Parental Allowance In Spain – 2023 English Guide

If you are new to Spain and planning to start a family here, there’s good news for you. Spain offers a number of benefits to new parents in terms of monetary support to ease the financial burden to some extent. Read on to find out what kinds of parental allowances you can claim from the government and the procedure for it.

What Is Parental Allowance In Spain? 

Parental allowance is a monetary benefit given by the Spanish government to new parents. There are several types of benefits paid out. The standard for anyone who is working and making social security contributions is an allowance equal to their base pay for the entirety of the period that they are on leave. In addition, the Spanish government also offers a variety of other benefits to new parents. Families with lower incomes can claim additional allowances, and so can single parent households. 

Some of these benefits will correspond with the tax year since they represent deductions from the income tax. However, all others will be calculated based on when your child was born, and the time periods will be calculated accordingly. That is, if your child was born in March you would start receiving the benefits in March and not the start of the calendar year.

Who Can Receive Parental Benefits In Spain?

Generally, this benefit is available to everyone who is legally residing in Spain. The contributory payments that all new working parents receive are paid out over the entire period of maternity or paternity leave i.e., 16 weeks. This is equal to your regulatory base wages. If you are under 21 years of age, you will not be required to have made any contributions to social security before the birth of your baby. If you are between 21 and 26 years of age then you should have paid contributions for a total of 180 days in your working life, and if you are over 26 years then the total contributions should have been made for 360 days over the entirety of your working life. If a working woman does not meet these contributory requirements, she may instead receive the non-contributory benefits, but these are limited to 42 calendar days only.

For some of the benefits, you will additionally need to fall under the minimum threshold income to qualify for receiving this amount. Most of these payments are non-contributory, which means that to apply for them you are not required to have paid any social security contributions in the past. To be eligible for this, you must be making less than 32,100 euros if you are a family of 2 adults, and 27,000 euros if you are 2 adults and 1 child in a family. These thresholds are lower for single parent households. Moreover, under IMV (Ingreso Minimo Vital or the minimum wage), people who do not have unemployment protection or are in need and not receiving any other kind of aid, will also be covered.

You can apply for parental allowance to take care of the following:

• Biological children
• Biological children of your spouse or partner
• Stepchildren
• Adopted children (as long as the process is complete and you have been given a court decree to this effect)
• Other children like your grandchildren, nieces and nephews in some cases who are primarily under your care

For How Long Can You Receive Parental Allowance In Spain?

The maternity and paternity benefits are paid out for 16 weeks, which is how long the parental leave usually lasts, barring exceptions. For other benefits, you will be able to claim the benefit till the child is three years old. The aid for low income families is paid out till the child is of legal age, albeit the amount goes down with age.

How Much Parental Allowance Will You Receive In Spain?

The standard amount that you are eligible to receive if you make contributions to the social security is equal to your regulatory base wage.

Generally, mothers who are not making enough income are able to claim assistance if they are working. This is 100 euros each month, that is, 1200 euros annual deduction from the personal income tax. If you want, instead of a deduction you can also ask for the same amount to be paid to you upfront. This amount is for each child younger than three years. For children between three and six years, the amount is 70 euros for each child and for those older than 6, this amount is 50 euros per month per child.

Self-employed mothers can also get an annual deduction of 1000 euros for children attending kindergarten, for their meals, registration and enrolment.

Single parents are entitled to receive additional benefits. As long as they make less than the threshold income, they are entitled to a one-off payment of 1000 euros which is non-taxable. After that, every year they can receive 341 euros per child, paid out over two installments. There is also a comprehensive system in place for tax breaks given to single parents. These include annual deductions, and payment of a certain percentage of your social security contributions in case you need to hire house help to allow you to continue working.

How And Where Can I Apply For The Parental Allowance In Spain?

If you wish to apply for parental allowance, you can do so through the Spanish Tax Agency. You will need to submit a set of documents when applying. These include:

• A completed and duly signed form 140
• ID documents of the parent or adoptive parent
• Birth certificate of the child
• Family book
• Proof of residence
• Annual income statement (if you are applying for benefits that require a certain minimum threshold income)
• Certificate of your child’s disability issued by the appropriate authorities (if applicable)
• A signed declaration of responsibility, which states that the applicant does not have any circumstances which would prevent them from receiving the aid from the state

Do I Have To Take Parental Leave To Receive Parental Allowance?

The overall maternity benefit that is contributory is paid out in the same period that you would take parental leave. Therefore, taking your leave is a necessary prerequisite to get this benefit. However, all other forms of benefits, be they one-off payments or need based ones, do not require you to take parental leave to receive them. As long as you fulfill the criteria that have been defined in the laws, you can apply for and receive the allowance.

Conclusion

Raising a child does not have to be an economic burden and the Spanish government has a great scheme for new parents to be able to take care of their children. You will be covered by different schemes depending on whether or not you work, but rest assured, the state will help you out in some way. If you are unsure about whether you are eligible for any of the benefits, check in with the National Social Security Institute (INSS) with your details. 

Best of luck with the new baby!