Reading the social security lines on your payslip (nómina)

Terms used

• Contingencias comunes — Contingencias comunes is the contribution that funds pensions, sickness, maternity and paternity benefits and other common benefits.
• Desempleo — Desempleo is the contribution that funds unemployment benefit and subsidies.
• Formación profesional — Formación profesional is the contribution that funds training for employment.
• MEI — MEI is a contribution that builds a reserve to support future pensions.
• FOGASA — FOGASA is an employer-only contribution that guarantees unpaid wages and severance if an employer becomes insolvent.
• IRPF — IRPF is Spain's personal income tax, withheld from your pay each month.

Key rules

• Your share: Four lines come out of your pay: contingencias comunes, desempleo, formación profesional and MEI.
• Employer share: Your employer pays a larger share on top, plus FOGASA and AT/EP, which you never pay.
• Contract type: The desempleo rate you pay is higher on a fixed-term or temporary contract.
• Yearly change: Rates are reset each year, and MEI goes up every year.

The short version

Your payslip has four social security lines taken from your pay. Your employer pays a separate, larger share on top of that. It does not come out of your salary and usually does not appear in your deductions.

The lines, one by one

The percentages below are the 2025 rates, with the 2026 step for MEI. They are set again each year, so compare them with the current year's figures.

Contingencias comunes. You pay 4.70%. Your employer pays 23.60%. This funds pensions, sickness cover, maternity and paternity benefits and other common benefits. It is the biggest line.

Desempleo. You pay 1.55% on an indefinite contract, or 1.60% on a fixed-term or temporary contract. Your employer pays 5.50% on an indefinite contract, or 6.70% on a temporary one. This funds unemployment benefit and subsidies.

Formación profesional. You pay 0.10%. Your employer pays 0.60%. This funds training for employment.

MEI. The full name is Mecanismo de Equidad Intergeneracional. You paid 0.13% in 2025 and pay 0.15% in 2026. Your employer paid 0.67% in 2025 and pays 0.75% in 2026. It builds a reserve to support future pensions.

Lines only your employer pays

FOGASA. Your employer pays 0.20%. You pay nothing. It guarantees wages and severance you are owed if your employer becomes insolvent.

AT/EP. This covers accidents at work and occupational illness. Your employer pays it alone. The rate depends on the activity code (CNAE) of the business, so it differs from one company to another.

What the lines are called on your payslip

Labels vary a little between employers. Look in the deductions section for:

• "Contingencias comunes", usually with the percentage beside it.
• "Desempleo".
• "Formación profesional".
• "Total aportaciones" or "Cotización a la Seguridad Social", which adds the lines up.

Overtime contributions are shown on their own line, "Cotización horas extraordinarias".

After the social security lines comes the income tax withholding, "Retención IRPF". Then comes the total of all deductions. IRPF is tax, not social security, so it is not part of the lines above.

How to check a line

Multiply the contribution base on your payslip by each percentage. The result should match the amount shown. The calculator below estimates the total deduction from gross pay. The checklist below covers the rest of the payslip.

Documents you need

Documents you need

• Your latest payslip (nómina), issued by your employer. It should show the social security lines for common contingencies, unemployment, vocational training and MEI (the intergenerational equity mechanism), then the total contributions, any overtime contributions on a separate line, and the income tax withholding (IRPF) with the total deductions.

Checklist to verify your first payslip and contributions

Checks for your first payslip

• Ask your employer for the document confirming your alta, the resolución de alta, which is your registration with Social Security.

• Check your registration in Import@ss or the Mi Seguridad Social app. Your alta usually shows within a day or two of the employer's submission.

• Check the payslip header: your name, tax number, Social Security number, professional category and contribution group must match your contract and collective agreement (convenio).

• Check that the pay period and the days on the payslip match the days you really worked.

• Find the social security lines in the deductions section: common contingencies, unemployment, vocational training and, if you worked overtime, an overtime line. Each should show a percentage, a base and an amount.

