The 2026 contribution in brief:
- What it is: the monthly Social Security contribution of the self-employed (the cuota de autónomos), calculated on a base chosen according to expected net earnings.
- Rate: 31.50% of the contribution base, Intergenerational Equity Mechanism included.
- Amounts: from €205.88 a month in the reduced table and €299.56 in the general table, up to €1,606.88 with the maximum base.
- Payment: charged on the last business day of each month, by direct debit.
- Annual adjustment: the bases chosen are provisional and the Social Security adjusts them to actual earnings.
Every self-employed budget has a line that comes back each month: the Social Security contribution. Since 2023 the cuota de autónomos depends on the activity’s net earnings, and in 2026 it ranges from about €206 to just over €1,600 a month depending on the base you choose.
The bases and rates come from the 2026 contribution order and the General Social Security Law (LGSS), and the amounts per bracket are our own calculations from them. With the full table in front of you, choosing a bracket and a base comes down to a couple of figures, and the change calendar shows when that choice can be adjusted during the year, also compared with what was paid in 2025.
What the self-employed contribution is
The cuota de autónomos is the monthly contribution paid by people who work for themselves and are registered in the special scheme for self-employed workers, the RETA. The law states that the self-employed contribute “according to the annual earnings obtained from their economic, business or professional activities”. With that forecast you choose a monthly contribution base, and the contribution results from applying to it the rates set each year by the rules.
Those rates are split into five items: common contingencies, occupational contingencies, cessation of activity, vocational training and the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI). Occupational contingencies, for example, are divided in turn between temporary incapacity and permanent incapacity, death and survivors. Everything is paid in a single payment to the General Treasury of the Social Security.
How much the self-employed pay in 2026
How much being self-employed costs each month depends above all on the base you choose. In 2026, the minimum self-employed contribution is €205.88 a month with the lowest base of the reduced table, for net earnings of up to €670 a month. In the general table, the minimum contribution rises to €299.56, and the maximum contribution, with the €5,101.20 base, reaches €1,606.88. These are our own calculations: the chosen base multiplied by 31.50%. This is how that rate is split, with the amount it represents on the minimum base of the general table:
| Item | Rate in 2026 | On a base of €950.98 |
|---|---|---|
| Common contingencies | 28.30% | €269.13 |
| Occupational contingencies | 1.30% | €12.36 |
| Cessation of activity | 0.90% | €8.56 |
| Vocational training | 0.10% | €0.95 |
| Intergenerational Equity Mechanism | 0.90% | €8.56 |
| Total | 31.50% | €299.56 |
If it is your first registration as self-employed, you can apply for the tarifa plana, a reduced contribution that in 2026 the Social Security still applies at €80 a month for the first 12 months, with the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism added on top. Company-owner autónomos (autónomos societarios), on the other hand, cannot choose a base below the minimum of group 7 of the General Scheme, €1,424.40 in 2026, which at 31.50% gives a contribution of about €449 a month. If they have been registered for at least 90 days in the year, during that year they may keep a provisional base of no less than €1,000 (a contribution of about €315), but the annual adjustment applies €1,424.40 in any case.
31.50%, not 31.40%: the 31.40% that still appears on some pages, including the Importass guide, was the 2025 total, with an Intergenerational Equity Mechanism of 0.80%. In 2026 that mechanism rises to 0.90%, and the rates set by the contribution order for the self-employed add up to 31.50%.
