He Minimum Living Income It is not reserved only for unemployed people. The regulations themselves allow this benefit to be compatible with the income from a job or with the income from a self-employed activity (self-employed), although for it to be compatible it is necessary to meet the income requirements and limits. Furthermore, the objective of this non-contributory Social Security benefit is that its collection does not discourage participation in the labor market.
This means that a working person can collect the Minimum Living Income. The law requires that there be a situation of economic vulnerability and takes as a reference the economic capacity of the individual beneficiary or the entire cohabitation unit. Social Security considers that this vulnerability exists when the monthly average of all eligible income and income from the previous year is lower, at least by 10 euros, than the guaranteed income that corresponds in each case.
The amount of the Minimum Living Income It is also calculated from that criterion. Law 19/2021 (available at this link) establishes that the monthly benefit will be the difference between the guaranteed income and the set of income and income from the previous year, provided that the result is equal to or greater than 10 euros per month. Therefore, even if you work, access to help will depend on not exceeding the economic margins set for each personal or family situation.
In 2026, the regulations also include some updated economic limits. Royal Decree-Law 3/2026 sets, for beneficiaries who maintain the allowance for dependent children provided for in the sixth transitional provision of the Minimum Living Income Law, a limit of 15,356 euros per year, which amounts to 23,109 euros per year in large families, with an increase of 3,745 euros for each dependent child from the fourth. The rule also adds a specific scale of family income by household composition to determine when the full amount of the allocation corresponds.
In any case, access to the IMV for working people continues to depend on whether the cohabitation unit remains in a situation of economic vulnerability, since the benefit is calculated as the difference between the guaranteed income and the computable household income.
The law also makes it clear that failing to comply with the conditions linked to this compatibility with work may have consequences. Among the causes for suspension of the right is expressly included non-compliance with the conditions associated with the compatibility of the IMV with income from work or economic activity. If this breach is repeated, the benefit may even be terminated.
The obligation of IMV beneficiaries with the Income Tax return
Along with the economic requirements, the beneficiaries of the Minimum Living Income must submit the corresponding Personal Income Tax declaration each year. This requirement falls on the person entitled to the benefit and also on the members of the cohabitation unit. Therefore, one’s own Tax Agency recommends submitting the declaration of all members jointly.
This is a basic obligation to maintain the aid, since the Law that regulates the Minimum Living Income establishes this annual obligation within the regime applicable to recipients of the benefit.
Failure to comply may result in the suspension and even termination of the benefit. The rule says “it will be suspended when the taxpayers have failed to comply for two consecutive fiscal years with the obligation to submit the Income Tax return under the conditions and deadlines provided for in the tax regulations.”
If the suspension is maintained for one year, the right to the benefit may be extinguished. In other words, the suspension is temporary and can cause the benefit to be reactivated, but termination leads to losing the aid.
Therefore, working does not prevent you from collecting the IMV, but the aid is only maintained if the person or their cohabitation unit remain in a situation of economic vulnerability and comply with obligations such as submitting the Income Tax return.