If you’re applying for Spain’s Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV), one small acronym decides how much money you have to prove: IPREM. Every income threshold on the visa is a multiple of it. So before you do any arithmetic, it helps to understand exactly what IPREM is, what the 2026 figure is, and why it hasn’t moved in three years. This is that plain-English explainer. For the whole visa from the top, here’s Spainguru’s complete non-lucrative visa guide.
What is IPREM? (in plain English)
IPREM is Spain’s official income yardstick. The government uses it to decide who qualifies for social benefits, subsidies, legal aid — and visa income thresholds, including the NLV. If you’re from the US, the closest analogy is the federal poverty guideline: one government number that gets reused across dozens of programs. In the UK, think of it as a benchmark figure that many separate rules point back to.
What the acronym stands for
IPREM stands for Indicador Público de Renta de Efectos Múltiples — the “Public Indicator of Multiple-Effect Income.” The “multiple-effect” part is the key: it’s a single indicator deliberately designed to feed into many different rules at once.
Why Spain uses IPREM instead of the minimum wage
Spain introduced IPREM in 2004 to replace the minimum wage (the salario mínimo interprofesional, or SMI) as the reference point for benefits. The reason was practical. When benefit thresholds were tied to the minimum wage, every wage increase automatically raised the bar for benefits and eligibility. Splitting the two apart let the government raise wages without dragging every benefit threshold up with them. That’s why, to this day, IPREM and the minimum wage are two different numbers — a distinction that trips up a lot of NLV applicants, as we’ll see below.
The IPREM 2026 figure: €600 a month
Here is the number you came for. For 2026, the IPREM is €600 per month, which works out to €7,200 a year over 12 payments, €8,400 a year over 14 payments, and €20 a day. This figure was set by Ley 31/2022, the 2023 State Budget, and it remains in force. The IPREM freeze is one of several things worth knowing this year — here’s everything else that changed for the NLV in 2026.
Monthly, annual and daily amounts
| Reference | 2026 amount |
|---|---|
| Per month | €600 |
| Per year (12 payments) | €7,200 |
| Per year (14 payments) | €8,400 |
| Per day | €20 |
Why it’s still €600 (the budget-extension explanation)
Here’s the part most guides skip. The 2026 IPREM is not a newly legislated number. It’s the same figure that has been in force since 2023. IPREM only changes when a new General State Budget (Presupuestos Generales del Estado, or PGE) is passed. No new budget was approved for 2024, 2025 or 2026 — the existing budget was extended (prorrogado) each year instead. Because no new budget was passed, no new IPREM was legislated, so the 2023 amount simply carried forward. As ARC Legal explains, the 2026 IPREM is the 2023 figure still in force until new amounts are approved.
The practical takeaway: if you’re comparing an NLV guide from 2023, 2024 or 2025, the IPREM number in it is still correct for 2026. Nothing has changed. That’s reassuring if you’ve been reading older sources and worried the goalposts moved.
12 vs 14 payments — which one visas use
You’ll see two annual figures floating around: €7,200 (12 payments) and €8,400 (14 payments). The 14-payment version exists because Spanish salaries and pensions are often paid in 14 instalments a year, with two extra “paga extra” payments. For the NLV, the figure that matters is the 12-payment annual amount of €7,200. That’s the base every visa multiplier is built on.
How IPREM becomes the NLV income requirement (400% + 100%)
Now the arithmetic. The NLV doesn’t ask you to prove one IPREM — it asks for multiples of it. Per the Spanish Consulate in Washington, the main applicant must prove 400% of the annual IPREM, plus an extra 100% of the annual IPREM for each accompanying family member. This rule rests on Spain’s current Immigration Regulation, Real Decreto 1155/2024, which took effect on 20 May 2025.
The 400% rule for the main applicant
Four times the annual IPREM is 4 × €7,200 = €28,800 per year, or roughly €2,400 per month. That’s the minimum the main applicant must show. Much of our audience is retirees checking whether their income clears this bar — if that’s you, here’s dedicated guidance for retirees living on pension or Social Security income.
