Sure, I can imagine. After all, I want that as well 😉 After having lived in Colombia for so many years, where I understood very little of all the rules and the support was equally little, I thought Spain would be a piece of a tortilla.
In the end, it is. But you need to know where to start, and above all, where to find information. So, for those interested in learning how to become an ´autonomo´ in Spain. Here you go:
Autónoma equals freelancer
I subscribed myself as autonoma, which equals the freelancer status, or ZZP´er in the Netherlands. You do not have any fixed employees working for you, and you have different clients throughout the year. This is the most feasible option if you are just starting and don’t actually own a big company.
Let’s talk security
As autonoma you have a to pay a monthly fixed fee for your social security, called the ´quota de autónoma´. This is currently set at 283,30 euros a month. This includes your contributions to basic health care, minimum wage basic maternity or paternity leave and minimum wage if you are sick for a prolonged period of time.
Of course this is quite a steep amount of money, especially when just starting. Therefore, as a new freelancer the first year you only pay 60,- a month. From month 12 to month 18 you get 50% discount, and as a women under 35 years old you then get another 1.5 years (so during month 18 and month 36) of 30% discount. So there are little aids 🙂
Step by step
- Step 1: Get your NIE, your Número de Identificación de Extranjeros. You might already have this number, because without it, there is very little you can do in Spain (such as opening a bank account, etc.)
- Step 2: The first step is subscribing yourself with Hacienda, or Agencia Tributaria. This is the agency where you pay your taxes to. Both IVA (sales tax) and IRPF (income tax).
- Step 3: 2) Signing up in Hacienda para Impuesto de Actividades Económicas (IAE). You are basically letting Hacienda know that you would like to register as a freelancer by filling out the famous Modelo 036 / 037(you can find it online)
- Step 4: Here you will get you Electronic Certificate (Certificado Electrónico). Again, without it, not much you can do, as this will allow you to interact with Hacienda (and thus pay taxes).
- Step 5: Becoming an Autónomo in the eyes of the Spanish Seguridad Social. Doing so means you will start to pay your monthly quota (a cotizar) and you will be covered by Social Security and you have access to the public health system.
Help on the way
Of course there is no way I could have figured all of this out by myself, and I was very lucky to have received help from the CADE, Centros Andaluces de Emprendimiento, that are there to help any entrepreneur and freelancer on their way. Every region in Spain has sortlike offices to help freelancers, though they might be called differently.
And even better, they even helped me to gain a little free office space in their building in Motril for one year, designed for newly subscribed freelancers in Spain.
So, who am I welcoming to Spain soon??? 😉
