Registering as self-employed (Hacienda, the Spanish tax authority, and Seguridad Social)

Legal basis and things to bear in mind

• Cuota reducida (reduced rate) for the first 12 months if this is your first registration or you have not been registered in the RETA in the previous two years (three if you used it then), requested in the registration itself (art. 38 ter of the Estatuto del trabajo autónomo): the contribution itself is 80 € per month, and the compulsory intergenerational equity surcharge is charged on top, so the monthly debit is 88,64 € according to Seguridad Social. The prórroga (extension) for a further 12 months is not automatic: it must be requested before the second period begins, with a declaration that your net earnings will be below the annual SMI (national minimum wage, 17.094 € in 2026).
• RETA registration must be requested on the day you start at the latest, or up to 60 days before. If you already provide services, sell or have invoiced, the Tesorería treats it as a late registration: effective from the 1st of the month in which you started, those months at the standard contribution of about 300 € with a surcharge, no reduced rate, and with the risk of a fine. Getting the business ready (buying equipment, building the website) before you start is not starting. That is why the form asks you before charging you and requires a start date with some margin.
• Without a Seguridad Social (Social Security) number there is no RETA registration: the Tesorería requires it already assigned. Anyone who has ever worked or been insured in Spain already has one, even if they do not remember it. Anyone who has never had one needs to apply for it first: it is a separate application, the modelo TA.1 affiliation form, and you sign it because it is the application for your own number. We leave it filled in inside your case file, you sign it with your finger on screen and we file it through the Seguridad Social electronic register; you do not have to visit any sede (government office) or identify yourself with a selfie. The registration goes in as soon as the Tesorería assigns the number. That case is €89.00 more than the price on this page, and we tell you before charging you.
• Since 2023, self-employed workers pay contributions based on their actual income. The minimum contribution in 2026 is 206 € per month and the maximum 1.607 € per month (before reductions).
• As a self-employed worker you will have to file quarterly returns: Modelo 130 (IRPF, personal income tax, instalment payment; not required if at least 70% of your professional income in the previous year was subject to withholding) and Modelo 303 (IVA, VAT, if you are on the general scheme). We can keep your monthly accounts for a separate fee.
• If your activity requires a licence (health, hospitality, etc.), we will tell you how to obtain it.
• If you work on construction sites, your invoices to the contractor or to the developer are issued without IVA (VAT) under the reverse charge (art. 84.Uno.2.º f of the Ley del IVA). Registration in the Registro de Empresas Acreditadas (register of accredited construction firms) is only compulsory once you have employees of your own.