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Forms you will need to fill in if you’re self-employed in Spain

If you’re self employed in Spain, there’s various bits of paperwork you’ll have to do to declare your earnings (or losses if you’re unlucky!) and pay the correct tax rates. This is where the fun begins.

Paperwork for the self-employed in Spain

First and foremost, when you’re signing up as self-employed you’ll have to do various bits of paperwork, including filling in the Modelo 036/037 in the Hacienda and filling in forms in the TGSS. Get more info on both of these initial steps in our article.

Once you’ve done that, the majority of people working self-employed in Spain will have to fill in the following forms. These are divided into declaraciones informativas (you only need to give info) and forms where you will need to pay.

The basics

  • VAT: All companies must declare their VAT every year in the Modelo 390 (information only), and once every trimestre using the Modelo 303.
  • IRPF: The Spanish equivalent of the poll tax or income tax needs to be declared every year in the Declaración de la Renta (Modelo 100), which everyone in Spain needs to fill in.
  • Operaciones con terceros: Anyone setting up business in Spain withdealings of over €3,005 per year with another client or provider needs to fill in Modelo 347 once a year.

Added quirks:

  • If you are in the “Regimen Simplificado del IVA” (mostly for farmers and fishers – if you don’t know about it, you’re probably not), replace VAT Modelo 303 with the Modelos 309, 310 and potentially 371 as well.
  • Some people (like me, as I have lots of overseas clients) will need to declare the IRPF they earn once every trimestre using the Modelo 130 as well as the declaración de la renta. If you’re in the “Estimación Objetiva del IRPF” (your tax levels are based on predicted rather than actual income – again, if you don’t know about it, you probably aren’t), you will need to fill in the trimestral Modelo 131 instead.
  • Operaciones intracomunitarias: If you work with the EU (either you sell your services to clients here or buy EU products), you will need to fill in Modelo 349 (information only). This is done once a year if your total dealings are less than €35,000.

If you are running a business in Spain and employ people, or rent a building, you’ll also be required to fill in scary-sounding forms like the 111, 115, 180 and 190. Or even the 184. Or the 123 if you deal with loans or dividends. There are also plenty more forms for large businesses or non-standard business models, but, let’s face it – if this is the case, it’s probably worth your while to employ an accountant anyway.

Note that the deadlines for each trimestre are: 20th April, July and October and 20th/30th January. Operaciones con terceros has to be handed in in February, and the Declaración de la Renta in May/June.

You can now do your tax in Spain online by downloading an electronic signature.

Posted in Tax

Published by Penelope

2 Replies to “Forms you will need to fill in if you’re self-employed in Spain”

  1. Some great stuff on forms to be filled in for what seems a very bureaucratic system!
    I’ve been thinking of working in Spain for a while — long story! — so this is great stuff to read. Do you manage do on-line all that is required of you? And is it easy to do or do you need a good grasp of Spanish?
    Regards
    RJQ

    1. Hello Richard. Thanks for your comment! I’m always delighted to hear that people have found my blog useful. Best of luck with making a decision about the move and with whatever path you finally choose.

      In terms of paying tax, all the regular forms I fill in are now done online. That said, I think you might need to drop by when you first sign up (see http://selfemployedinspain.com/sign-up-self-employed/ for more details), and you will definitely need to get your electronic signature confirmed in person at some point. So you maybe need one or two trips to the Hacienda/Seguridad Social in the initial phases of starting up.

      I am often asked questions related to language, so I’ve decided to write a post today about speaking Spanish and working in Spain (http://selfemployedinspain.com/speak-spanish-work-spain/). You might find some of the info there useful. I think the key phrase is this: “even if you speak relatively good Spanish, you might claim that the tax system’s particular brand of legalese is a language in its own right” 😉

      Hope this helps, and thanks again for writing in! Best of luck, let us know how it goes.
      P

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