Being an autónomo in Spain changed in 2023: contributions now follow your real income instead of a base you chose freely. For a newcomer, that makes the system fairer and also harder to predict. This is how to become self-employed in Spain without nasty surprises.
What do you need before you start?
Three things: an NIE (see the NIE guide), a Spanish address, and a way to identify yourself online, either Cl@ve or the FNMT electronic certificate (padrón and Cl@ve). Without them, you can still register, but only with appointments. If your profession is regulated, you need a recognised qualification or a professional body membership. EU citizens have the right of establishment: you register as a resident with proof of your registration with the tax census or with social security (residence certificate).
How do you register as self-employed in Spain?
Two registrations, in this order.
1. The tax census (alta censal), modelo 036. File it before your first invoice, purchase for the business or hiring: any of those marks the start of your activity. You choose your activity code (epígrafe IAE), your VAT regime and how profit is calculated (the actual direct method, or the flat-rate módulos for certain activities). The simplified modelo 037 was abolished on 3 February 2025.
2. The self-employed social security scheme (RETA), through the Import@ss portal, from 60 days before you start until just before the start. You declare your expected net income, choose your contribution base, ask for the reduced start-up fee and pick a mutual insurer for work accidents. Both registrations are free.
You can change your contribution base up to six times a year, every two months.
How much do self-employed people pay in Spain?
Since 2023, contributions depend on your real net income. For 2026, the monthly base ranges in the reduced table from €653.59 (net income up to €670) to €849.67 (up to €1,166.70), and in the general table from €950.98 (income from €1,166.70 to €1,300) to €1,928.10 (income above €6,000). The maximum base is €5,101.20.
The combined rate in 2026 is 31.5%: 28.30% for common contingencies, 1.30% for work accidents, 0.90% for cessation of activity, 0.10% for training and 0.90% for the intergenerational equity mechanism. The Import@ss simulator gives the exact amount for your income.
The flat-rate quota, the tarifa plana, was €80 a month for the first 12 months for people who had not been self-employed in the previous two years (three if they had already used it), extendable for 12 months if net income was below the minimum wage. That amount was fixed by law for 2023 to 2025. From 2026 it is meant to be set by the annual budget law, and the 2023 budget is still extended; none of the official texts we read gives a 2026 amount, so confirm it with social security when you register.
During the flat-rate period, your benefits (sick leave, pension) are computed on the minimum base. At the end of the year, social security compares your contributions with your real income reported to the tax agency and corrects them either way.
What taxes do you file?
- Invoices: VAT (IVA) is generally 21%, or a reduced rate for some activities. For a professional client in Spain, you apply a 15% income-tax withholding, or 7% in the year you start and the two following years if you did no professional activity the previous year.
- Each quarter: modelo 303 for VAT, and modelo 130, an instalment of 20% of your cumulative net profit since 1 January, less instalments already paid. You are exempt from the 130 if at least 70% of last year's professional income had withholding applied.
- 2026 deadlines: 20 April, 20 July and 20 October. For the fourth quarter the usual date is 30 January, a Saturday in 2027, so expect 1 February 2027; check the tax agency's 2027 calendar.
- Each year: the annual VAT summary (modelo 390) and your income tax return, which is compulsory for every autónomo.
- Invoicing software: the compliant software (VERI*FACTU) becomes compulsory for the self-employed before 1 July 2027, unless postponed.
There is no general VAT franchise for small businesses in Spain: the consolidated VAT law contains none for Spanish businesses. Some activities are exempt, and retailers often fall under the recargo de equivalencia.
When does a company make sense?
An alternative is a limited company (Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, SL). Since the 2022 "Crea y Crece" law, it can start with €1 of capital, as long as 20% of profits go to a reserve until reaching €3,000 with the capital. You can form it online through the CIRCE system, or with a notary and the commercial register. The company pays corporate tax, generally 25%, or 15% for a new company on its first profitable year and the next, with lower rates for small turnover that change each year. As the person who controls and runs it, you usually still pay as an autónomo, with a minimum base of €1,424.40 a month in 2026. A company limits your liability to the capital, but a comparison with the autónomo route should be made by a professional.
What is different in the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla and the Basque Country?
In the Canary Islands there is no VAT: there is the IGIC, with its own census form (modelo 400), and a small-business franchise (REPEP) for a natural person established in the Canaries whose turnover, all activities included, was no more than €50,000 the previous year. Filing quarterly IGIC returns means renouncing that franchise for three years. Ceuta and Melilla have the IPSI instead. In the Basque Country and Navarre, income tax is run by the provincial authorities and the invoicing system is TicketBAI; social security contributions are the same.
What if you only work temporarily in Spain, or come from the UK?
If you stay affiliated to your home country's social security and work in Spain for a limited time, you can ask your home institution for an A1 certificate before you leave. For the self-employed it is issued for up to 24 months, according to Your Europe. While it is valid, you do not pay into the Spanish RETA, and you must inform the Spanish body. This is separate from your tax position: if you become resident in Spain, income tax follows residence (tax residency in Spain).
What about British freelancers?
Since Brexit, a British citizen needs an authorisation to live and work independently in Spain, except those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. The consulate decides which permit fits. A freelancer who wants to work remotely for clients abroad usually looks at the digital nomad visa, which allows up to 20% of the work for Spanish clients. See moving to Spain from the UK.
Do you need a gestor to be self-employed in Spain?
No: everything can be done yourself online. Yet many freelancers hire a gestor or tax adviser, a private professional who handles forms for a fee, at least for the first quarter. A single meeting at the start can save you from the commonest mistakes: choosing the wrong activity code, mixing up the VAT regime, or underestimating your income base. Choose someone who explains what they file for you, and keep access to your own tax and social security accounts. Before you choose between the autónomo route and a company, have your situation confirmed by a gestor or a Spanish tax adviser (asesor fiscal).
Whatever you decide, keep your invoices, your bank statements and your quarterly receipts in one place. The Spanish tax agency can review several years back, and the annual correction by social security will compare what you declared with what you paid.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Starting without registering.
- Believing there is a VAT franchise.
- Under-declaring income to pay less: the annual correction will reclaim the difference.
- Neglecting quarterly returns even when you have no income. You must file them, at zero, until you deregister.
- Forgetting to cancel your registrations if you stop.
To compare the freelance route with a job, see working in Spain and the guide to remote work in Spain.