Pension Alimenticia in Spain: How Child Support Is Actually Calculated (2026)

Spain has no fixed formula, percentage table or per-child figure written into law for pension alimenticia. What the Código Civil sets instead is a proportionality rule a judge applies to the specific family in front of them, and a broader definition of what alimentos actually has to cover. This page works through both, and explains why the CGPJ's own online guidance tool is not something you can currently use.

Information last verified on 23 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about Spanish law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

What alimentos legally covers

Art. 142 CC defines alimentos broadly: everything indispensable for sustenance, housing, clothing and medical care. For a minor child, or an adult child who has not finished their training through no fault of their own, that also includes education and instruction. Pregnancy and birth costs are included too, to the extent they are not already covered some other way.

The proportionality rule

Spain sets no fixed percentage or table in statute. Art. 146 CC states the standard in one sentence: «La cuantia de los alimentos sera proporcionada al caudal o medios de quien los da y a las necesidades de quien los recibe.» In practice, that means a judge looks at what the paying parent can actually afford and what the child actually needs, rather than applying a formula that ignores either side.

When more than one person owes support to the same child, typically both parents, the obligation splits between them in proportion to each one's own caudal (art. 145 CC). A judge can order one obligor to pay the full amount provisionally in an urgent case, but that parent keeps the right to reclaim the other's share afterward. The same article also fixes a priority when several people entitled to alimentos claim at once from someone who cannot cover them all: a spouse and a child under patria potestad who claim together are not treated equally, the child is preferred over the spouse.

How a judge sets and updates the amount

In a separation or divorce sentencia, the judge fixes each parent's contribution directly and has to adopt measures ensuring the support stays adapted to the family's economic circumstances and the children's needs as those change over time (art. 93 CC). The same article covers adult or emancipated children who are still living at home without their own income; the judge fixes their alimentos in the same resolution, under arts. 142 and following, so turning eighteen does not by itself end a parent's contribution.

Because the amount is meant to track circumstances rather than lock in a number permanently, art. 93 CC frames the obligation as one the court adapts over time rather than sets once and leaves untouched. A parent's income rising or falling, or a child's needs changing meaningfully, are the kind of shifts the proportionality standard in art. 146 CC is built to absorb.

The CGPJ tables: currently offline

The Consejo General del Poder Judicial publishes orientative tablas meant to help estimate pension alimenticia. As of this writing, the CGPJ's own page for that tool states plainly: «Este apartado se encuentra actualmente en proceso de revision y actualizacion. Rogamos disculpen las molestias. No hay informacion disponible.» That means there is no working calculator on the CGPJ site to reference for a number right now, and any figure claiming to come from it should be treated with caution until the page is confirmed live again.

Judges are not bound by the tablas even when the tool is available; they are orientative guidance, not a substitute for the art. 146 CC proportionality analysis of the actual family in front of the court. Whether an archived version of the tool exists, or whether any comunidad autonoma or colegio de abogados publishes its own equivalent tablas, has not been confirmed as of this writing; treat any figure presented as coming from the CGPJ tool with caution until the official page is verified live again.

What it means in practice

Because Spanish child support runs on proportionality rather than a formula, the same income can produce different pension alimenticia figures depending on the other parent's resources, the number of children, and each child's actual needs. The shared custody page covers how custody arrangements interact with support obligations, and the uncontested divorce page covers how support gets written into the convenio regulador.

This page is general legal information about Spanish law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case. The controlling texts are the current versions in the BOE.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a fixed percentage or table for child support in Spain?

No fixed percentage exists in the Código Civil. The governing standard is proportionality: the amount tracks the paying parent's caudal, resources, and the child's needs (art. 146 CC), applied case by case rather than through a set formula.

Can I use the CGPJ's online tool to estimate pension alimenticia?

Not right now. The CGPJ's tablas orientadoras page currently states the section is under revision and updating, with no information available. There is presently no working online calculator on that site to reference.

What exactly counts as alimentos under Spanish law?

Everything indispensable for sustenance, housing, clothing and medical care, plus a minor's education, continuing past majority if the child's training has not finished for a reason not their fault, and including pregnancy and birth costs not otherwise covered (art. 142 CC).

Can pension alimenticia change after it is first set?

Yes. The judge has to adapt the support to the family's economic circumstances and the children's needs as they evolve, and either parent can request a modification when circumstances genuinely change (art. 93 CC).

Do both parents have to contribute to child support even when one has custody?

Yes. When support is owed by more than one person, it is split between them in proportion to each one's own resources, regardless of which parent has day-to-day custody (art. 145 CC).