The 100% rule per dependent
Each dependent you bring — a spouse, a child — adds one full annual IPREM, or €7,200 per year. It stacks cleanly on top of the €28,800 base.
Worked examples: single, couple, family of four
| Household | Calculation | Annual income to prove |
|---|---|---|
| Single applicant | 400% IPREM | €28,800 |
| Couple (1 dependent) | €28,800 + €7,200 | €36,000 |
| Family of four (3 dependents) | €28,800 + (3 × €7,200) | €50,400 |
That’s the whole formula. Start at €28,800, add €7,200 for every additional person. For the full requirements, accepted income types and document rules, see the full NLV income requirements and documentation rules.
Savings instead of income: the lump-sum equivalent
You don’t strictly need a recurring income stream. The same 400% / 100% thresholds can be met with accumulated savings or assets instead. Consulates express the requirement as a minimum annual amount, so if you rely on savings, show that the full annual figure for your household is available — the Washington consulate, for example, asks for bank statements from the last three months for every account (checking, savings and investment). Requirements are applied consulate by consulate, so check yours before you apply.
Rather than reproduce every possible household scenario here, use our interactive tool to work out the exact funds for your household — single, couple or family — in a few seconds.
IPREM vs SMI: don’t confuse the two indicators
This is the single most common mix-up we see, so it’s worth being explicit. IPREM (€600/month) is the benchmark the NLV uses. The minimum wage — the SMI — is a completely separate, higher figure. For 2026, the SMI is €1,221 per month in 14 payments (€17,094 a year), set by Real Decreto 126/2026.
Why does this matter? Because Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) keys its income test off the SMI, not IPREM. The DNV asks for roughly 200% of the SMI (about €34,188 a year), while the NLV asks for 400% of IPREM (€28,800). People comparing the two visas often assume they share a benchmark. They don’t.
Which visas key off IPREM
The Non-Lucrative Visa is the headline case, but IPREM also underlies income tests for various student, family-reunification and EU-residency procedures.
Which key off SMI
The Digital Nomad Visa is the main one to remember — its income floor tracks the minimum wage, so it moves whenever the SMI is updated.
After the number: proving your income
Hitting €28,800 on paper is only half the job. For the NLV, that income has to be passive and properly documented — pensions, Social Security, dividends, rental income, annuities. Active work income generally doesn’t count, because it’s a non-lucrative visa by definition.
Once you know your target number, the next step is showing the consulate you actually have it. Here’s our full guide on how to document that income for the consulate — the accepted income types, the bank-statement windows and the mistakes that get applications delayed.
One note before you file: this article explains how the number is set, but it isn’t legal or tax advice for your specific situation. If your income mix is complex, confirm the details with a qualified immigration professional.
Frequently asked questions
Is the IPREM 2026 figure confirmed, or is it the same as 2025?
It’s the same. The IPREM has been €600/month since 2023 (Ley 31/2022). Because a new State Budget wasn’t passed, the budget was extended for 2024, 2025 and 2026, so the 2026 IPREM stays at €600/month, €7,200/year — identical to prior years.
What is 400% of IPREM in 2026?
€28,800 per year — that’s 4 × the €7,200 annual IPREM. It’s the minimum income (or savings equivalent) the main NLV applicant must prove, roughly €2,400 per month.
How much extra income do I need per dependent?
€7,200 per year for each dependent — 100% of the annual IPREM. So a couple needs €36,000/year and a family of four needs €50,400/year.
Is IPREM the same as Spain’s minimum wage?
No. IPREM (€600/month in 2026) is a benefits-and-visa benchmark; the minimum wage (SMI) is a separate, higher figure — €1,221/month in 2026. The NLV uses IPREM, while the Digital Nomad Visa uses 200% of the SMI.
Can the IPREM change partway through 2026?
Only if a new General State Budget is approved that sets a new IPREM. Until that happens, the €600/month figure stays fixed for the whole year, so the €28,800 NLV threshold won’t move mid-year.
