Internships are considered paid when the student receives any monetary or in-kind compensation for completing the internship. If students undertake paid internships in any public or private entity, the following aspects must be taken into account:

• According to the Directorate General of Taxes of the Ministry of Finance (Consultations No. 1770/02 and No. 1992/00 ) regarding university student internships, study grants paid by companies to university students within the framework of Educational Cooperation Agreements constitute employment income fully subject to Personal Income Tax. Therefore,  the corresponding withholding tax on account of Personal Income Tax must be applied to the amount of the grant or study aid received by the student .

• On the other hand, and in compliance with the provisions of Article 1 of Royal Decree 1493/2011, of October 24, which regulates the terms and conditions for inclusion in the General Social Security Scheme of persons participating in training programs, in development of the provisions of the third additional provision of Law 27/2011, of August 1, on the updating, adaptation and modernization of the Social Security system:  those who participate in training programs financed by public or private entities or bodies that, linked to university studies or vocational training, are not exclusively academic in nature but include the performance of training internships in companies, institutions or entities and entail financial compensation for the participants, whatever the concept or form in which it is received, are assimilated to employed workers, for the purposes of their inclusion in the General Social Security Scheme, provided that the performance of said programs does not give rise to an employment relationship that determines their registration in the respective Social Security system.

On 26/02/2025, Order PJC/178/2025, of February 25 , was published in the BOE, which develops the legal rules of contributions to Social Security, unemployment, protection for cessation of activity, Wage Guarantee Fund and professional training for the year 2025.

This Order establishes that the Social Security contribution for paid student internships will consist of a single monthly fee of €67.13, of which €55.97 will be for common contingencies payable by the employer, €11.16 for common contingencies payable by the student, and €7.71 for occupational contingencies payable by the employer. The contributions for common contingencies will be subject to the 95 percent reduction established in the fifty-second additional provision.5.b) of the consolidated text of the General Social Security Law.

You can also consult the Social Security offices , as well as their ” Your Social Security ” portal . This is a new way to access Social Security services and is defined as a private space that offers personalized information to the user. Access for citizens requires prior registration, which can be done at the INSS Information and Service Centers or at any Social Security office.