How to Read a Spanish Payslip in 2026: Every Item Explained

How a payslip is structured

The payslip follows an official model approved by Order ESS/2098/2014. Employers may adapt the design, but they must keep the same blocks: header, earnings, deductions, net pay and, at the bottom, the Social Security contribution bases and the income tax withholding base.

The header shows the company details (legal name, tax ID, address and Social Security employer account code) and the employee details: name, DNI or NIE, Social Security number, professional category, contribution group, seniority date and pay period. It is worth checking them: the contribution group sets the minimum base on which you contribute, and the seniority date is the one that will be used if a severance payment ever has to be calculated.

• Earnings (devengos): everything the company pays you in the month, split into salary and non-salary items.
• Deductions: your Social Security contributions, income tax (IRPF) withholding, advances and other deductions.
• Net pay (líquido total a percibir): the difference between the two, which is what reaches your bank account.
• Bases: the amounts on which contributions and withholding are calculated.

Salary earnings: what pays for your work

Salary items pay for the work itself and are fully subject to contributions. The main one is the base salary, usually set by the collective agreement for each category. On top come salary supplements: seniority, agreement bonus, job-specific bonuses (night work, shift work, hazardous work), performance bonuses, overtime and benefits in kind, such as a company car or health insurance paid by the employer.

No full-time payslip may fall below the minimum wage (SMI), which in 2026 is 1,221 euros a month in 14 payments, or 17,094 euros a year (Royal Decree 126/2026). Part-time workers are entitled to the proportional amount. Many collective agreements set higher pay scales, and the employer must pay whichever is higher.

Non-salary earnings: compensation that is not pay

Non-salary items do not pay for work; they compensate for specific expenses or situations. The most common are travel allowances and mileage, compensation for relocation, dismissal or death, and Social Security benefits that the employer advances on the system's behalf, such as sick pay.

They are treated differently: travel allowances are exempt from income tax and contributions only within regulatory limits. For trips within Spain without an overnight stay, meal allowances are exempt up to 26.67 euros a day, or 53.34 euros with an overnight stay; any excess is taxed and subject to contributions. Note too that a transport allowance, even if some agreements list it as non-salary, is subject to Social Security contributions and taxed like any other employment income.

Extra payments: spread out or paid separately

The Workers' Statute guarantees at least two extra payments a year, usually in summer and at Christmas. The collective agreement may provide for them to be spread across the twelve ordinary monthly payslips. Annual pay is the same either way; only the timing changes.

If they are paid separately, in June and December you will receive two payslips and the extra one will only have income tax withheld, with no Social Security deductions. This is not a mistake: extra payments already bear contributions every month through the pro-rata amount added to the contribution base, as explained in the next section. If they are spread out, you will see a line for the pro-rata extra payments in your earnings every month.

Contribution bases and the income tax base

Several bases appear at the bottom of the payslip. The common contingencies base is the month's pay plus the pro-rata share of extra payments, even if you are not paid them that month. In 2026 it is subject to a minimum depending on the contribution group (1,424.40 euros a month for groups 4 to 7 and 1,989.30 euros for group 1) and a maximum of 5,101.20 euros a month (Order PJC/297/2026).

The occupational contingencies base, also used for unemployment, vocational training and the Wage Guarantee Fund (FOGASA), is the same but adds overtime. Finally, the income tax withholding base is what you actually receive that month, with no pro-rata amount and excluding exempt items such as allowances within the limits.

Your Social Security contributions in 2026

The employee's share is deducted from each of the twelve ordinary payslips. On a permanent contract it adds up to 6.50% of the base; on a fixed-term contract it is 6.55%, because the unemployment rate is slightly higher.

If your pay exceeds the maximum base, since 2025 a solidarity contribution has also applied to the excess. In 2026 the employee pays 0.19% on the band between 5,101.20 and 5,611.32 euros, 0.21% up to 7,651.80 euros and 0.24% above that. For example, on a salary of 72,000 euros a year (6,000 euros a month including pro-rata) the employee's solidarity contribution is just 1.79 euros a month. Overtime carries its own additional contribution: the employee pays 4.70% on ordinary overtime and 2% on overtime due to force majeure.

• Common contingencies: 4.70%.
• Unemployment: 1.55% on permanent contracts and 1.60% on fixed-term contracts.
• Vocational training: 0.10%.
• Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI): 0.15%. The total MEI rate in 2026 is 0.90%, of which the employer pays 0.75%.

Income tax withholding: an advance on your tax return

Withholding is not a separate tax but an advance payment towards your annual income tax return. The employer calculates an annual percentage based on your expected pay, your contributions and your personal and family circumstances, which you report on form 145 (children, dependent relatives, disability, maintenance payments or a home loan taken out before 2013). That rate is applied to the taxable amount of each payslip, including extra payments.

The percentage is recalculated when your circumstances change, for example after a pay rise or the birth of a child. Below certain thresholds there is no withholding: for a single employee without children, there is no obligation to withhold on annual pay of 15,876 euros or less. Contracts lasting less than a year carry a minimum withholding rate of 2%. If you think your rate is too low and want to avoid paying on your tax return, you can ask the employer in writing to apply a higher percentage.

Full example: a September 2026 payslip

Laura is an administrative officer (group 5) on a permanent contract in Madrid, single with no children. She earns 28,000 euros gross a year in 14 payments of 2,000 euros. In September she made two day trips to Toledo without staying overnight.

Earnings: base salary 1,750.00 euros and agreement bonus 250.00 euros, totalling 2,000.00 euros in salary. As a non-salary item, travel allowances of 53.34 euros (2 days at 26.67 euros, exempt). Total earnings: 2,053.34 euros.

Bases: the common contingencies base is 2,000.00 plus the pro-rata share of the two extra payments (4,000 / 12 = 333.33), i.e. 2,333.33 euros. With no overtime, the occupational contingencies base is the same. The income tax base is 2,000.00 euros, because the allowances are exempt.

Deductions: common contingencies 109.67 euros, unemployment 36.17 euros, vocational training 2.33 euros and MEI 3.50 euros, a total of 151.67 euros. For 28,000 euros, with annual contributions of 1,820.04 euros, the withholding rate works out at 15.58%, which on 2,000.00 euros is 311.60 euros. Total deductions: 463.27 euros.

Net pay: 2,053.34 minus 463.27, i.e. 1,590.07 euros. In December, the 2,000.00-euro extra payment only has 311.60 euros withheld, so Laura will receive 1,688.40 euros for it. If her extra payments were spread out, her gross monthly pay would be 2,333.33 euros, with the same contributions, 363.53 euros of income tax and net pay of 1,818.13 euros before allowances; over the year the total net pay is identical: 21,817.56 euros.

• Check that your contribution group and category match your contract and collective agreement.
• Make sure the common contingencies base includes the pro-rata extra payments.
• Check that the withholding rate is updated after any personal or pay change.
• Keep your payslips: you can use them to claim unpaid wages for up to a year, and to apply for a loan or prove your income.