In 2026, an employer in Spain pays 30.65% of an employee's monthly contribution base to Social Security on an open-ended contract, plus a workplace accident premium set by the company's activity. For software and IT consultancy that premium is 1.50%, so the employer total is 32.15%. The base is capped at €5,101.20 a month, which means employer contributions stop growing once gross salary passes €61,214.40 a year.
The rates and bases below come from Spain's 2026 contribution order, Orden PJC/297/2026, published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) on 31 March 2026 with effect from 1 January 2026, and from the consolidated General Social Security Law.
What employer social security contributions are in Spain
Employer social security contributions in Spain are the percentages a company pays to the Spanish Social Security on top of each employee's gross salary. They are not deducted from the salary: the employee pays a separate, smaller share that does come out of gross pay.
Both shares are calculated on the contribution base (base de cotización). Under Article 147 of Spain's General Social Security Law, the contribution base is the employee's total monthly pay, in cash or in kind, with any payment made less often than monthly spread across the twelve months of the year.
The contribution base is not the same as the salary on the monthly payslip. It is the annual pay divided by twelve, kept within a minimum and a maximum set every year.
Employer social security rates in Spain for 2026
The employer pays 30.65% on an open-ended contract and 31.85% on a fixed-term contract, before the workplace accident premium. The employee pays 6.50% or 6.55%. All the general rates below are set by Orden PJC/297/2026 and published by the Spanish Social Security for 2026.
| Contribution | Employer rate 2026 | Employee rate 2026 | Base it applies to | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common contingencies | 23.60% | 4.70% | Contribution base, up to €5,101.20 a month | Orden PJC/297/2026, art. 4 |
| Unemployment, open-ended contract | 5.50% | 1.55% | Same base | Orden PJC/297/2026 |
| Unemployment, fixed-term contract | 6.70% | 1.60% | Same base | Orden PJC/297/2026 |
| Wage guarantee fund (FOGASA) | 0.20% | — | Same base | Orden PJC/297/2026 |
| Vocational training | 0.60% | 0.10% | Same base | Orden PJC/297/2026 |
| Intergenerational equity mechanism (MEI) | 0.75% | 0.15% | Same base | Orden PJC/297/2026, art. 16 |
| Workplace accident and occupational disease premium | 1.50% for CNAE 62 (varies by activity) | — | Same base | General Social Security Law, 61st additional provision |
| Total, open-ended contract, CNAE 62 | 32.15% | 6.50% |
The employee's share is withheld from gross salary on the payslip. Kulturo's gross to net salary calculator shows what that share and income tax leave the employee each month.
Unemployment contributions: open-ended vs fixed-term contracts
The unemployment contribution is the only general rate that changes with the type of contract. In 2026 the employer pays 5.50% for an open-ended (indefinido) employee and 6.70% for a fixed-term one, according to Orden PJC/297/2026.
The open-ended rate also covers seasonal open-ended contracts (fijos discontinuos) and training, relief and replacement contracts, according to the Spanish Social Security.
Fixed-term contracts shorter than 30 days carry one more charge: an additional €33.62 paid by the employer when the contract ends, under Article 28 of the 2026 order. For an engineer hired on an open-ended contract, 5.50% is the rate to budget.
Workplace accident premium by activity code
The workplace accident and occupational disease premium in Spain is paid only by the employer, at a rate set for the company's main economic activity (CNAE code). The table is in the 61st additional provision of the General Social Security Law, as updated by Royal Decree-law 3/2026 of 3 February.
| Activity (CNAE) | Temporary incapacity | Permanent incapacity, death and survival | Total employer premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 · Programming, consultancy and other computer-related activities | 0.80% | 0.70% | 1.50% |
| 63 · Computing infrastructure, data processing, hosting and other information services | 0.65% | 1.00% | 1.65% |
| Office-only staff, in any activity | 0.80% | 0.70% | 1.50% |
The premium follows the activity under which the company is registered, not the job title. A software company that registers under the wrong code pays the premium of that code, and the fix is to check the CNAE in the company's Social Security registration before the first payroll.
