Tax Burden Germany/Spain

Taxes in Spain or Germany: Where do you pay more?

For an ordinary employee income, Spain generally demands more income tax (IRPF) than Germany – across almost the entire typical income range, from the first steady salary right up to higher earnings. How big the difference actually is for you tends to be smaller than many expect, and depends heavily on whether you're married, have children, and how your incomes are split. Enter your figures into the calculator above: there you'll see your personal result, including the answer to the question of whether joint taxation (tributación conjunta) is even worthwhile for you.

How it's calculated

One point up front, because otherwise it can distort the result: the calculator compares German income tax against Spanish IRPF, not the total tax and contributions burden. Social security contributions are left out on both sides. This isn't a gap but a deliberate boundary with a known direction: without social security contributions, both taxes appear higher than the actual burden turns out to be – the German one more so than the Spanish one. If you factor in contributions to health, long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance, the gap between the two countries tends to grow rather than reverse. The reason lies in the system: German pension-related deductions reduce taxable income substantially, while the Spanish contribution assessment ceiling caps the comparable deduction in Spain early on. And one more thing belongs here, so you don't confuse the tax figure with the contributions figure: the overall burden rate from taxes and social security contributions combined is a different question from the pure tax rate – and for employees in Spain it turns out lower overall.

The German approach: basic tax rate, splitting, and the more-favourable-option check

From gross income, German tax law first deducts the employee lump-sum allowance (€1,230) and the special-expenses lump-sum allowance (€36); what remains is the taxable income. The calculator then applies the basic tax rate under Section 32a EStG – for married couples, the splitting method is used instead: the joint income is halved, the tax rate applied to that half, and the resulting tax is then doubled. Because the basic tax-free allowance is built into the tax rate formula itself, it effectively counts twice under splitting – that's the advantage married couples in Germany have over single people.

If you have children, the calculator automatically checks which option is more favourable for you: the child tax-free allowance together with the allowance for care, upbringing and education, known as the BEA allowance (€3,414 plus €1,464 per child), or the monthly child benefit (Kindergeld) of €259 per child. If the tax-free allowances win the more-favourable-option check, the calculator still continues to use them – it's just that the child benefit isn't then added on top as well. Above a threshold of €20,350 – for joint assessment €40,700 – the solidarity surcharge of 5.5% is also added to the assessed income tax. Since the last reform, this now only affects the higher incomes.

The Spanish approach: IRPF, the reduction under Art. 20 and the tax-free personal allowance

On the Spanish side, the calculation runs in two stages. From the gross employment income (rendimiento íntegro), the law first deducts €2,000 flat-rate income-related expenses (Art. 19.2.f LIRPF). After that, the reduction for income from employment under Art. 20 LIRPF applies: those who earn little receive a significantly higher deduction – up to €7,302 for low income –, which gradually decreases as salary rises and is eliminated entirely above €19,747.50. From the assessment basis determined in this way, the law finally deducts the tax-free personal allowance (mínimo personal y familiar): it amounts to €5,550 per person and increases in stages with each child, by €2,400

€3,400

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• Guide to the Beckham Law in Spain.
• double taxation agreement. The comparison assumes that your income is taxed in the country of your tax residence. How allocation issues are resolved for income from both countries is explained in the Guide to the Double Taxation Agreement between Germany and Spain.
• Single parents. Neither the German relief amount for single parents (Paragraf 24b EStG) nor the Spanish single-parent family unit is reflected in the calculator – both reduce the tax burden further where applicable.
• Children under three years old. Spain grants an additional supplement to the tax-free basic allowance here, which the calculator does not apply.
• Age over 65. The Spanish side increases the tax-free basic allowance from this age onwards; the calculator has no age field.
• Church tax. It is not included in the German calculation because it depends on the federal state and religious affiliation.
• The assumption regarding children. In the case of separate assessment, the calculator assumes that the other parent is also liable to tax. That's why the allowance, child benefit entitlement and mínimo are applied on a 50/50 basis on both sides in the case of a separate return.
• Child benefit. Germany pays this out in addition to any potential tax savings. Spain has no comparable ongoing family benefit for children over three years old – this shifts the family comparison noticeably in Germany's favour, without it being visible in either of the two tax figures.

Deadlines and forms

In Spain, you submit your income tax return, the Renta, via Modelo 100; the filing window opens in spring of the following year. How this works in detail, which documents you need, and what happens if you file late is explained in the Guide to the tax return in Spain. In Germany, you submit your income tax return to the tax office responsible for you. Deadlines and particularities for residents in Spain with German income are explained in the Guide to the taxation of residents under IRPF.

Legal basis and status

For the German side, this calculator calculates according to Paragraf 32a EStG (basic tariff and splitting), Paragraf 9a and 10c EStG (lump-sum allowances), Paragraf 31, 32 paragraph 6 and 66 EStG (child tax allowance, child benefit and favourability check), as well as the Solidaritätszuschlaggesetz 1995. For the Spanish side, Ley 35/2006 applies with Art. 19, 20, 56 to 61, 63, 74 as well as 82 to 84 LIRPF, and for the Balearic surcharge tariff additionally the Decreto Legislativo 1/2014 of the Balearics with Art. 1 and 2. Which version of these provisions the calculator is currently using is shown by the legal status directly above the calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Related calculators

Before comparing the tax burden, it is often worth asking where you are actually liable to tax in the first place: The 183-day calculator shows you, based on your days of stay and other criteria, whether Spain classifies you as tax resident.