Published: 22 October 2026 · Updated: 24 October 2026
Enter your gross salary and see your Spanish net pay in seconds — with the right regional IRPF for Madrid, Catalonia or the national scale, and the 12 vs 14 pagas breakdown that expats always ask about.
Your Spanish net salary depends on your region as much as your pay. IRPF is half state, half regional — so on a €36,000 salary you keep about €700 more per year in Madrid than in Catalonia. The calculator below applies the official 2026 regional scales, adds ~6.35% employee social security, and splits the result into 12 or 14 pagas.
Researched by MixKhazana Team · Last updated 24 October 2026 · Data: AEAT state IRPF scale 2026 + Ministry of Finance Tributación Autonómica 2026 (Madrid 8.5%–20.5%, Catalonia 10.5%–25.5%)
Spain's income tax (IRPF) is two taxes in one: the state scale (9.5% rising to 24.5% above €300,000) plus a regional scale set by each autonomous community. Madrid's 2026 regional scale runs from 8.5% to 20.5% (combined top marginal rate: 45%), Catalonia's from 10.5% to 25.5% (combined top: 50%). The two halves stack on the same income, so your region genuinely changes your bill — the 2026 regional tables are published by the Ministry of Finance's Tributación Autonómica series.
One detail that confuses every expat: the mínimo personal (€5,550) does not reduce your taxable income — it reduces your tax quota. In practice the calculator computes the scale on your full base and then subtracts the scale applied to €5,550, which saves roughly €1,000 of tax in the low tranches.
Then comes social security, about 6.35% on the employee side (4.7% common contingencies + 1.55% unemployment + 0.1% FOGASA, plus the small MEI equity charge), applied here as a simplified flat rate. Your employer pays roughly five times that on top of your gross — Spanish payrolls are expensive for employers, which is why gross-to-cost gaps surprise newcomers.
Finally, the pagas: 14 pagas is the Spanish standard under most collective agreements. Your annual net is divided by 14 (12 monthly payments plus extras, typically June and December) instead of 12. Always compare offers on the annual figure — a €2,000/month offer on 14 pagas is worth €28,000 a year, not €24,000.
Arriving in Spain for work? You will need a Spanish bank account for your salary — ExpatMoneyEU's guide to Spanish banks with English support compares the expat-friendly options. High earners should also check the Beckham Law: qualifying new tax residents pay a flat 24% on employment income up to €600,000 for six years instead of the progressive scale.
A real 2026 case: a €36,000 offer in Madrid, 14 pagas. IRPF (combined Madrid scale, mínimo personal €5,550 applied):
The identical salary in Catalonia: IRPF ≈ €8,154.61, net ≈ €25,559.39 — about €701 a year less for the same job. Try both regions in the widget above.
| State scale (AEAT) | 9.5% → 24.5% (top above €300,000) |
| Madrid regional scale 2026 | 8.5% → 20.5% · combined top 45% |
| Catalonia regional scale 2026 | 10.5% → 25.5% · combined top 50% |
| Personal minimum | €5,550 (reduces the tax quota) |
| Employee social security | ≈ 6.35% of gross (simplified) |
| Standard pay structure | 14 pagas (extras in June + December) |
It depends on your region, because IRPF is half state and half regional. On a €36,000 salary, IRPF comes to roughly €7,450 in Madrid versus about €8,150 in Catalonia — a gap of around €700 a year. Add about 6.35% in employee social security, and net pay lands near €26,300 a year in Madrid, paid out over 14 pagas or 12.
The annual total is identical — only the rhythm changes. With 14 pagas your annual salary is divided into 14 payments: 12 monthly salaries plus two extra payments, traditionally in June and December. With 12 pagas the same annual amount is divided into 12 slightly larger monthly payments. Most collective agreements use 14 pagas; compare job offers on the annual figure, never on the monthly one.
Because each autonomous community sets its own regional half of the IRPF scale. Madrid applies the lowest regional scale in Spain (8.5% to 20.5%, with a combined top marginal rate of 45%), while Catalonia applies 10.5% to 25.5% (combined top of 50%). On a €36,000 salary the difference is roughly €730 a year; on six-figure salaries it runs into thousands.
The retención is the IRPF your employer withholds from each payslip as an advance on your annual tax bill. It is calculated from your gross pay, family situation and contract type, and it is settled in the annual declaración de la Renta: if too much was withheld you get a refund, if too little you pay the difference. The retention percentage on your payslip is not the same as your marginal IRPF rate.
The special inbound regime, known as the Beckham Law, lets qualifying new tax residents pay a flat 24% on employment income up to €600,000 instead of the progressive IRPF scale, for six tax years. You must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the previous ten years and must move to Spain for employment or remote work reasons. It can save high earners many thousands a year — check the eligibility rules before assuming the progressive scale applies to you.
Roughly 6.35% of gross pay: 4.7% for common contingencies, 1.55% unemployment and 0.1% FOGASA, plus a small equity-mechanism (MEI) charge. The calculator models a simplified 6.35% employee rate without the annual contribution-base cap, which only binds at higher salaries. Your employer pays roughly five times more on top of your gross.
The state IRPF scale follows the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) general scale. The regional scales follow the 2026 autonomous scales published by the Ministry of Finance's Tributación Autonómica tables — Madrid's 8.5%–20.5% scale and Catalonia's 10.5%–25.5% scale — with the €5,550 personal minimum (mínimo personal) applied at scale rates.