What the MEI is and what employers pay in 2026
The intergenerational equity mechanism (mecanismo de equidad intergeneracional, MEI) is an additional Social Security contribution that feeds the Social Security Reserve Fund and does not add to the employee's future benefits, according to the Spanish Social Security. It applies from 2023 to 2050, and in 2026 it is 0.90% of the contribution base, of which the employer pays 0.75% and the employee 0.15%, under Article 16 of Orden PJC/297/2026.
The MEI applies to the same capped base as common contingencies. On a monthly base of €3,333.33, which is a €40,000 annual salary, the employer's MEI is €25.00 a month.
Minimum and maximum contribution bases in 2026
The maximum contribution base in Spain is €5,101.20 a month in 2026 for every professional group, under Article 2 of Orden PJC/297/2026. The minimum depends on the employee's contribution group, which follows the job category.
| Contribution group | Who it covers | Minimum base 2026 (€/month) | Maximum base 2026 (€/month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engineers and university graduates, senior management | 1,989.30 | 5,101.20 |
| 2 | Technical engineers, experts and qualified assistants | 1,649.70 | 5,101.20 |
| 3 | Administrative and workshop heads | 1,435.20 | 5,101.20 |
| 4 to 7 | Unqualified assistants, administrative staff, junior staff | 1,424.40 | 5,101.20 |
An engineer or graduate hired in a matching job category is in group 1.
How the 14 salary payments enter the monthly contribution base
Employees in Spain are entitled to two extra payments a year, one of them at Christmas, under Article 31 of the Workers' Statute, which is why salaries are often paid in 14 instalments. A collective agreement can instead spread the two payments across the twelve months. For Social Security, those extra payments are spread evenly across the twelve months under Article 147 of the General Social Security Law.
The result is that the monthly contribution base is always the annual gross salary divided by twelve, whether the employee is paid in 12 or in 14 instalments. An engineer on €60,000 a year has a contribution base of €5,000 every month, including the months with no extra payment.
Paying in 14 instalments changes the employer's cash flow in the months of the extra payments, not the annual contribution bill. The contributions are spread evenly; the salary is not.
Employer contributions month by month: three salary examples for 2026
The table applies the 2026 rates for an open-ended contract in CNAE 62 (32.15%) to three annual gross salaries. They are examples: according to Kulturo's salary analysis, a senior software engineer with six or more years of experience earns €58,000–72,000 in Spain's product and startup segment, and lead and staff engineers more than €80,000.
| Annual gross salary | Monthly contribution base | Employer contributions per month | Employer contributions per year | Effective employer rate | Total annual employer cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €40,000 | €3,333.33 | €1,071.67 | €12,860.00 | 32.15% | €52,860.00 |
| €60,000 | €5,000.00 | €1,607.50 | €19,290.00 | 32.15% | €79,290.00 |
| €90,000 | €5,101.20 (capped) | €1,664.62 | €19,975.39 | 22.19% | €109,975.39 |
For the €40,000 salary, the €1,071.67 a month splits into €786.67 for common contingencies, €183.33 for unemployment, €6.67 for FOGASA, €20.00 for vocational training, €25.00 for the MEI and €50.00 for the accident premium.
The breakdown of what a software engineer costs by seniority, with recruitment and EOR fees, is in Kulturo's guide to what a software engineer costs an employer in Spain.
How the solidarity contribution applies to the €90,000 example
The solidarity contribution (cotización adicional de solidaridad) is charged on the part of monthly pay above the €5,101.20 cap. In 2026 the rates are 1.15% on the first 10% above the cap, 1.25% from 10% to 50% above it and 1.46% beyond that, under the 42nd transitional provision of the General Social Security Law. It is split between employer and employee in the same proportion as common contingencies (23.60 to 4.70).
On €90,000, the monthly pay of €7,500 is €2,398.80 above the cap. The solidarity contribution is €29.47 a month, of which the employer pays €24.58. Added to the capped €1,640.04 of ordinary contributions, that gives the €1,664.62 in the table.