Recently, the General Treasury of Social Security has published the RED Newsletter 07/2026, which includes relevant clarifications on the application of the Social Security contribution bonuses for research staff.
The specific system for these bonuses is regulated by Royal Decree 475/2014, of June 13, on bonuses in Social Security contributions for research personnel. Subsequently, Royal Decree-Law 1/2023, of January 10, introduced significant modifications to this system and established a new framework applicable to incentives for hiring.
Key changes in the application of Social Security bonuses
The new bulletin maintains the general framework of the incentive and provides greater operational clarity on how these situations should be identified within the scope of Social Security affiliation. In practice, this clarification reinforces the security in the application of the bonus, by specifying how certain data should be communicated to avoid formal incidents.
How to identify bonus research staff: value 9916 and contract codes
The General Treasury of Social Security reminds that high situations Those eligible for the bonus must be identified by means of the value 9916 in the field “Special Employment Relationship”. Likewise, this value must go linked to certain types of contract in the General Treasury of the Social Security, even when the code does not exactly match the contract formalized and reported to the State Public Employment Service. This clarification is especially relevant, since the bulletin establishes an equivalence between the contract codes reported to the State Public Employment Service and the codes that must be recorded in the General Treasury of the Social Security in order to correctly apply the measure. Thus, the The General Treasury of Social Security specifies which code should be used for the purposes of the bonus when the code communicated to the State Public Employment Service is different.
Application of the bonus to workers who are already registered
Another of the most relevant issues in the bulletin is the possibility of starting the Application of the bonus to workers already registered with the company, when during the initial registration period the bonuses were not yet applicableIn these cases, the employee must initially be listed as not having a Special Employment Relationship. When the bonus becomes applicable, the previous period must be cancelled and a new registration created with the value 9916.
Therefore, the bulletin confirms a relevant operational criterionThere may be an initial registration period without bonus and without a Special Employment Relationship and, subsequently, when the requirements to apply the incentive are met, the bonused situation may begin through a New registration with Special Employment Relationship 9916.
This clarification is particularly useful for cases where, since the amendment introduced by Royal Decree-Law 1/2023, the bonus for certain workers has not yet been applied because it was not implemented from the time of their initial registration. Insofar as these workers currently meet the required criteria, the form allows for the regularization of their situation by canceling the period without a Special Employment Relationship and registering them again with a Special Employment Relationship (9916).
Periods of non-subsidized research staff: use of the value 9938
The bulletin also regulates the use of 9938 value, identified as “Research, Development and Innovation Staff Not Receiving Bonuses”This code should be used when, during a period of active employment in which the subsidized status with the value 9916 has already begun, there is a period in which the incentive is not applicable. Consequently, the value 9938 allows for the identification of non-subsidized periods once the employee has already correctly entered the subsidized research staff circuit.
Why this update is relevant for businesses
In summary, this update brings greater security in the administrative management of these bonuses, especially in five aspects:
- correct identification of the research staff awarded the bonus using the value 9916;
- equivalence between contract codes of the State Public Employment Service and contract codes of the General Treasury of Social Security;
- possibility of starting the bonus with respect to workers who are already registered, when in the initial period it is not yet applicable;
- operational procedure to initiate said bonus by deregistering from the period without a Special Employment Relationship and a new registration with a Special Employment Relationship 9916;
- Treatment of periods in which the worker is research staff, but the bonus is not applicable, using the value 9938.
For companies developing R&D&I projects, these clarifications represent a opportunity to review both currently subsidized situations and those workers researchers who, having already been discharged, may to meet the requirements to apply for the incentiveIt is also advisable to check if there are employees who meet the required conditions and who are not yet being included in the bonus scheme.
This update provides greater security in the application of the incentive and allows review more precisely than the highs, variations and bonus periods are properly reported to the General Treasury of Social Security. A prior review of the employment, technical, and documentary situation facilitates this process, reduces communication risks, and helps to take advantage of the incentive with greater guarantees. In a context where investment in innovation requires planning and control, a proper management of these bonuses can contribute to optimization costs and strengthen the company's research funding strategy.
José Miguel SanabriaLegal Consultant Innovation Funding in Elzaburu
