Madrid and Catalonia are the two regions with the most skilled jobs, and also two of the most different in the regional half of IRPF.
The comparison
Single employee, no children, permanent contract:
€30,000 gross: €23,452 in Madrid and €23,091 in Catalonia.
€45,000 gross: €33,194 in Madrid and €32,386 in Catalonia.
€60,000 gross: €42,184 in Madrid and €41,124 in Catalonia.
Madrid has lower regional rates and a higher allowance of its own, so the gap grows with salary.
As an autónomo
On €45,000 of income with no expenses: €31,373 in Madrid and €30,610 in Catalonia. The cuota is the same; the difference is only in IRPF.
Beyond IRPF
Before choosing where to live for tax reasons, weigh the rest: housing prices, transport or your personal network usually matter more than the net difference. And remember you are taxed where you really live.
The full scales
The Madrid and Cataluña pages show each scale bracket by bracket and how each region ranks against the rest. To understand why they differ, read how regional scales work.