Social Security for a domestic worker in Spain: a guide for foreign employers

Social Security is where most foreign employers get stuck: not because it is complicated, but because every step has a Spanish name and the order matters. This guide follows that order.

Who registers her, and when

You do. Since 1 January 2023 the household employer is the only one responsible for registering the worker and paying the contributions, whatever the number of hours she works (Social Security's guide for household employers). There is no minimum: a few hours a week also count. If she works for several families, each one registers her for its own hours.

The registration must be requested before she starts work: up to 60 days in advance and, at the latest, on the day she starts (article 32.3 of Royal Decree 84/1996). It can still be filed up to 30 days late, but then it counts as late and contributions are due from the day she actually started. Any change in her hours or pay, and her deregistration when she leaves, must be reported within six calendar days, the deadline set by Royal Decree 643/2026 from 1 August 2026.

Your nationality and where you pay tax do not change any of this: the obligation comes from the work being done in a home in Spain.

What you need before you start

• Your identification: your NIE (or DNI) and, if you have one, your Social Security number. The employer code (código de cuenta de cotización, CCC) is assigned with your first registration, one per province.
• Hers: her DNI or NIE and her date of birth. If she does not have a Social Security number yet, the portal can create it during the registration.
• Her right to work: if she is from outside the EU, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, a residence and work authorisation in force.
• The agreed hours and salary, and the signed contract that reflects them.
• A bank account for the direct debit and a SEPA mandate. Social Security asks you to use a bank that collaborates with it and publishes the list of collaborating banks; if the account is not in your name, you need the holder's authorisation.
• Your large-family document, if you have one, to apply for the 45% rebate.

We cover the identification in detail in our guide to the NIE and TIE, and the contract in the domestic worker contract, explained.

Registering her in Import@ss, step by step

Import@ss is Social Security's online portal. You can sign in by SMS (if your mobile number is already registered with Social Security), with Cl@ve, with a digital certificate or electronic DNI, or with Cl@ve móvil. Then:

• Open ‘Servicios’, then ‘Altas, bajas y modificaciones’ (registrations, deregistrations and changes) and ‘Afiliación y alta de trabajadores’.
• Choose ‘Alta en empleo de hogar’ (registration in household employment) and press ‘Solicitar alta’.
• Enter her details and yours, the start date and the type of contract.
• Enter the working hours and the agreed salary: the portal shows you the contribution that goes with them.
• Add the address where she works, the insurer (the INSS or a mutual insurance company, a mutua; the cover is the same), your contact details and the bank account.
• Check everything, confirm and download the receipt.

If you are missing a piece of information, the portal keeps the draft for ten days. And if you cannot sign in, a professional authorised in Social Security's RED system can file it on your behalf: our labour and legal team can do it for you.

What it costs in 2026

Contributions are not calculated on the salary itself but on a base set by brackets of monthly pay, which includes the share of the extra payments (article 15 of Order PJC/297/2026) and, under the general rules on the contribution base, any pay for presence hours, overnight stays or in kind. There are eight brackets: up to €1,424.40 the base is fixed, and above that it is the actual pay. On that base, for a permanent contract, you pay 23.60% for common contingencies (with a 20% reduction), 1.50% for accidents at work and occupational illness, 5.50% for unemployment and 0.20% for the Wage Guarantee Fund (both with an 80% rebate), and 0.75% for the intergenerational equity mechanism. Her share is 6.40%, which you deduct from her pay and pay in together with yours.

• Full-time (40 hours a week) on the minimum wage, €1,424.50 a month over 12 payments: you pay €317.24 and deduct €91.17 from her pay. Your total cost is €1,741.74 a month.
• 20 hours a week, €712.25 a month over 12 payments: the base is €785, you pay €174.82 and deduct €50.25. Your total cost is €887.07 a month.
• Large families: a 45% rebate on common contingencies for one worker, instead of the 20% reduction. At full time, your share falls to €233.19.

The 20% reduction and the 80% rebates are applied automatically as long as you have no debts with Social Security or the tax authorities; the 45% one has to be requested. Each month's contributions are charged to your account the following month, so the first charge arrives the month after she starts. To work out other hours, use our cost calculator, see the full table on Social Security for domestic workers 2026 or read how much Social Security costs for a housekeeper.

Resident or non-resident: what changes

For Social Security the procedure is the same. What changes is how easily you meet the practical requirements:

• If you live in Spain, your NIE is already on your TIE or your EU registration certificate, and you will probably have a Spanish bank account and Cl@ve, so you can register her yourself.
• If you live abroad, get your NIE first, through a Spanish consulate if you are not in Spain, and check that your bank is on the Social Security list. If you have no SMS access, Cl@ve or digital certificate, a professional authorised in the RED system can register her for you. The address you give is that of the home where she works.

Tax is a separate question. A private individual who lives in Spain and employs a domestic worker is not among those obliged to withhold income tax (article 76.1 of the Income Tax Regulation), as our guide to income tax for a housekeeper explains. The same article does list non-residents who pay employment income in Spain without a permanent establishment, so if you live abroad, check your position with a tax adviser before the first payslip.

After the registration

• Changes: report any change in her hours or pay within six calendar days. When the minimum wage rises, raise her pay if it is now below it: Social Security charges contributions on the new minimum either way.
• Holidays: they are paid, and contributions continue during them.
• Sick leave: for an illness or an accident outside work, you pay her from the fourth to the eighth day of the leave, and contributions continue. We explain the rest in our guide to domestic worker sick leave.
• When she leaves: request her deregistration between 60 days before her last day and six calendar days after it.

Skipping the registration or the contributions is expensive: Social Security can register her itself and claim every contribution due since she started, with surcharges, and the Labour Inspectorate can fine you €3,750 to €12,000.

At Maids & Co we select housekeepers, nannies and carers for families across Spain, with the first profiles in under 3 hours, and you only pay if you hire. If you are looking in a particular city, see our pages on domestic staff in Madrid, domestic staff in Barcelona and housekeepers in Marbella.

This content is for information only and was updated in October 2026. It is not a substitute for personalised legal advice.