Registering as an autónomo after the digital nomad visa

What the rules actually say

The Ministry's own document for initial applications says a self-employed holder must make a commitment to register in the Régimen Especial de Trabajadores Autónomos (RETA, the self-employed Social Security scheme) "una vez obtenida la autorización y antes de comenzar la actividad en España": once the authorisation is granted and before starting activity in Spain.

The same document adds that once you are registered you must pay contributions, and that failing to do so "puede ser causa de la extinción de la autorización". The Ministry's FAQ is blunter: if a review finds you did not register after the authorisation, the authorisation can be extinguished, and the holder and dependent family members lose the right to live and work in Spain.

There is no day count in the law. The UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos, the office that processes these authorisations) can verify compliance and, after giving you a hearing, extinguish the authorisation if the conditions are not met (additional provision 7 of Ley 14/2013). Treat "before you start working from Spain" as the deadline.

The general clock for any alta

Social Security's general rule is that an alta is filed before the activity starts, and never more than 60 natural days before the planned start. Filed on time, your alta takes effect from the day you meet the conditions (this applies to your first alta and up to three altas in a calendar year).

One practical help: for the first six months of residence under these categories, your passport is enough to register, and you can ask for the NIE afterwards.

Are you self-employed, or employed by a foreign company?

The scheme depends on the relationship you proved. If you work for a foreign employer you are an employee. If you invoice foreign clients, or own your own company, you are self-employed.

• Employee of a foreign company: the requirement to register can be replaced only by keeping your home Social Security, and only where Spain has an agreement with that country. You need a certificate from your home authority that expressly says it covers remote work from Spain. A mere application for one is not accepted.
• Self-employed: the Ministry's FAQ says RETA registration is mandatory and that importing your home coverage under a bilateral agreement is not available.

Your Spanish clients are capped too: a professional may work for a company located in Spain only if that is no more than 20% of their total professional activity.

Tarifa plana: what is certain and what is not

The reduced first-year contribution (the tarifa plana) is set by article 38 ter of the Self-Employed Statute (Ley 20/2007), not of the General Social Security Law, as is often repeated. What the law says:

• It applies if you make an initial alta, or have not been registered as self-employed in the two years before the new alta takes effect. It is three years if you already used the reduction in a previous period.
• It runs for the twelve full calendar months after the alta takes effect. A second twelve months is possible only if your net annual income is below the annual minimum wage.
• You must request it when you register. It ends if you leave RETA during either period.

The amount for 2026 is not confirmed here. The law fixed EUR 80 a month for 2023 to 2025 and said that from 2026 the amount is set by each year's budget law. Social Security's own page still describes the EUR 80 rate as applying "durante el periodo 2023-2025". Ask when you register, and check the amount on Social Security's site before you plan around a number. On top of any reduced fee, the intergenerational equity mechanism (MEI) is 0.9% of the common-contingencies base in 2026.

If you register late

A late alta does not backdate cleanly. Under the rules for RETA, an alta filed outside the deadline takes effect from the first day of the month in which you met the conditions. The contributions for the period before the alta are then owed "con los recargos e intereses que legalmente correspondan", and Social Security reports late altas to the labour inspectorate.

• Alta de oficio. Social Security can also register you itself if it finds you were working. For those months, the monthly base is the minimum base of the first bracket of the general table, and the annual regularisation does not apply to them.
• Penalty band. Not registering on time, or doing so only after an inspection, is a serious infringement. Serious infringements in this area carry fines from EUR 751 to EUR 7,500, graded by severity. We cannot tell you where yours would fall.
• Tarifa plana. You must request it at the time of your alta, so an alta made for you by Social Security leaves no obvious way to claim it. We found no official page that settles this. Ask Social Security or a gestor before assuming either way.

How and when you pay

RETA contributions are due within the same month they relate to, and paying by direct debit is compulsory, from an account at a bank authorised to collect for Social Security. If your alta starts mid-month, you pay only for the days you were active, with the monthly fee divided by 30.

If you miss a payment, the debt carries a surcharge of 10% if paid within the first calendar month after the due date, and 20% from the second month. Interest and, in other cases, higher surcharges can also apply.

Does one missed debit cost you the tarifa plana? Not all of it. The law says that failing to pay on time loses the reduction only for the months that were not paid on time. Two conditions sit around that. You must be up to date with Social Security when the reduction is granted. And you lose it entirely if you leave RETA during the period.

Which account can be used is a separate question, covered in opening a bank account before your TIE arrives.

After the alta: income-based contributions

Since 2023 your monthly base depends on your expected net income, and Social Security regularises it against your tax data after the year ends. Tables change every year, so they are not repeated here. The tax side is covered in the tax deadlines guide, and the residency side in the digital nomad tax residency guide.

Sources

• BOE: Ley 14/2013, articles 74 bis to 76 and additional provision 7
• Ministry of Inclusion (UGE): documentation for initial applications
• Ministry of Inclusion (UGE): FAQ for international teleworkers
• BOE: Ley 20/2007 (Self-Employed Statute), article 38 ter
• BOE: Real Decreto-ley 13/2022 (transitional provision 5, tarifa plana amount)
• Seguridad Social: new contribution system for autónomos
• BOE: Orden PJC/297/2026 (2026 contribution rates and bases)
• BOE: Real Decreto 84/1996, articles 32 and 46 (altas, deadlines, effects)
• BOE: Ley General de la Seguridad Social, articles 20, 30 and 308
• BOE: Real Decreto 1415/2004, article 56 and additional provision 8
• BOE: Real Decreto 2064/1995, article 47 (part-month contributions)
• BOE: Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2000, articles 22 and 40 (infringements and fines)

Who can do this for you

A gestor can register you in RETA and Hacienda together, request the tarifa plana in the same filing, and set up the direct debit. An accountant can then take on the quarterly filings. The Ministry's FAQ also points to the free Puntos de Atención al Emprendimiento (PAE) for a fast alta.

• Gestors: RETA alta, tarifa plana request, direct debit
• Accountants: quarterly IRPF and IVA once you are registered

This page is general information, not legal advice. It was checked against the sources above on the date shown. Contribution amounts and the tarifa plana change by year, and your own situation may differ. Confirm with Social Security or a professional before relying on any of it.