Your Spanish payslip (nómina) explained, including the pagas extra

Your first Spanish payslip, the nómina, can look like a tax form, full of abbreviations and percentages, and the numbers change in the months when you get a paga extra. Once you know how it is built, it takes a couple of minutes to check each month. This guide goes through it line by line and explains the extra payments.

What a Spanish payslip is and why it looks the same everywhere

Under the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores), your employer must give you an individual receipt for every salary payment. The layout follows an official model set by Orden ESS/2098/2014, so payslips from a hotel in Marbella and an office in Madrid have the same structure. Since that order, the payslip also shows what your employer pays in social security on top of your salary, not only what is taken from you.

Your basic rights as an employee, such as contract types, trial periods and working hours, are covered in our guide to employment contracts in Spain. Here we focus on the money.

The header: check your personal data first

The top identifies the company and you. Errors here can affect your benefits later.

• Company data: name, address, tax number (CIF) and its social security account code (CCC).
• Your data: name, NIE or DNI, and your social security number. If you don’t have one yet, see our guide to the social security number (NUSS).
• Category and contribution group: your job category (categoría profesional) and grupo de cotización. These should match your contract and the collective agreement (convenio colectivo) for your sector.
• Seniority and period: your start date (antigüedad) and the period paid, normally one calendar month, with the number of days.

Devengos: what you earn

Section I, devengos, lists everything you earned in the period. The total of this section is your gross pay for the month (total devengado).

• Salario base: the base salary for your category, usually taken from the collective agreement.
• Complementos salariales: supplements such as seniority, night work, languages, responsibility or a transport allowance if your agreement treats it as salary.
• Horas extraordinarias: overtime, if it is paid rather than compensated with time off.
• Gratificaciones extraordinarias: the extra payments, either in full in the month they are due or as a monthly share if they are prorated.
• Salario en especie: benefits in kind, for example a company car or housing, which count as income even though you don’t receive cash.
• Percepciones no salariales: amounts that are not salary, such as travel expenses (dietas), which within legal limits are treated differently for tax and social security.

Deducciones: social security and income tax

Section II, deducciones, shows what is taken from your gross pay. For 2026, the employee’s share of social security contributions in the general scheme is:

• Contingencias comunes: 4.70% (pensions, sick leave and other general cover).
• Desempleo: 1.55% on a permanent contract, 1.60% on a fixed-term contract (unemployment cover).
• Formación profesional: 0.10% (vocational training).
• MEI: 0.15% (the Mecanismo de Equidad Intergeneracional, a pension reserve contribution).

These percentages apply to your contribution base, not always exactly to your gross pay. In 2026 the maximum monthly base in the general scheme is €5,101.20. High earners above that ceiling also see a small solidarity contribution (cotización de solidaridad) introduced in recent years.

The other big line is IRPF, the income tax withheld by your employer. The percentage is calculated from your expected annual pay and your personal situation, which you report to your employer on modelo 145 (children, a disability, a dependent spouse and so on). If your situation changes, hand in a new one. You can also ask for a higher withholding rate if you prefer a smaller bill or a bigger refund when you file your annual return. How IRPF works overall is covered in our guide to the tax system in Spain.

Gross pay minus all deductions, including any salary advances (anticipos), gives líquido total a percibir, the net amount paid into your bank account.

The pagas extra: your two extra payments

Article 31 of the Workers’ Statute gives employees the right to two extra payments a year. One is paid at Christmas. The month of the other, and the amount of both, is set by the collective agreement or by agreement between the company and the workers’ representatives. Many agreements put the second one in summer, but check yours.

• Paid separately: you get 12 normal payslips plus two extra ones (or the extra amount added to a regular month), so 14 payments a year.
• Prorated: the collective agreement can allow the extras to be spread over the 12 monthly salaries. You then see a line such as prorrata pagas extras every month and no extra payment in December.
• When you start or leave mid-year: you earn the extras in proportion to the time worked. If you leave the company, the part you have earned but not received should appear in your final settlement (finiquito).

When you compare offers, ask whether the annual gross salary is paid in 12 or 14 payments. The yearly figure can be the same while the monthly amount is quite different.

A common surprise is the Christmas extra payslip. Social security on the extra payments is normally spread across the year in your monthly contribution base, so the extra payslip usually shows mainly IRPF as a deduction. The net amount is therefore not simply “one month’s net pay”.

The bottom section: contribution bases and the employer’s share

Below the net pay you will see a block with the contribution bases (bases de cotización) and the employer’s contributions. It is easy to ignore, but it is worth a glance. The base for contingencias comunes is what counts towards future benefits like sick pay, unemployment benefit and your pension. If it seems low compared with your real salary, ask your employer or gestoría why.

A quick monthly checklist

• The days and any overtime match what you worked.
• Your category and contribution group match your contract and the collective agreement.
• The base salary is not below the agreement’s salary table for your category.
• The IRPF percentage changed when you handed in a new modelo 145, if it should have.
• The net pay matches the amount that arrived in your bank account.
• Keep every payslip. Banks, landlords and immigration offices often ask for recent payslips, and you need them if you ever have to claim unpaid wages.

If something is wrong, ask HR or the company’s gestoría first. If a problem continues, a trade union, a labour lawyer (abogado laboralista) or the Labour Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social) can advise you.

FAQ: Spanish payslips

Is my salary in Spain quoted for 12 or 14 payments?

It depends on the employer and the collective agreement. The annual gross salary is the safest figure to compare. Ask whether the two extra payments are paid separately or prorated into 12 monthly payments.

Why is so much tax taken from my Christmas extra payment?

The extra payment is taxed at your normal IRPF withholding rate, while social security on it is usually already spread over your monthly payslips. So the deduction you see is mainly income tax. The final tax for the year is settled in your annual income tax return.

Can my employer send the payslip by email or through an app?

Yes, digital payslips are common. The content must still follow the official model. Download and save each one, because you may lose access to the company portal when you leave.

What can I do if my IRPF rate seems too low?

A low rate is not a saving. You may have to pay the difference when you file your return. Check that your modelo 145 is up to date, and if you want, ask your employer in writing to apply a higher withholding rate.

Useful links

• Estatuto de los Trabajadores (BOE), see articles 29 and 31
• Social security contribution order for 2026 (BOE)
• Agencia Tributaria, for IRPF withholding and modelo 145
• Seguridad Social, for your work history and contribution bases

Disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules and prices change, so check with the official source before you decide.