• Compare the percentages with this year's: 4.70% common contingencies, 1.55% unemployment on an indefinite contract (1.60% on a fixed-term one), 0.10% vocational training and 0.15% for the MEI (a solidarity levy for pensions).

• Check that the income tax withholding (IRPF) line is there with a percentage, and that extra payments are included in the contribution base shown at the bottom.

• Request your report of contribution bases in Import@ss and compare it with the base on your payslip. Bases usually appear one to two months after the pay month.

• Look for signs of a wrong deduction or wrong account: a base lower than your real pay, a group that differs from your contract, missing social security lines, deductions far from the usual percentages, no income tax withholding, or a net amount that differs from your bank transfer.

• Check that the transfer reached the IBAN you gave your employer, and that the amount matches the net pay on the payslip.

• Ask your employer's HR or payroll team, or the gestoría (the outside payroll firm), in writing for a corrected payslip (nómina rectificada), the calculation of the deduction, and the fix in the next payroll.

• If your employer does not fix it, send a formal written claim or ask your union or workers' representatives for help. You can also complain to the Inspección de Trabajo for wrong contribution bases or unpaid wages. The deadlines are set out in the article on what to do if your employer did not register you or pay contributions.

• Ask the Seguridad Social, through Import@ss, for your vida laboral and contribution bases to see what your employer declared. It does not correct payslips.

• Keep every payslip, your alta confirmation and your vida laboral together as proof of registration and contributions.

Estimate your social security deduction from gross pay

Work it out

What you enter

• Monthly gross pay including prorated extra payments, in euros (EUR): The total accrued line on your payslip, or your contract plus any prorated extra payments.
• Minimum monthly base for your group, in euros (EUR): The current base table on the Seguridad Social website. Your group is on your contract and payslip.

Figures used

• Common contingencies, employee share: 4.7 % (as of 2025)
• Unemployment, indefinite contract: 1.55 % (as of 2025)
• Unemployment, fixed-term contract: 1.6 % (as of 2025)
• Vocational training, employee share: 0.1 % (as of 2025)
• MEI, employee share: 0.15 % (as of 2026)

Worked example (with Monthly gross pay including prorated extra payments, in euros 2,000 EUR, Minimum monthly base for your group, in euros 1,300 EUR, Maximum monthly base, in euros 5,000 EUR)

When the sum misleads

• If your pay is below the minimum base for your group, the deduction is worked out on the minimum base.
• If your pay is above the maximum base, the deduction stops growing at the maximum base.
• Overtime is not in this sum. It pays its own separate rate.
• Groups 8 to 11 have daily bases. Multiply the daily limits by the days in the month before entering them.
• This covers social security only. Income tax withholding (IRPF) is a separate line.

Quick answers on contributions and extra pay

Quick answers

Do I pay social security on bonuses and extra payments?

Yes, bonuses and extra payments (pagas extra) are part of your contribution base. Regular extra payments are spread across the monthly base, and a one-off bonus is added in the month you receive it. The total is still capped by the maximum base for your group.

Does overtime count for my contributions?

Yes, overtime counts, but it pays a separate fixed rate instead of the common contingencies rate. In 2025 the employee share was 2%, and the employer paid 14% (12% for force majeure overtime). Overtime also counts for the unemployment and vocational training bases.

Do I pay social security if I work only a few hours a week?

Yes, you pay social security from the first hour worked, because there is no minimum number of hours. Contributions are based on your actual pay, but never below the minimum base for your group. Since 2023 each day you work counts as a full day for your pension record.

What happens to my contributions during unpaid leave?

During unpaid leave (permiso sin sueldo) no contributions are due, because your contract is suspended and you have no pay. You normally stay registered, unless the type of leave ends your alta. You can keep contributing by signing a special agreement (convenio especial). Leave for childcare or family care counts as contributed time for a limited period.