Self-employed contribution table 2026
The table of contribution brackets has two parts. The reduced table, with 3 brackets, is for expected net earnings below the first bracket of the general table, which starts at €1,166.70 a month. The general table has 12 brackets. In each bracket you can choose any base between the minimum and the maximum, and the last column shows the contribution on the minimum base:
| Table and bracket | Net earnings per month (€) | Minimum base (€) | Maximum base (€) | Contribution on the minimum base (€) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reduced 1 | Up to 670 | 653.59 | 718.94 | 205.88 |
| Reduced 2 | Over 670 and up to 900 | 718.95 | 900.00 | 226.47 |
| Reduced 3 | Over 900 and under 1,166.70 | 849.67 | 1,166.70 | 267.65 |
| General 1 | From 1,166.70 to 1,300 | 950.98 | 1,300.00 | 299.56 |
| General 2 | Over 1,300 and up to 1,500 | 960.78 | 1,500.00 | 302.65 |
| General 3 | Over 1,500 and up to 1,700 | 960.78 | 1,700.00 | 302.65 |
| General 4 | Over 1,700 and up to 1,850 | 1,143.79 | 1,850.00 | 360.29 |
| General 5 | Over 1,850 and up to 2,030 | 1,209.15 | 2,030.00 | 380.88 |
| General 6 | Over 2,030 and up to 2,330 | 1,274.51 | 2,330.00 | 401.47 |
| General 7 | Over 2,330 and up to 2,760 | 1,356.21 | 2,760.00 | 427.21 |
| General 8 | Over 2,760 and up to 3,190 | 1,437.91 | 3,190.00 | 452.94 |
| General 9 | Over 3,190 and up to 3,620 | 1,519.61 | 3,620.00 | 478.68 |
| General 10 | Over 3,620 and up to 4,050 | 1,601.31 | 4,050.00 | 504.41 |
| General 11 | Over 4,050 and up to 6,000 | 1,732.03 | 5,101.20 | 545.59 |
| General 12 | Over 6,000 | 1,928.10 | 5,101.20 | 607.35 |
The minimum and maximum bases are those of article 18 of Order PJC/297/2026, and the contributions are our own calculations at 31.50%. The 2026 minimum base of the general table is €950.98 a month, and the maximum base of brackets 11 and 12 is €5,101.20, this year’s contribution ceiling.
How the self-employed contribution is calculated
Calculating the self-employed contribution does not take a complicated formula, but it does start from your net earnings. They are used to choose the contribution base, and the base is what sets the contribution. The calculation in four steps:
Take the activity’s income minus its deductible expenses; if you are taxed under direct assessment (estimación directa), add back the Social Security contributions paid. Then subtract 7% for general expenses, or 3% if you are an autónomo societario registered for at least 90 days.
Divide the annual result by 12 and find in the table the bracket that matches that monthly average.
Within the bracket, pick a contribution base between the minimum and the maximum; a higher base means a higher contribution and also higher benefits.
Multiply the chosen base by 31.50%: that is the monthly amount charged until you change your base.
The Social Security offers a 2026 contribution calculator for the self-employed in Importass, its online portal. It warns that “the simulation is for information only” and that it shows the contribution without applying deductions. To see the earnings the Tax Agency has reported to the Social Security, the Tax Agency’s online office lets you download a certificate with that data.
When the contribution is paid
According to the Social Security, the self-employed contribution “will be charged to your account on the last business day of each month”, by direct debit through a bank or a financial institution that collaborates with the Social Security. For a payment made after the deadline, the General Social Security Law sets a surcharge of 10% of the debt within the first calendar month after the due date and 20% from the second. Under articles 29.4 and 30.1 of that law, these are the amounts that, as a general rule, apply in the simplified settlement system of the self-employed when registration was requested on time.
Monthly payment is the default, although when registering you can also choose quarterly payment: in that case, January, February and March contributions are paid in April, and so on each quarter. That choice is not final, because from your personal area on Importass you can switch from quarterly to monthly payment and back.
Base changes and annual adjustment
The base you choose is not fixed for good. It can be changed every two months, up to six changes a year, and each request has an effective date. For example, requests made between 1 September and 31 October 2026 take effect on 1 November, and those made between 1 November and 31 December apply from 1 January 2027. The procedure is in the “Base de cotización y rendimientos” service on Importass.
All of the year’s bases are provisional. When the Tax Agency reports your actual earnings, the Social Security carries out the regularisation of the self-employed contribution. If your contribution was higher than the one for the maximum base of your actual bracket, it refunds the difference ex officio before 30 April of the year after that report. If it was lower than the one for the minimum base, the difference is paid by the last day of the month after notification, with no surcharge or interest within that period. According to the Social Security, the base-change service has one aim: that the chosen base matches your actual income and the adjustment comes out at zero at the end of the year.
With the tarifa plana or in pluriactividad, the annual adjustment follows its own rules. According to the Social Security, the tarifa plana period is not adjusted, and during that time contributions are based on the minimum base of bracket 1 of the general table. And anyone contributing in pluriactividad, because they also work as an employee, gets back 50% of the amount by which their 2026 common-contingency contributions, counting both the RETA and their employment (employer’s share included), exceed €17,323.68. That refund has a cap: 50% of what was paid into the RETA for those contingencies.
