Deregistering as an autónomo and cessation of activity (self-employed unemployment)

Deregistering as an autónomo means notifying the administration that you are stopping your self-employed activity. It is not a single procedure: there are at least two independent deregistrations, the tax deregistration with Hacienda (modelo 036) and the RETA deregistration with the General Treasury of the Seguridad Social, which is managed through the Import@ss portal.

Cessation of activity (the so-called self-employed unemployment) is a different matter: it is a financial benefit managed by your mutual insurance company, not the SEPE. Deregistering does not mean you will receive it automatically, you must meet the requirements and apply for it.

Managora submits both deregistrations and, if applicable, the benefit application for you, coordinating the dates so that no obligations are left open. You can see the price of the service on the procedure page.

Seguridad Social (RETA): you have 3 calendar days from the cessation to communicate the deregistration via Import@ss. If you do it within the timeframe, the deregistration takes effect from the exact day of the cessation and you only pay the proportional part of the month. If you submit it late, the deregistration takes effect on the last day of the month and you pay the full quota, in addition to potentially generating debt with surcharges and interest. There is a nuance: only the first 3 deregistrations communicated on time within the same calendar year take effect from the actual day of cessation; from the fourth onwards, the deregistration takes effect on the last day of the month even if submitted on time. In a definitive cessation of activity, which is the usual case, this does not affect you.

Hacienda: you must submit the tax deregistration declaration using modelo 036 within 1 month from the day following the cessation. Since 3 February 2025, modelo 037 no longer exists, everything is done with modelo 036.

Practical recommendation: use the same cessation date for both deregistrations to avoid overlaps and quota discrepancies.

The legal requirements (article 330 of the LGSS) are: being affiliated and registered in the RETA; having covered the minimum contribution period for cessation of activity (12 continuous months immediately prior to the cessation); being in a legal situation of cessation of activity; not having reached the ordinary retirement age (unless you have not contributed the required period to be entitled to a pension); being up to date with the payment of quotas; and signing the activity commitment.

The contribution for cessation of activity has been mandatory for all autónomos since 2019, so this contingency is already covered by the monthly quota.

If you have debts with the Seguridad Social, the mutual insurance company will invite you to pay and give you 30 days to regularise the situation. If you do not do so, you lose the right to the benefit.

Closing the business is not enough: the law (article 331 of the LGSS) requires proving a specific cause. The main scenarios are economic, technical, productive or organisational reasons.

Within the economic reasons, the following are accepted: losses exceeding 10% of income in a full year (excluding the first year of activity); judicial or administrative executions for the collection of debts that amount to at least 30% of the previous year's income; and the judicial declaration of bankruptcy that prevents continuation.

Other recognised scenarios are force majeure, loss of the administrative licence, gender or sexual violence (for female autónomos) and divorce or separation (for the collaborating autónomo who helped in the spouse's business). Each cause is proven with specific documentation that Managora indicates and gathers for you.

The amount is 70% of the regulatory base during the entire period. The regulatory base is the average of the bases for which you have contributed in the 12 continuous months prior to the cessation. Unlike the SEPE unemployment benefit, in the cessation of activity the amount does not drop to 50% over time.

There are maximum and minimum caps calculated on the IPREM and based on dependent children (see table). The amount in euros depends on the IPREM in force for the year.

The duration ranges from 4 to 24 months depending on the months contributed (see table). While receiving the benefit, the mutual insurance company assumes the contribution for common contingencies.

The substantive regulation remains in the Ley General de la Seguridad Social (General Social Security Act) (Real Decreto Legislativo 8/2015, articles 327 to 350). The most relevant administrative novelty is that, since 3 February 2025, the tax deregistration is submitted solely with modelo 036 as modelo 037 has been abolished.

The contribution system based on real returns (Real Decreto-ley 13/2022) continues to determine the autónomo bases and, therefore, the regulatory base for the cessation benefit. The benefit caps are applied to the IPREM for the year.