Your first year
as an autónomo in Spain

Becoming self-employed in Spain is not complicated, but it is unforgiving. The rules are clear, the deadlines are fixed, and Hacienda rarely accepts "I didn't know" as an excuse. The good news is that the first year follows a predictable rhythm. Once you know it, it runs almost on autopilot.

This guide walks through that rhythm in the order you'll meet it, written for people who are new to Spain as much as to self-employment.

Before you start

To work as an autónomo you need to be legally able to work in Spain and have a tax identification number. For most foreigners that means an NIE and the right residence status. Two more things will save you a lot of trouble:

• A digital certificate (certificado digital) or Cl@ve, so you can file and receive notifications online. Almost everything with Hacienda and Social Security happens electronically, and notifications sent to your electronic mailbox count as delivered even if you never open them.
• A bank account for direct debits. Social Security collects your monthly fee automatically, and quarterly tax payments are easiest by direct debit too.

Registering: two registrations, same day

You register twice, with two different administrations. Do both before you start working.

1. Hacienda: Modelo 036

   This is your census declaration. It tells the Tax Agency what you do (your activity code, or epígrafe), when you start, and which VAT and income tax regimes apply to you. Since 2025 there is a single form, the 036; the old simplified 037 no longer exists.

2. Social Security: RETA

   Next you join the special scheme for self-employed workers. You can do it up to 60 days before you start, but no later than your start date. Here you also choose your estimated income bracket, which sets your monthly fee. More on that below.

3. If you'll work with EU businesses: ROI

   If you plan to invoice companies in other EU countries, ask to be included in the intra-EU operators register (ROI) in the same 036. Without it, your EU clients can't apply the reverse charge and you'd have to charge Spanish VAT.

Social Security: what you'll pay

Since 2023, autónomos pay according to their expected net income, across 15 brackets. When you register you pick the bracket that matches what you expect to earn. You can change it up to six times a year as your real figures become clearer.

Your fee is provisional. Once Hacienda has your tax return, Social Security compares your real income with the bracket you chose and regularises it: a refund if you paid too much, a bill if you paid too little.

If you haven't been registered as an autónomo in the previous two years (three if you already used it before), you can apply for the tarifa plana: a reduced flat fee of around €80 a month for your first 12 months. It can be extended for another year if your net income stays below the minimum wage. Amounts are reviewed regularly, so check the current figure when you register.

Invoicing: what changes

Every invoice needs a consecutive number, the date, your name and NIE/NIF, your client's details, a description of the service, the taxable amount, the VAT rate and amount, and the total. Most services carry 21% VAT.

If your activity is classed as professional and you invoice Spanish companies or other autónomos, you also apply an income tax withholding (retención): normally 15%, but only 7% in the year you start and the two following years. Your client pays that amount to Hacienda on your behalf, and it counts towards your annual tax bill.

Clients abroad are different. For businesses elsewhere in the EU you usually invoice without Spanish VAT under the reverse charge, provided you're both in the ROI/VIES system. For clients outside the EU, Spanish VAT usually doesn't apply to services. Note the exemption on the invoice either way.

Your quarterly routine

Four times a year you report what happened in the previous quarter. These are the deadlines:

The two returns almost every autónomo files are:

• Modelo 303, VAT. The VAT you charged, minus the VAT you paid on business expenses. If the result is positive, you pay the difference.
• Modelo 130, income tax prepayment. 20% of your net profit so far this year, minus what you already paid in earlier quarters. You don't have to file it if at least 70% of your income already carries withholding.

You may also need the Modelo 111 if you pay employees or professionals with withholding, and the Modelo 115 if you rent an office. Both are quarterly too.

Closing your first year

Your first year as an autónomo is really closed the following spring:

• By 30 January: together with the Q4 VAT return, the Modelo 390, an annual summary of all your VAT.
• April to 30 June: your annual income tax return (Renta). It brings together everything: your profit as an autónomo, any other income, and the prepayments and withholdings already made. Depending on the result, you pay the rest or get a refund.
• Later on: Social Security regularises your fees using the income in that return.

Expenses you can deduct

An expense is deductible when it's linked to your activity, recorded in your books and backed by a proper invoice in your name with your NIF. A simple till receipt is not enough. The usual ones:

• Your Social Security contributions.
• Accounting and advisory fees, software and subscriptions you use for work.
• Equipment such as a computer or phone (larger items are depreciated over several years).
• The business share of your phone and internet.
• If you work from home and declare part of it as your workplace: a proportional share of costs such as community fees or IBI, and 30% of that share for utilities.
• Meals while working, within daily limits (around €26.67 in Spain and €48.08 abroad), paid by card in a restaurant or similar.

A car is the classic grey area: in general it's only deductible for income tax if it's used exclusively for the business.

Five mistakes I see in the first year

1. Spending the VAT. It sits in your account for up to three months, then it goes to Hacienda. Move it to a separate account the day you get paid.
2. Not filing because "I earned nothing". Every quarter needs its returns, even at zero.
3. Forgetting the 7% withholding. Many newcomers apply 15% or none at all and lose cash flow they were entitled to.
4. Choosing a Social Security bracket that's too low. It feels good every month, and then the regularisation bill arrives in one go.
5. Keeping receipts instead of invoices. Without a full invoice in your name, the expense doesn't count.

This article is general information about Spanish tax rules as of October 2026 and does not replace advice on your own situation. Rules, amounts and deadlines change; deadlines move to the next working day when they fall on a weekend or holiday.

Written by

Oriol Sureda

Independent tax advisor and accountant in Barcelona, working online and in English with foreigners who live, work or own property in Spain.

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