 |
How To Register As A Freelancer |
 |
|
Many of our clients are teachers, and of those, quite a large proportion work on a freelance basis. This is because some institutes do not want to get involved in the administration of tax and social security payments, or because the person has income from several sources, and so it makes more sense to be officially self-employed, or 'autonomo' in Spanish.
Registering as an autonomo can be a bit daunting. If you manage to find a reliable gestor (a quasi-lawyer/accountant), he/she can do all of the registration work for you. Alternatively, you can do it yourself. The easiest way to do it is to use a place called the VUE (Ventanilla Unica Empresarial - one-window thingie for setting up businesses). These exist in most major Spanish cities, and they are basically a collection of officials from the various Government Departments and Ministries that are involved in business registrations, tax registrations, social security, etc. You might have to spend two or three hours there filling in forms, but the staff are helpful, and will make sure that you do every bit of official stuff that is needed.
Autonomo registration is fairly straightforward. Basically, what you are doing is declaring yourself as an autonomous worker in whatever field(s). Then you fill in forms that tell the tax authorities (personal income tax and VAT) where you live. And the same for Social Security.
As an autonomo, you are required to make a monthly contribution for Social Security - currently it's about €235-255. In return for this you get almost nothing access to Government Health services, sick pay, and eventually a meagre pension.
When you submit an invoice to a Spanish client, they have to retain 18% of the amount as tax (you may be able to reclaim some of this against allowable expenses). You also have to add 16% to the total for IVA (VAT).
You have to submit a tax return every three months, and I strongly recommend that you use a gestor for this.
Your fiscal identity number and your IVA number will be the same as your NIE. Once you have filled in all the forms, you'll get your Social Security number through the post, and the tax office will send you a few sheets of barcoded stickers that have to be used on any correspondence with them.
Madrid's VUE is located at Calle Ribera del Loira, 56-58. The nearest Metro is Campo de las Naciones. The phone number is 915 383 799. Unlike the NIE office, you will usually get your appointment within a week.
Tags: Autonomo, freelance, bureaucracy, VUE |
| 27/06/2008 | 6622 page views |
|
]
[TRANSLATION: ELIANA CALDERON]
COMMENT
Hide comments