How this works
This calculator compares the options of the initial parental benefit paid by Social Security to anyone with at least 6 months of contributions, using the percentages of Decree-Law 91/2009 (as amended by Law 13/2023 and DL 53/2023) and the minimum indexed to the 2026 IAS (€537.13). Everything is built on the reference remuneration (RR) — your registered salary, turned into a daily figure.
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The reference remuneration (RR)
Social Security adds up the salaries registered in the 6 oldest of the 8 months before the month you stopped working — excluding holiday and Christmas allowances and the like — and divides by 180. This calculator simplifies: average salary × 6 ÷ 180, i.e. your salary divided by 30.
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The options: 120 or 150 days
With 120 days you get 100% of the RR per day; with 150 days you get 80%. The classic sum: 150 × 80% = 120 — the total is exactly the same. Choosing between the two is not about money, it is about time: 30 more days with the baby in exchange for a lower monthly amount.
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Sharing and the 30 bonus days
If each parent takes at least 30 consecutive days (or two 15-day periods), the 150 days are paid at 100% — and the leave can grow by another 30 days, to 180, paid at 83%. Since Law 13/2023, if the father takes at least 60 consecutive days (or two 30-day periods) of the 180, the rate rises to 90% — the option with the biggest total.
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The mother’s and father’s exclusive periods
The mother has 42 mandatory days after the birth (and may start up to 30 before), which count within the 120/150. The father has 28 mandatory days — in blocks of at least 7 consecutive days, within the first 42 days, 7 of them right after the birth — plus 7 optional ones, taken while the mother is on her initial leave. The father’s leave is paid at 100% and is not deducted from the 120/150 days.
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Minimum, taxes and your career
The daily benefit is never below €14.32 — 80% of 1/30 of the IAS (€537.13 in 2026). You pay no IRS and no Social Security contributions on the benefit, and the leave period counts towards your contributory career by equivalence.
Frequently asked
120 or 150 days — which pays more?
Neither: 150 days at 80% pay exactly the same total as 120 days at 100% (80% × 150 = 120). The difference is the pace — with 150 days you get less per month, for longer. If you want a bigger total, look at the shared options: 150 days at 100%, or 180 days at 83% or 90%.
What counts as “sharing” to get 100%, 83% or 90%?
The sharing has to be exclusive — not at the same time. For 150 days at 100% and 180 at 83%, each parent must take at least 30 consecutive days, or two 15-day periods. For 180 days at 90%, the father must take at least 60 consecutive days (or two 30-day periods) of the total, on top of his exclusive leave (article 30 of DL 91/2009).
Do the holiday and Christmas allowances count towards the RR?
No — the reference remuneration excludes the holiday and Christmas allowances and similar payments. Since your employer also does not pay them for the time you are on leave, you can claim the compensatory benefit for the holiday and Christmas allowances from Social Security (form RP 5003) — provided the leave lasts at least 30 consecutive days. Self-employed workers are not entitled to these compensatory benefits.
Do I pay IRS or Social Security on the benefit?
No. The parental benefit is exempt from IRS — nothing is withheld and it does not go on your annual return — and you pay no Social Security contributions on it. Better still: the leave period counts towards your contributory career by equivalence. That is why the honest comparison is against your net salary, not your gross.
Do the self-employed qualify?
Yes, as long as they contribute to Social Security, meet the 6-month qualifying period (consecutive or not) and have their contributions up to date when the entitlement is assessed. The RR follows the same logic, based on the registered remunerations — which for the self-employed are the declared contribution base, not turnover.
What if my salary is very low, or I don’t have the 6 months of contributions?
There is a double safety net. The daily benefit never drops below €14.32 (80% of 1/30 of the 2026 IAS) — on low salaries, this makes the longer options strictly better. And if you do not meet the 6-month qualifying period, you may be entitled to the means-tested Social Parental Benefit instead.
DISCLAIMER
An estimate for orientation. It simplifies the RR as average salary × 6 ÷ 180 — the real figure uses the salaries registered in the first 6 of the last 8 months, excluding holiday and Christmas allowances. It does not cover multiple births (+30 days per extra child), hospitalisation of the newborn, part-time half-day arrangements, the 2% top-up in the autonomous regions or the means-tested Social Parental Benefit. It does not replace Social Security’s decision.