Converting a gross salary into take-home pay, or the other way round, is essential when negotiating a job offer, budgeting for a new hire or making sense of a payslip. This calculator deducts the employee's Social Security contributions and the income tax (IRPF) withholding calculated with the Tax Agency's (AEAT) general procedure for 2026, and it can also start from the net amount you want in order to work out the gross salary required.
Gross salary versus net salary
Gross salary is the total pay agreed with the employer before any deductions. It is the figure shown in the employment contract and in job offers, usually stated as an annual amount. Net salary is what actually reaches the employee's bank account after Social Security contributions and the income tax withholding have been deducted.
The gap between the two grows with salary, because IRPF is a progressive tax. That is why two pay rises of the same gross amount can lead to different net increases depending on the starting level of income.
How the tool works out net pay
The calculator applies two sets of deductions to the annual gross salary, assuming a single taxpayer with no dependent children or ascendants, under 65 and without a disability:
Annual net pay is split across the number of payments you choose. With 12 payments, each payslip includes the pro rata share of the extras; with 14, ordinary monthly payments are smaller and two extra payments are added that only carry income tax withholding, because the contributions for them are already spread over the twelve monthly payslips. Annual net pay is the same in both cases.
In reverse mode, from net to gross, the tool uses successive approximations to find the gross salary that, after the same deductions, produces the net figure you entered. This is handy for knowing what gross figure to ask for in a negotiation.
- Employee Social Security contributions: 4.70% for common contingencies, 1.55% for unemployment on permanent contracts (1.60% on temporary ones), 0.10% for vocational training and 0.15% for the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI) in 2026. In total, 6.50% of salary on a permanent contract, calculated on the contribution base capped at the maximum base (€5,101.20 a month) and, above it, the additional solidarity contribution.
- IRPF withholding: Social Security contributions, the €2,000 allowance for other expenses and, for lower salaries, the employment income reduction in article 20 of the IRPF Law are deducted from pay; the withholding scale (19%, 24%, 30%, 37%, 45% and 47%) is applied to that base and the tax corresponding to the €5,550 personal allowance is subtracted. The threshold below which no tax is withheld is also taken into account.
Worked example: €30,000 gross per year
On a gross salary of €30,000 with a permanent contract, the employee's contributions come to €1,950 (6.50%). For IRPF, the base is €26,050 after deducting those contributions and the €2,000 allowance; at this salary level the article 20 reduction no longer applies. Applying the withholding scale gives tax of €5,980.50, from which the tax on the personal allowance is subtracted (5,550 × 19% = €1,054.50). Withholding therefore comes to 16.42%, or €4,926 a year.
The resulting annual net salary is €23,124: €1,927 a month over 12 payments or, over 14 payments, €1,628.50 for each ordinary payslip and €1,791 for each extra payment.
This is payroll withholding, not the final tax bill. The annual return applies the state scale and that of your region, plus any applicable tax credits, so the final result may be an amount to pay or a refund.
Rules and factors that change the result in 2026
The final withholding is calculated by the employer following the procedure in the IRPF Regulations and using the information the employee provides on form 145. The factors that most affect net pay are these:
- Family circumstances: children under 25, dependent elderly relatives or disability raise the tax-free allowance and reduce withholding.
- Earned income reduction: lower salaries benefit from an additional reduction that can bring withholding down to zero.
- Region of residence: the withholding scale is the same throughout Spain, but half of the tax is regional. The Community of Madrid applies below-average rates, which shows up when the annual tax return is filed.
- Type of contract: on temporary contracts the employee's unemployment contribution is 1.60% instead of 1.55%; the calculator lets you choose between the two.
- Maximum contribution base: above it, the excess is not subject to ordinary rates, although an additional solidarity contribution applies and is shared between employer and employee. The calculator applies this cap and the employee's share of the solidarity contribution.
- Benefits in kind, overtime or flexible remuneration plans, which affect both contributions and IRPF.
Common misconceptions about pay
Many questions about payslips stem from widespread but inaccurate ideas. It is worth bearing these points in mind:
- Comparing offers by monthly net pay without checking the number of payments: 14 smaller payments can be worth the same as 12 larger ones.
- Assuming withholding is the final tax bill. It is a payment on account that is adjusted in the annual return, which may result in tax to pay or a refund.
- Forgetting that a pay rise does not reach net pay in full, because the extra amount is taxed at the marginal rate.
- Believing that moving into a higher band means losing money. The scale is progressive and the higher rate only applies to the part of salary above each threshold.
- Not updating form 145 after a change in family circumstances, which leads to withholding that is too high or too low.