2026 tax return calculator for Spain: refund or payment?
Enter what you earned in 2026 and the tax withheld from you (it is on your employer’s withholding certificate) to estimate the result of the return filed in 2027 and find out whether you have to file it.
Results
—
—
Final IRPF due
—
Tax already withheld
—
—
Result = final IRPF due − tax already withheld. The final tax is the general scale applied to the taxable base (salary − Social Security − €2,000 of other expenses − employment income reduction − pension plan) minus the same scale applied to the personal and family allowance, plus the savings scale (19% to 30%) on interest and dividends, minus the low-salary tax credit.
How the result is reached
| Concept | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross annual salary | — |
| Social Security contribution | — |
| Other expenses and employment income reduction | — |
| Joint filing reduction | — |
| Pension plan reduction | — |
| General taxable base | — |
| Savings taxable base | — |
| Personal and family allowance | — |
| Tax on the general base (allowance already subtracted) | — |
| Tax on the savings base | — |
| Less: low-salary tax credit | — |
| Final IRPF due | — |
| Tax already withheld | — |
| — | — |
Why you pay or get a refund
During the year your employer withholds IRPF from every payslip as an advance on the tax. The annual return compares that advance with what you actually owe: if too much was withheld, the Tax Agency refunds the difference; if too little, you pay it. Differences arise mostly when you change jobs or have more than one payer, when your family situation changed and you didn’t update form 145, when you pay into a pension plan, when you have interest or dividends, or when you earn a low salary and claim the low-salary tax credit, which isn’t deducted on the payslip.
What data you need and where to find it
To fill in the calculator you need two 2026 figures: total gross salary and IRPF withheld. Both appear on the withholding certificate your employer must give you; if you had several payers, add them all up. You will also find them in the Tax Agency’s tax data when the season opens and, approximately, on the last payslip of the year, which usually shows the year-to-date totals. If you have interest or dividends, use the annual amount and the tax withheld by the bank or broker.
Worked example
An example: with €30,000 gross in Madrid, single and without children, the final IRPF due is €4,598.02. If €5,000 was withheld from your payslips, you get a €401.98 refund. With the same salary split between two payers, each employer often withholds as if it were your only income: if the two withheld €2,900 between them, you would have to pay €1,698.02, and you would also be obliged to file because the second payer exceeds €1,500 and your salary exceeds €15,876.
What changes the result
Pension plan contributions reduce the base, so they save your marginal rate: in the example above, contributing €1,500 lowers the tax by €417 (27.8%). The limit is the lower of €1,500 and 30% of your net employment income. Children, dependent parents and disability raise the personal and family allowance and lower the tax, just as in the income tax calculator.
What the calculation includes and what it doesn’t
The calculator covers salary, interest, dividends and gains on funds or shares, your own pension plan contributions and your personal and family situation. It does not include regional tax credits or state credits such as the maternity or large-family credits, rental income, self-employment, loss offsetting or employer pension contributions; for a joint return it assumes a spouse with no income. Navarre and the Basque Country, with their own foral systems, are approximated. The result is therefore an estimate: the Tax Agency’s draft return is the final reference.
Do you have to file?
With a single payer you must file if your employment income exceeds €22,000 a year; with several payers the limit drops to €15,876 when the second and following ones pay more than €1,500. Having more than €1,600 of interest, dividends or gains also obliges you to file, and filing is required to apply the pension plan reduction. If you don’t have to file but you are due a refund, file anyway: with a €17,000 salary and €600 withheld, the final tax is zero and the €600 would be refunded.
Data verified in 2026-10-19
Sources:
- Ley 35/2006 del IRPF (texto consolidado BOE, actualizado 07/10/2026): arts. 19-20 (rendimientos del trabajo), arts. 51-52 (planes de pensiones), arts. 56-61 (mínimo personal y familiar), arts. 63, 66, 74 y 76 (escalas general y del ahorro), art. 96 (obligación de declarar)
- Disposición adicional 61.ª de la Ley 35/2006, importes de 2026 según el Real Decreto-ley 5/2026 (deducción para salarios bajos)
- Agencia Tributaria, Manual práctico de Renta 2025: obligación de declarar, gravamen de la base del ahorro y límites de aportación a sistemas de previsión social
- Orden PJC/297/2026, de 30 de marzo, de bases y tipos de cotización a la Seguridad Social para 2026
Other calculators you may find useful
If you found this calculator useful, you might also want to check out:
Frequently asked questions
Why do I have to pay if tax was already withheld from my payslip?
Because withholding is only an advance calculated with the data your employer had. The most common causes are having had more than one payer (each withholds as if it were your only income), receiving interest or gains with 19% withheld when your rate is higher, or a change in your family situation you didn’t report on form 145.
Do I have to file a tax return?
Yes, if your employment income exceeds €22,000 with a single payer, or €15,876 if the second and following payers paid you more than €1,500. Also if you have more than €1,600 of interest, dividends or gains subject to withholding, or if you want to apply the pension plan reduction.
If I don’t have to file and I would owe tax, do I have to file?
No. If you aren’t obliged to file, the tax withheld from you is treated as final and you don’t pay the difference. If you are due a refund, however, you only get it by filing the return.
Where do I find my 2026 gross salary and withholdings?
On the withholding certificate each employer you worked for must give you. Also in the Tax Agency’s tax data when the season opens and, approximately, on the last payslip of the year if it shows annual totals.
How much do I save by paying into a pension plan?
Your marginal rate on what you contribute, up to €1,500 a year and 30% of your net employment income. With €30,000 gross in Madrid, contributing €1,500 lowers IRPF by €417.
Why does having two payers usually mean paying?
Each employer calculates withholding as if its salary were your only income, so it applies the low brackets of the scale to each one separately. In the return both salaries are added up and the part above those brackets is taxed at a higher rate than was withheld.
When is the 2026 tax return filed?
In 2027. The season usually starts in early April and ends at the end of June, with the deadline for direct-debit payment a few days earlier. The Tax Agency publishes the official calendar each year, which is worth checking.
Is the low-salary tax credit applied on the payslip?
No. It is a credit of up to €590.89 in 2026 for salaries up to €17,094, tapering off until it disappears at €20,048.45, and it is applied when you file. That’s why many people on low salaries have tax withheld from their payslips and then get a refund.