The net salary of a worker with an average wage has lost 3.8% of purchasing power between 2018 and the second quarter of 2026, according to a report by the Juan de Mariana Institute.
According to noticiastrabajo.es, the Juan de Mariana Institute attributes the loss of purchasing power of Spanish employees to the tax burden. The report 'The Fiscal Sacrifice of Spanish Taxpayers', authored by Diego Sánchez de la Cruz and Santiago Calvo López, estimates that the net salary of a worker earning the average wage of 2,512 euros per month, according to the INE, has lost 3.8% of purchasing power between 2018 and the second quarter of 2026.
To regain that purchasing power, the salary would need to increase by approximately 75 euros per month. The study starts from a net salary of 1,903.73 euros per month in June 2026, compared to 1,538.93 euros in March 2018, a nominal increase of 28.6%.
The profile analysed is that of an employee under 65 years old, without children or disabilities, with a permanent contract, common regime, and no additional deductions. The authors have used the gross salary from the INE's Quarterly Labour Cost Survey and have calculated the corresponding IRPF and contributions. They warn that this is an estimate for a representative taxpayer, not the average of observed net salaries.
The monthly gross salary rises from 1,909.66 euros to 2,464.45 euros, an increase of 29.1%. After deductions, the estimated monthly IRPF rises from 249.47 to 400.53 euros, and the worker's contributions increase from 121.26 to 160.19 euros. Between these two items, deductions grow from 370.73 to 560.72 euros per month, a 51.2% increase in nominal terms and a 17.6% increase when accounting for inflation.
“The highest burden on the payroll absorbs the increase in gross salary and places the worker's purchasing power below the starting level”
To have the same purchasing power in 2026 as in 2018, the net salary would need to reach 1,979.07 euros per month, which is about 904 euros per year more than what the estimated worker currently earns.
The document identifies fiscal drag as one of the mechanisms explaining this trend. This occurs when wages rise to compensate for inflation, but the IRPF brackets do not adjust at the same pace. The estimated effective IRPF rate rises from 13.1% to 16.3% of gross salary, in addition to the increase in contributions.
“Inflation reduces the value of the salary and, at the same time, raises the portion retained by the tax authorities”
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