Since last Thursday, January 1st, Social Security has been applying an extra contribution, the so-called solidarity contribution, to salaries exceeding the maximum contribution base, which for 2026 will be €5,101.2 per month (€61,214.4 per year) after a 3.2% increase compared to the previous 3.9%. This contribution, which will come into effect in 2025 and be fully implemented in 2045, consists of an additional contribution on the portion of the salary that exceeds the maximum contribution base. It is applied in tiers and progressively. In 2025, the solidarity contribution was 0.92% for the salary bracket up to 10% above the maximum base, 1% for the bracket between 10% and 50% above the maximum base, and 1.17% for the bracket exceeding 0.5%. These contribution rates increase this year to 1.15%, 1.25%, and 1.46%, respectively. Given that the maximum contribution base will be €5,101.20 per month this year, the Social Security contribution rate for applying this solidarity fee will be 1.15% for salaries between €5,101.20 and €5,611.39, with the employee contributing 0.00%. If the salary is between €5,611.33 and €7,651.80 per month, the contribution rate will be 1.25% (1.04% paid by the employer and 0.21% by the employee), while for salaries exceeding €7,651.80 per month, the contribution rate will be 1.22% paid by the employer and 0.24% paid by the employee.

The new social security contributions for the self-employed are one of the hot potatoes the Spanish government has on its plate and must resolve before the end of the year. The idea is that new social security contributions will come into effect on January 1, 2026, but negotiations between the Ministry of Social Security and the main organizations are stalled. With no date in sight for a new meeting, in recent days the main self-employed workers' organizations have made their demands clear. First, ATA, the organization within the Spanish employers' federation CEOE, did so; then UPTA, linked to UGT; and this Monday, UATAE, close to CCOO, followed suit. The organization headed by María José Landaburu has not only supported freezing current social security contributions for the lowest income brackets—a move also applauded by ATA—but is also proposing subsidies for social security contributions in brackets below the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) and in intermediate brackets. Specifically, UATAE has detailed its support for a "regressive" subsidy of contributions for self-employed workers with lower incomes. This means a larger subsidy for the lowest brackets, gradually decreasing for higher brackets. "Reducing contributions for the lowest brackets without any additional measures leads to a reduction in contribution bases, which diminishes social protection for the most vulnerable, despite their significant contributions," the association argued at a press conference this Monday. If put into practice, Landaburu explained that this bonus would translate into a reduction in the current minimum rate paid by self-employed workers with net income below the minimum wage. It's worth remembering that the reform approved in 2022 and implemented in 2023 requires self-employed workers to contribute based on their actual income, so that future social security benefits, historically much lower than those of workers affiliated with the general Social Security system, are higher. At the beginning of negotiations for new contributions starting in 2026, the Spanish government proposed a general increase for the period 2026-2028. Faced with this rejection, the ministry headed by Elma Saiz has revised its proposal and is now focusing solely on 2026. It has proposed a freeze on contributions for the lowest income brackets and a progressive increase of up to 2.5% in the case of the highest brackets.

The political and social uproar generated by the Social Security's initial proposal to raise self-employed contributions in 2026, 2027, and 2028 has led the ministry to disgrace. In a new social dialogue meeting held this Monday, the ministry led by Elma Saiz (PSOE) proposed freezing Social Security contributions in the three lowest brackets and leaving the increases for the remaining brackets. However, she also proposed that the update of all contributions would affect only 2026, leaving the remaining years for new negotiations next year.

Former Social Security Minister José Luis Escrivá (PSOE) left his successor, Elma Saiz, with pending tasks regarding the special regime for self-employed workers (RETA): determine new Social Security contributions starting in 2026Negotiations with unions, employers' associations, and the main self-employed workers' organizations (ATA, UATAE, and UPTA) have already begun, and despite being scheduled for the agenda, they have raised a storm, especially politically. These are the key points of the debate:

The Ministry of Social Security has opened the Pandora's box regarding self-employed contributions. In a new meeting this Monday with the main representative organizations of this group, the ministry headed by Elma Saiz presented an initial proposal to determine the contributions for the next three years for those affiliated with the special regime for self-employed workers (RETA). Specifically, with the new Social Security approach, the contributions currently paid by self-employed workers who contribute at the minimum base will increase by between €17.37 and €206.24 per month in 2026, depending on each worker's net income, that is, the income obtained after taxes have been paid.

The Spanish government and social partners have begun negotiations for new contributions for self-employed workers starting next year and continuing through 2028. However, the social dialogue table has not gotten off to a good start: ATA, the self-employed workers' association within the CEOE (Spanish Economic and Social Council), did not attend. "We will not open a new chapter for 2026 until the 2023 chapter is closed," stated the president of the association, Lorenzo Amor, via social media. For ATA, it is essential to resolve the problems the new model has encountered since it came into force three years ago before discussing a new one.

The rejection by self-employed organisations of the new "real income" tax system has led the Spanish government to make a move. The Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security, headed by José Luis Escrivá, has brought changes to the negotiating table with the organisations of the self-employed (ATA, UPTA and UATAE) regarding the calculation of the clean yields –or "real income", in the language used in the negotiation–, as well as regarding the tax that self-employed workers have to pay, according to different sources familiar with the negotiations. From the outset, however, the organisations have been reluctant, and complain that the proposal has only been made orally and are waiting to receive a text.