Self-employed contribution 2025 and 2026: what changes
Compared with the 2025 self-employed contribution, the change is small. The bases of the reduced table and of brackets 1 to 10 of the general table are the same as those set by Order PJC/178/2025. In the tables, two things change: the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism goes from 0.80% to 0.90%, and the maximum base of brackets 11 and 12 rises from €4,909.50 to €5,101.20. Outside the tables other figures also move: the group 7 minimum base, the floor for company-owner autónomos, goes from €1,381.20 to €1,424.40, and the pluriactividad refund threshold from €16,672.66 to €17,323.68.
On the minimum contribution of the general table, the rise is measured in cents: from €298.61 in 2025 to €299.56 in 2026, 95 cents more a month, according to our calculations with each year’s rates. For 2027, the law already provides for the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism to rise to 1 point, but that year’s tables have not been published yet.
Client payments and reserves, with Vivid
Once you work for yourself, keeping the business money in its own account makes day-to-day work simpler. You apply for the Vivid freelancer account online, and in most cases the documents you already gathered for registration will do: your DNI (Spanish national ID card) and tax identification number, plus proof of your activity.
If the business grows into a company, the business account is also applied for online, with your ID, the company’s details and, depending on the legal form, documents such as the articles of association or the list of shareholders. With Vivid Business you get:
Free to start: opening the account costs nothing, and with the Free Start or Standard plan you use it for €0 per month.
Client payments on one IBAN, reserves on another
An online account with a Spanish IBAN where each sub-account has its own IBAN, so income and reserves do not get mixed. There is no fee to open it, and on Free Start or Standard the monthly price is €0.
Frequently asked questions
How much do you pay as self-employed in 2026?
It depends on the base you choose according to your net earnings: 31.50% of that base. With the minimum base it is €205.88 a month in the reduced table and €299.56 in the general table; with the maximum base, €1,606.88.
What is the minimum self-employed contribution?
In 2026 it is €205.88 a month, with the €653.59 minimum base of the first bracket of the reduced table, for net earnings of up to €670 a month. Anyone registering for the first time can apply for the €80-a-month tarifa plana.
What percentage do the self-employed pay?
31.50% of the contribution base in 2026: 28.30% for common contingencies, 1.30% for occupational contingencies, 0.90% for cessation of activity, 0.10% for vocational training and 0.90% for the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism.
When is the self-employed contribution paid?
The Social Security charges it to your account on the last business day of each month, by direct debit through a bank or a financial institution that collaborates with the Social Security.
Can the contribution be paid quarterly?
Yes, if you choose quarterly payment when registering as self-employed. January, February and March contributions are then paid in April, and so on each quarter. You can switch back to monthly payment from your personal area.
How often can the base be changed?
Up to six times a year, once every two months. Each change takes effect on the first day of the following two-month period: for example, a request made between 1 November and 31 December 2026 applies from 1 January 2027.
What happens if I earn less than expected?
If your actual earnings fall below your forecast and you paid more than your bracket requires, the Social Security refunds the difference ex officio after the annual adjustment. If your contribution was lower than the one for the minimum base of your actual bracket, the difference is paid by the last day of the month after notification, with no surcharge within that period.
What changes in the self-employed contribution from 2025 to 2026?
In the tables, the bases of brackets 1 to 10 and of the reduced table are the same; the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism rises from 0.80% to 0.90%, and the maximum base goes from €4,909.50 to €5,101.20. For company-owner autónomos, the group 7 minimum base also rises from €1,381.20 to €1,424.40.
What is the contribution of a company-owner autónomo?
The law sets a floor for them: the group 7 minimum base of the General Scheme, which in 2026 is €1,424.40. At 31.50%, that means a contribution of about €449 a month.
This article provides general information and does not constitute legal, tax or Social Security advice. The figures come from Order PJC/297/2026, Order PJC/178/2025, the General Social Security Law and the Social Security, and the contributions per bracket are our own calculations. Vivid Money S.A. is an e-money institution authorised by the CSSF (Luxembourg); its branch in Spain is registered with the Banco de España under number 6731.
