What contribution bases are
The contribution base for common contingencies is the amount to which the rates are applied. It is calculated by adding the worker's monthly remuneration and the proportional share of extra payments, and it cannot fall outside the minimum and maximum for their professional group.
For 2026 the maximum common base is €5,101.20 per month. The minimums by group: 1,989.30 for engineers and graduates, 1,649.70 for technical engineers and experts, 1,435.20 for administrative and workshop managers, and 1,424.40 for the remaining categories with monthly remuneration (groups 4 to 7). Those paid daily contribute between €47.48 and €170.04 per day.
The minimum base is tied to the 2026 minimum interprofessional wage, and the minimum ceiling for work accidents and occupational diseases is equivalent to the minimum wage plus one sixth, and cannot be lower than €1,424.40.
Contribution rates 2026: the full table
Order PJC/297/2026, published in the BOE on 30 March 2026, sets the rates for the General Scheme for the year: common contingencies at 28.30% (23.60% company and 4.70% worker), unemployment at 7.05% for permanent contracts (5.50% + 1.55%) and 8.30% for temporary contracts (6.70% + 1.60%), vocational training at 0.70% (0.60% + 0.10%) and FOGASA at 0.20%, paid entirely by the company.
Overtime is contributed separately: 14% if due to force majeure (12% company and 2% worker) and 28.30% for the rest, with the same distribution as common contingencies. Professional contingencies (work accidents/occupational diseases) are paid according to the premium tariff by activity and are borne exclusively by the company.
The MEI and the solidarity contribution
The Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI) is the surcharge that funds the pension reserve fund and rises every year: in 2026 it is 0.90% of the contribution base, with 0.75% borne by the company and 0.15% by the worker. It started at 0.6% in 2023 and will continue to rise.
The additional solidarity contribution has applied since 2025 to the portion of remuneration exceeding the maximum base, in three brackets: 1.15% between €5,101.21 and €5,611.32, 1.25% between €5,611.33 and €7,651.80 and 1.46% for anything above €7,651.80 per month. The company bears most of it in all three brackets.
How much the worker pays and how much the company pays
For every €100 of contribution base, the worker pays €6.50: 4.70 for common contingencies, 1.55 for unemployment, 0.10 for training and 0.15 for the MEI, plus solidarity if their salary exceeds the maximum base. In practice this is the first block of deductions you see on the payslip, before personal income tax.
The company pays 30.65 euros for those same 100: 23.60 for common contingencies, 5.50 for unemployment, 0.20 for FOGASA, 0.60 for training and 0.75 for the MEI, plus the work accident rate (AT/EP), which varies according to the company's activity.
To put it into an example: with a salary of 2,000 euros per month and a contribution base of 2,333 euros due to the pro-rating of extra payments, the worker contributes around 152 euros and the company around 715 plus the AT/EP contribution. That gap between the agreed gross salary and the real cost is the famous employer cost.
2026 changes you should be aware of
The maximum contribution base rose to 5,101.20 euros and the solidarity contribution remains at the three tiers of 1.15 / 1.25 / 1.46%. Fixed-term contracts of less than 30 days carry an additional contribution of 33.62 euros payable by the company, paid at the end of the contract.
The unemployment, FOGASA and vocational training rates remain extended from 2025, as set out in the order itself. And remember that self-employed workers contribute on net earnings with their own 15-tier table and a rate of 31.50%, which is not this one: you can find it broken down in the article on the self-employed contribution.
