How much unemployment benefit will you get in Spain?

How unemployment benefit is calculated

Your unemployment benefit depends on two things: your contribution base sets the monthly amount, and your contribution days set how long you receive it. The benefit is called prestación contributiva (contributory unemployment benefit). SEPE averages your unemployment contribution bases for the last 180 days, excluding overtime. It uses the base for contingencias profesionales (professional contingencies), not common contingencies. You find these figures on your nóminas (payslips) and certificado de empresa (employer certificate). Your vida laboral (employment history report) doesn’t show them.

1. Find your base. Average your contribution bases for the 180-day period. This gives your monthly base reguladora (benefit calculation base).
2. Calculate the first rate. Multiply your base by 70 % for the first 180 days.
3. Change the rate. From day 181, multiply your base by 60 %.
4. Check the limits. Compare your result with the 2026 minimum and maximum below.

For example, you work full-time, have no dependent children and your base is 1.500 euros. You’d get 1.050 euros gross per month for the first 180 days. From day 181, you’d get 900 euros, before deductions.

More full-time examples: with a base of 2.000 euros and no children, 70 % is 1.400 euros, above the 1.225 euro maximum, so you get 1.225 euros for the first 180 days and 1.200 euros from day 181. With a base of 1.000 euros and one dependent child, 70 % is 700 euros, below the 749 euro minimum, so you get 749 euros. With a base of 3.000 euros you get the maximum: 1.225 euros with no children, 1.400 with one child or 1.575 with two or more.

Records to check your estimate

Use these records to check your contribution base. They’re for estimating, not a list of claim papers.

• Payslips, to check your contribution bases for the last 180 days.
• Employer certificate, to compare the contribution information your employer reported.

For claim paperwork, see our SEPE documents guide.

Minimum and maximum unemployment benefit in 2026

The limits don’t use the plain IPREM. They use the monthly IPREM increased by one sixth. The 2026 IPREM is 600 euros, so the calculation base is 700 euros. The minimum is 80 % of this base without children and 107 % with children. The maximum is 175 %, 200 % or 225 %, depending on your children. See SEPE’s 2026 benefit amounts.

A dependent child is under 26, older with a disability, or in foster care. The child must live with you or depend on you, with no income above the minimum wage. If you worked part-time, SEPE reduces the minimum and maximum in proportion to your working hours. Don’t use the full-time limits for a part-time job.

How long the benefit lasts

SEPE counts your unemployment contributions in the six years before you became unemployed. Contributions already used for another benefit don’t count again. You need at least 360 days for contributory benefit. Each further 180 days adds 60 days of benefit.

Net amount and payment date

The figures above are gross monthly amounts. SEPE deducts your own social security contribution: 4,85 % of your base reguladora, not of the benefit (4,70 % common contingencies plus 0,15 % MEI in 2026). Income tax (IRPF) is withheld when it applies. For example, with a base of 1.800 euros and the 1.225 euro maximum, the deduction is 87,30 euros, leaving 1.137,70 euros before IRPF. The payment reaches your bank between the 10th and 15th of the following month.

Want to work while claiming, or take your benefit as a lump sum? Read our unemployment benefit guide. For rules on leaving Spain, see SEPE’s guide to going abroad while claiming. If you have fewer than 360 contribution days, check our unemployment subsidy guide.

Common problems and how to fix them

Your estimate is above the cap

Check the maximum for your number of dependent children. If you worked part-time, reduce that limit in proportion to your hours.

Your records show different bases

Compare your payslips with your employer certificate for the last 180 days. Your vida laboral doesn’t show the contribution base SEPE uses.

Your child isn’t counted

Check the age, disability, care and income rules above. If your child meets them, ask SEPE to check how it counted your dependent children.

Your contributions are under 360 days

You may not qualify for contributory benefit. Check whether another form of support fits your situation in our unemployment subsidy guide.