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13th and 14th salaries in the EU: who pays them and how they are taxed

By the EU Pay Concierge editor · 23 Oct 2026 · Figures computed live with the rules in force this month · How we calculate

In much of southern and central Europe the year’s salary is not paid in twelve equal parts. Employees in Austria, Greece, Portugal and Spain usually receive fourteen payments a year, and employees in Italy thirteen. The extra payments are not bonuses that an employer may choose to pay. They are set by law or by collective agreements that cover nearly every employee. This changes how salaries should be read, compared and taxed.

Which EU countries pay 13 or 14 salaries

The calculator models the usual number of payments for each country. Of the 27 member states, 5 pay more than twelve:

• Austria (14): twelve monthly salaries plus a holiday payment (Urlaubszuschuss) and a Christmas payment (Weihnachtsremuneration), each normally equal to one month. They are taxed at special low rates, explained below.
• Greece (14): twelve monthly salaries, a Christmas bonus of one month, an Easter bonus of half a month and a holiday allowance of half a month. The social contribution ceiling of €7,761.94 applies to each payment separately.
• Portugal (14): twelve salaries plus the holiday subsidy and the Christmas subsidy. Income tax is withheld on each payment separately, using the 2026 withholding tables.
• Spain (14): twelve salaries plus two extra payments (pagas extraordinarias), usually in summer and at Christmas. Many contracts prorate them into twelve larger monthly salaries instead. Social security is always calculated with the extras prorated over twelve months.
• Italy (13): twelve salaries plus the tredicesima, paid in December. Some collective agreements add a fourteenth (quattordicesima) in summer; the calculator assumes thirteen.

Belgium has no 13th salary in law, but many collective agreements provide an end-of-year bonus, and white-collar employees receive double holiday pay of 92% of a month. The calculator does not add these automatically: include them in the annual gross. In the other countries extra payments exist only where an employer or sector agreement grants them.

Why the monthly salary is misleading

A Spanish job advertised at €2,000 a month in 14 payments pays €28,000 a year. A German job at €2,000 a month pays €24,000. The monthly figures are equal, but the Spanish salary is 16.7% higher. The opposite mistake is just as common: comparing a Portuguese annual salary divided by 12 with a payslip amount that is really divided by 14.

The safe rule is to compare annual gross, or a monthly equivalent equal to the annual gross divided by 12. The calculator works this way. In countries with 13 or 14 payments it offers three views: per month (annual ÷ 12), per payment (annual ÷ 13 or 14) and per year. The EU minimum wage overview uses monthly equivalents for the same reason.

Spain’s minimum wage of €1,221 per payment is really €1,424.50 a month when the two extra payments are spread over the year. Greece and Portugal both pay €920 per payment, which is €1,073.33 a month as an equivalent.

How the extra payments are taxed

In most countries the 13th and 14th salaries are simply part of annual income. They are taxed under the normal annual rules, and the only effect of the payment schedule is on cash flow and on monthly withholding. Austria is the important exception.

Austria: the sixth of the year

Austrian special payments are taxed at fixed rates as long as they stay within one sixth of the regular annual pay (the Jahressechstel). For a normal 13th and 14th salary that condition is always met. After deducting the social insurance on the special payments, the first €620 is tax-free. The rest is taxed at 6% up to €24,380, 27% up to €49,380 and 35.75% up to €82,713. If the special payments in the sixth do not exceed €2,615 in total, no tax is due on them at all. Compare this with a regular tariff of 20% to 55%. The special payments also carry slightly lower social insurance, because the Chamber of Labour levy and the housing contribution apply to regular pay only.

Here each payment is €3,000. The two special payments together are €6,000. After their social insurance, €4,975.80 remains. The first €620 is free, and the rest is taxed at 6%, giving €261.35 for the year. Had the same €6,000 been paid as regular salary, it would have been taxed at the 30% marginal rate of the tariff. The employee’s final net is €2,568 a month as an equivalent, or €2,201.14 per payment on average.

Greece and Portugal: per-payment rules

In Greece the €7,761.94 contribution ceiling applies to each of the 14 payments. A high earner whose monthly salary exceeds the ceiling pays contributions on €7,761.94 fourteen times, not on a single annual cap. In Portugal, payroll withholding is calculated on each payment separately with the 2026 tables, so the holiday and Christmas subsidies carry their own withholding. The final tax is settled in the annual IRS return, which is why the calculator shows both the payslip net and the final net for Portugal.

Spain and Italy: the annual result does not change

In Spain and Italy the number of payments changes neither the annual tax nor the annual contributions. Spanish social security already prorates the extras into the monthly base, and income tax is an annual calculation. The calculator therefore gives the same annual net whether a Spanish salary is paid in 12 or 14 instalments.

Practical checklist

1. Ask whether an offer is quoted per payment or per month, and how many payments a year there are.
2. Convert to annual gross before comparing countries or offers.
3. In Austria, expect the 13th and 14th salaries to be noticeably more net than a regular month, because of the 6% rate.
4. In Belgium, check the collective agreement for an end-of-year bonus and add double holiday pay to the annual gross.

Try it in the calculators for Austria, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy, and switch between the per-month and per-payment views.

Calculators for this guide

• Austria salary calculator
• Greece salary calculator
• Portugal salary calculator
• Spain salary calculator
• Italy salary calculator
• Belgium salary calculator

More guides

• How net salary is calculated in Germany in 2026
• Employer cost vs gross vs net salary across the EU
• Social contributions explained: who pays what in Romania, Poland and Spain
• Tax-free amounts and dependants: how EU countries reduce income tax
• Tax reliefs for young workers in the EU: Poland, Portugal, Greece, Romania and Sweden
• What changes in EU payroll rules in 2027

This guide explains general rules. It is not individual tax, payroll or legal advice. Found an error? Write to us via the contact page.