The 2027 minimum wage is already being negotiated: between 5% and 7%, with the open question of whether it will start paying income tax

Unions have set their opening position at 7%, up to 18,290.58 euros a year, arguing that this year's 3.1% rise fell two points short of actual price growth. The demand was announced alongside the November 11 general strike, called over housing but with a clear wage dimension.

The Labour Ministry is working with a more contained figure, around 5%, and wants it approved by the Council of Ministers before the election. The expert committee's report —which must balance preserving purchasing power with the target of 60% of the average wage— is due between late October and early November.

The minimum wage is untaxed today because its annual amount sits below the filing-obligation threshold and the personal allowances that make withholding unnecessary. But each rise brings it closer to the edge: at 1,280-1,300 euros in 14 payments, the minimum wage nears the level where payslips start carrying withholding.

In the 2025 negotiation it was expressly agreed that the rise would not trigger taxation. If that adjustment is not repeated in 2027 —raising the exempt minimum or the withholding threshold— part of the improvement would go to the Treasury, one of the points unions are putting on the table.

A minimum-wage rise pushes the lowest salaries up, but it can also trigger absorption: some companies offset the increase by eating into allowances. Unions demand a decree blocking that absorption, one of their red lines for further deals.

If your base salary is below the new minimum, the company is obliged to raise it; if you earn slightly more, the effect depends on your collective agreement, which may peg pay scales to the minimum wage and drag your pay up with it.