Spain's minimum wage in 2026: monthly, yearly, daily and hourly

Spain's statutory minimum wage is the Salario Mínimo Interprofesional, or SMI. The government sets it each year by royal decree; for 2026 that is Royal Decree 126/2026 of 18 February, published in the official gazette (BOE) on 19 February and backdated to 1 January 2026. It applies in every sector and every region, from the Basque Country to the Canary Islands.

Most articles quote a single number, €1,221. The decree actually sets several amounts – monthly and daily rates, a daily rate for short fixed-term jobs and an hourly rate for domestic workers paid by the hour. This guide lists them all, shows the arithmetic, and explains what counts towards the minimum and what an employer may not deduct from it.

The 2026 rates

14 payments or 12: the same annual total

Spanish pay is traditionally quoted in 14 payments: twelve monthly salaries plus two extra payments (pagas extras), one at Christmas and the other in a month set by collective agreement or by agreement with staff representatives (article 31 of the Workers' Statute). If you receive the extras separately, each monthly payslip must show at least €1,221. If they are spread across the year, the monthly minimum rises to €1,424.50.

Part-time work: pro rata

The minimum wage refers to the full legal working time in each activity; anyone working less is paid pro rata, as article 1 of the decree states. Half-time – 20 of 40 hours a week, for example – means at least €610.50 a month in 14 payments; three-quarter time, €915.75. Part-time staff may not normally work overtime: any additional hours must be agreed in writing as horas complementarias and are paid (article 12 of the Workers' Statute).

Short contracts and domestic work

If you are on a fixed-term contract of no more than 120 days with the same employer – picking fruit, covering the peak of the summer season or doing a few weeks in a hotel – you are entitled to at least €57.82 per working day. That rate already includes the day's minimum wage, the share for Sundays and public holidays and both extra payments. If you cannot take your holiday during the contract, the corresponding share is paid on top.

Domestic workers who are paid by the hour and do not live in the household must receive at least €9.55 for every hour actually worked. For everyone else, the decree sets no hourly figure: the monthly or daily rate for full-time work applies, reduced in proportion for part-time contracts.

What counts – and what cannot be deducted

• Only cash counts. Accommodation, meals and other benefits in kind can never reduce the minimum wage paid in money (article 1 of the decree), and benefits in kind may not exceed 30% of total pay (article 26.1 of the Workers' Statute).
• The comparison is annual. Whether pay meets the minimum is assessed over the year and for pay as a whole (article 3 of the decree): if your annual pay including all components is already above €17,094, the increase does not oblige your employer to change it.
• It is a gross figure. Your social security contributions come off it – 6.50% in total on an open-ended contract and 6.55% on a fixed-term one in 2026.
• Training contracts are covered too. On a work-and-study contract (formación en alternancia), pay may not fall below the minimum wage in proportion to the hours actually worked (article 11 of the Workers' Statute).

Do you pay income tax on it?

If your only income in 2026 is earnings from work up to the level of the minimum wage, you end up paying no income tax. Royal Decree-law 5/2026, confirmed by Congress on 18 March 2026, increased a tax credit for low earnings from employment so that it cancels out the tax. Above €17,094 the credit tapers off and it disappears at €20,048.45 of gross annual earnings. It does not apply if you have other income of more than €6,500.

Collective agreements can set more

The minimum wage is the floor for everyone. On top of it, your job may be covered by a collective agreement (convenio colectivo) for your sector in a province, a region or the whole country, with its own pay scales by job category. Where the scale is higher than the minimum wage, the scale applies; it can never be lower. Your contract should name the agreement, and its text is in the Labour Ministry's public register, REGCON.

If you are paid less

Raise it in writing and keep your contract, payslips (nóminas) and a record of your hours. Pay claims expire one year after the date the money was due (article 59 of the Workers' Statute), so do not wait until the season is over. You can also report it to the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate. Its online mailbox does not ask for your name, but if you report anonymously you will not hear back about the outcome.