Spain: what being self-employed really costs

What you pay and what only passes through your hands

Being self-employed costs more than the Social Security contribution, but not everything that leaves your account is a cost. There are three different things: what you really pay, which is the contribution and the IRPF; what you collect from your clients and hand to the Tax Agency, which is VAT; and the activity’s own expenses, such as the gestoría, insurance or invoicing software.

The Social Security contribution, in 2026

The contribution is 31.50% of the contribution base: 28.30% common contingencies, 1.30% occupational contingencies, 0.90% Intergenerational Equity Mechanism, 0.90% cessation of activity and 0.10% vocational training. You choose the base, within the bracket that applies to you according to your expected net income.

• With net income of up to €670 a month, the minimum contribution is €205.88 (reduced table).
• With €2,000 of income less expenses, the income that counts, after the 7% deduction, is €1,860: the minimum base is €1,209.15 and the contribution is €380.88 a month, about €4,571 a year.
• With €4,000 of income less expenses, the income is €3,720 and the minimum contribution is €504.41.
• In the highest brackets, the contribution reaches €1,606.88 with the maximum base of €5,101.20.

VAT: it is not yours

If your activity is subject to VAT, you add the tax to your invoices, at the legal rates (21%, 10% or 4%, depending on what you sell), and pay it to the Tax Agency every quarter with form 303, subtracting the VAT you paid on your purchases for the activity. It is money that passes through your account, but it is not yours: if you spend it, you will have to find it elsewhere.

Form 303 is filed from the 1st to the 20th of April, July and October, and from January 1 to 30 (2026 taxpayer calendar).

IRPF: paid in advance

• Withholdings: when you invoice a company as a professional, you must put a withholding on the invoice, which is an advance of your IRPF: generally 15%, and 7% in the year you start and the following two.
• Installment payment: with form 130, each quarter you pay 20% of the year’s accumulated net income, minus the withholdings already made on you.
• If in the previous year at least 70% of your professional income had withholding, you do not have to file form 130.
• The real tax is calculated in the next year’s tax return: depending on what you advanced, you owe or get a refund.

The activity’s expenses

On top of the contribution and taxes come the business’s own expenses. The most common are the gestoría, if you hire one (ask for the price in writing and what it includes), liability insurance if your activity can cause damage, the invoicing software, which will have to comply with Verifactu before July 1, 2027 (Royal Decree-law 15/2025), and a separate account for the activity. All these expenses, if they have an invoice and relate to the activity, are subtracted from your income to calculate the net income.

An example with €2,000 a month

• Income less expenses: €2,000 a month, €24,000 a year.
• Minimum Social Security contribution: €380.88 a month, €4,570.59 a year.
• About €1,619 a month is left before IRPF, which depends on your situation and on what has already been withheld on your invoices.
• Separately, the VAT on the invoices passes through your account and is paid every quarter.