Becoming a worker or entrepreneur in Spanish territory requires knowing about the regulations present in the labor market. Have you heard about the contribution base? In this article we tell you what it means and how you can calculate it.

What is the contribution base?

When it comes to work, talking about the contribution base is quite common in Spain. This refers to the amount that serves as a guide for calculating the contributions to be paid to the Social Security.

In this sense, it corresponds to the gross monthly salary received by a worker registered in the payroll, including overtime, vacations and prorated payments. In addition, the higher the contribution base, the greater the probability of receiving better benefits.

In turn, these are the main benefits that may be affected by your contribution base:

Unemployment benefits

They are known as “unemployment” and are paid based on the employee’s contribution base during the last 180 days of employment.

Temporary disability

These are known as “sick leave”, and like unemployment benefits, they are paid according to the contribution base you have, and the longer you have been active, the higher the remuneration you will receive.

Contributory retirement

In this case, you must meet the minimum number of qualifying years according to the job you have, in order to make your application, and the calculation of remuneration is based on all the work activity performed by the worker.

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What is not included in the contribution base?

However, when calculating the contribution base, other types of benefits or extra income that some companies sometimes grant to their employees should not be included. The most common are:

• Expenses corresponding to paid transportation or relocation

• Courses or additional training paid for by the company

• Food or per diem expenses

What is the contribution base for?

Every worker in Spain has the right to know the contribution base to be assumed, as this is a key element for receiving future benefits through the Social Security system.

For example, in case of retirement, knowing the contribution base will allow you to know how much you should receive in the future.

Thus, the contributions work to support the payments that the Spanish Social Security must make for the benefits, mentioned above, to a worker; either due to medical leave or because the time has come to retire from the labor market.

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How to calculate the contribution base?

Before you start calculating your contribution base, you should know that these are included in your payroll at the moment you start working; therefore, you can easily find them out.

On the other hand, if you are interested in calculating it in its entirety, it is not necessary to review it one by one to know the corresponding benefits, since the Social Security provides you with a Contribution Base Report in which you can see all the bases during your period of employment.

In this regard, there are currently 11 contribution groups depending on the type of work you do. These are as follows:

1. Engineers and Graduates

2. Technical Engineers, Experts and Qualified Assistants

3. Administrative and Workshop Managers

4. Non-graduate assistants

5. Administrative Officers

6. Subordinates

7. Administrative Assistants

8. First and second officers

9. Third Party Office and Specialists

10. Pawns

11. Workers under 18 years of age

Can you identify which group you belong to? The next thing you will have to do is to know the maximum and minimum contribution rates established according to Spanish regulations. According to the General State Budget for 2022, there was a change in the percentages associated with each group. Thus, in the following table we show you the contribution bases according to the professional categories:

In this regard, it is understood that the maximum bases, regardless of the category to which you belong, were established as of January 1, 2022 at an amount of €4,139.40 per month, or €137.98 per day.

Likewise, you will find two types of contingencies in your payroll:

• Common contingencies: correspond to the sum of the base salary plus salary supplements and the proration of extraordinary payments or other accrued salary items.

• Professional contingencies: correspond to the result of the contribution base for common contingencies plus the overtime work performed, whether due to force majeure or structural contingencies.

Finally, in this second table we show you the percentage of your salary that goes to Social Security, according to the type of contribution:

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If you want to ensure the proper management of your labor procedures, consulting our business articles at TAS Consulting is your best option. Our team of experts will guide you to successfully meet your business objectives within the Spanish market, so if you have any doubts or need advice click here to get help!