Spain vs Germany: take-home pay comparison
Spanish IRPF + Seguridad Social against German §32a + Sozialversicherung — the largest intra-EU labour migration corridor.
Spain→Germany is the largest single intra-EU labour migration corridor by volume (engineers, nurses, hospitality). Spanish IRPF uses six tranches (19% / 24% / 30% / 37% / 45% / 47% combined state + autonomous-region in the AEAT default jurisdiction) plus Seguridad Social at 6.35% on the employee side. German §32a EStG runs 14% → 42% on a continuous curve, plus Sozialversicherung at roughly 20% of gross for SK I workers.
At €30,000 the Spanish net is slightly higher than the German net because Seguridad Social is lighter than German Sozialversicherung at that level. At €50,000+ the comparison flips as the German marginal rate stabilises around 35-42% while Spanish IRPF pushes harder into the 30-37% tranches. Both engines model the employee side only.
Side-by-side at common gross levels
Frequently asked questions
- How much more take-home does €80,000 yield in Germany vs Spain?
- At €80,000 gross on each side using 2025 rates: Spain retains €51,359 (35.8% effective), Germany retains €47,868 (40.2% effective). Net delta: -€3,491 more in Spain.
- What is the marginal-rate difference between Spain and Germany at €80,000?
- At €80,000 gross, the next 100 of gross retains €52 in Spain (marginal rate 48.5%) and €52 in Germany (marginal rate 47.6%). This matters for bonus, overtime, or salary-sacrifice decisions — the marginal rate applies to the next unit earned, not the average.
- At what salary level is the take-home gap biggest between Spain and Germany?
- Across the 40k–250k single-filer sweep, the largest net delta is at €120,000 gross: Spain net is higher by €3,649 per year. Above and below this point the gap is smaller, driven by the interaction of each side's band thresholds + social-contribution caps.
- What does this Spain vs Germany comparison include?
- Both sides use each tax authority's published 2025/26 rates: income tax, social-insurance contributions, and any statutory levies routed through payroll. The numbers are the same ones the full /es and /de calculators produce — open either page for the full per-line breakdown.
- What does this comparison NOT model?
- Pension contributions, salary-sacrifice schemes, benefits-in-kind, region-specific surcharges (Scotland for UK, Comunidad Autónoma for ES, Bundesland for DE), and cost-of-living differences are not modeled here. The comparison is a tax-stack-only view.