Working as an autónomo in Spain
Someone starting self-employment in Spain, either already resident or newly arrived.
From a digital identity to your first annual return, in the order the self-employed paperwork tends to fall due, with each step linked to a sourced guide or calculator.
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Filing and signing online runs through one of these, and with a NIE the quick video routes are closed, so the in-person check is what takes the time.
When: Before you need to file or sign anything online. The certificate is free.
Cost: The FNMT certificate is free.
Who can help
A gestor and a lawyer are regulated and can be checked, while other labels cannot, and what you sign decides what they may do in your name.
When: Before the step you cannot easily undo. If you are about to register as self-employed, talk to someone first.
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Registering late does not backdate cleanly and brings surcharges, so the alta belongs before your first day of work. Ask for the tarifa plana in the same filing.
When: Before the activity starts, and never more than 60 natural days before the planned start.
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Who can help
Autónomo contributions must be paid by direct debit from an account at a bank that collects for Social Security, and a failed debit adds a surcharge.
When: Before your first contribution falls due. Contributions are due within the same month they relate to.
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Your monthly base follows the net income you expect, so an estimate tells you which bracket to pick before Social Security reconciles it against your tax data.
When: When you register, and again as your year takes shape. You can change your base up to six times a year.
Who can help
Whether you charge Spanish IVA turns on whether the client is a business or a private person, and an invoice is required even when no IVA applies.
When: Before you issue your first invoice. Ask your gestor before you invoice a client abroad without IVA.
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A home is mixed use, so only the working share counts, and utilities use a fixed 30% of that share unless you can prove otherwise.
When: As you record expenses through the year. Agree your gestor's approach before you put home IVA in a quarterly return.
Who can help
Modelo 130 is an advance on your income tax and Modelo 303 is your VAT return, and paying by direct debit closes earlier than the filing date.
When: Modelo 130 is filed 1 to 20 April, July and October, and 1 to 30 January. Modelo 303 follows the same quarterly windows, with the final quarter in January. Direct debit closes around the 15th.
Who can help
Spain does not split the year you arrive, so a resident reports the whole calendar year, and your quarterly Modelo 130 payments are advances on that same tax.
When: Modelo 100 generally runs from April to June of the following year. Check the exact dates each year.
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This page is general information, not legal advice.