Change in Seguridad Social contributions in 2026 for autónomos, Tarifa Plana 2026
At the end of 2026, the government wanted to increase the contribution bases for autónomos in Spain.
However, after heated discussions, the Council of Ministers decided to keep the bases at the same level, at least until the government reaches an agreement on changing them.
Because of this, many people concluded that there would be no increase in the cost of contributions.
But already in January many will notice that their monthly payment has gone up.
Why will you still have to pay more?
To understand this, you need to remember how the monthly contribution to Seguridad Social is calculated.
You start from the contribution base and then apply the contribution percentages (for 2025):
- 28.30% for common contingencies. This contribution covers you when you cannot work due to an accident or illness not related to work.
- 1.3% for professional contingencies.
- 0.9% for cessation of activity.
- 0.1% for professional training.
- 0.8% (MEI).
You might think that if the contribution bases have not changed, everything should stay the same.
But that is not the case. Let’s look at the last item: 0.8% (MEI) — the “Mecanismo de Equidad Intergeneracional” (MEI).
This is an additional surcharge on contributions, introduced simply because the Spanish pension fund has run out of money and the debt burden of financing pensions has been shifted onto the working population.
In 2026 the MEI increases to 0.9% of the contribution base — an increase of one tenth compared to 2025 (0.8%).
Accordingly, even with the same base, the contributions for autónomos will still go up.
Will this increase affect the Tarifa Plana?
Since the Tarifa Plana is calculated using the same formula as the standard contribution,
in 2026 the Tarifa Plana contribution will also increase and will be 88.56 €/month instead of last year’s 87.61 €/month.
How much will the amount change for everyone else?
Let’s take as an example a base of 1,601.31 €, which corresponds to an autónomo with an income of 4,000 €/month. A simple calculation shows that
their monthly contribution will increase by 1.6 € — from 12.81 € to 14.41 €. This is not critical, but it is still an unpleasant extra cost.
Do not forget to have enough funds in your bank account at the end of the month to cover the new contribution amount.
Any questions or suggestions? Join the channel Españevo: 🇪🇸Autónomo, Taxes