income is up to €14,852, falling gradually to zero at €19,747.50.

Example: €30,000 − €1,950 = €28,050. That is above €19,747.50, so there is no reduction. Minus €2,000 of expenses gives a taxable base of €26,050.

Step 3: Apply the IRPF tax bands

The taxable base is split into bands, and each band is taxed at its own rate. It is progressive: earning more never means paying a higher rate on your whole salary, only on the part that falls into the next band. These are the general combined bands (central plus an average regional share):

Each autonomous community sets its own scale for the regional half of the tax, so your real figure can differ by a few hundred euros a year depending on where you live.

Example on €26,050:

• €12,450 × 19% = €2,365.50
• €7,750 (€12,450 to €20,200) × 24% = €1,860
• €5,850 (€20,200 to €26,050) × 30% = €1,755
• Total: €5,980.50 gross tax.

Step 4: Subtract the personal and family allowance

Part of your income is considered necessary to live on and is not taxed. This is the personal and family allowance (mínimo personal y familiar): €5,550 per taxpayer, plus €2,400 for the first child, €2,700 for the second, €4,000 for the third and €4,500 for each additional child, with extra amounts for children under 3, dependent elderly relatives and disability.

The allowance is not deducted from the base. Instead, the same bands are applied to it and the result is subtracted from your tax. For €5,550: €5,550 × 19% = €1,054.50.

Example: €5,980.50 − €1,054.50 = €4,926 of IRPF a year, 16.4% of gross pay.

The result: €30,000 gross to net

With children? With two children the allowance rises to €10,650 (€5,550 + €2,400 + €2,700). The tax on that allowance is €2,023.50, so IRPF falls to €3,957 and net pay rises to €24,093 a year, almost €1,000 more on the same gross salary.

Gross to net salary table for 2026

Applying the same four steps, these are the approximate net figures for a single employee with no children on a permanent contract:

Rounded to the nearest euro, using the general combined scale. For your exact figure with children and number of payments, use the net salary calculator.

Look at the last column: the share deducted grows with salary, but gently. Going from €30,000 to €35,000 gross (€5,000 more) adds €3,273 net a year, so 65% of the raise reaches your pocket.

Why your payslip may not match

• Withholding is an advance. Your employer applies a fixed percentage each month; the real tax is worked out in your annual return (declaración de la renta), where you get a refund or pay the difference.
• Your region. Half of IRPF depends on the regional scale, which is not the same in Madrid, Catalonia or Andalusia.
• Form 145. If you did not tell your employer about children, a disability or a pre-2013 mortgage, withholding will be higher than necessary.
• Extra payments. Annual net is the same, but with 12 payments you get more each month and no extras in summer and December.
• Changes during the year. A raise, a new contract or a new employer means the withholding rate is recalculated, and that month's payslip can be lower.
• Benefits in kind. Health insurance, a company car or meal vouchers above the exempt limit are also taxed.
• Beckham Law. If you moved to Spain and opted for the special regime for inbound workers, you pay a flat 24% on employment income up to €600,000 instead of the bands above.

What your employer pays on top of gross salary

Gross pay is not what you cost your employer. Employers contribute about 30.65% extra: 23.60% common contingencies, 5.50% unemployment, 0.20% FOGASA, 0.60% training and 0.75% MEI, plus accident insurance depending on the activity. A €30,000 gross salary costs the employer about €39,200 a year, worth keeping in mind when you negotiate.

Thinking of working for yourself instead? Self-employed workers pay a monthly quota based on their profits rather than a percentage. See our guide to autónomo tax in Spain.