Becoming an autónomo in Spain: since 2023 your contribution hangs on your real income
In 2023 Spain moved away from the fixed monthly contribution for the self-employed. You now pay according to your expected net profit, in bands — and after the year ends it's settled against what you actually earned. Estimating too low means paying extra, estimating too high means getting money back.
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Start working for yourself in Spain and you become an autónomo (self-employed) and pay contributions to the RETA, the scheme for the self-employed. Since 1 January 2023 that contribution depends on your net profit across all your economic activities together.
This is how it works:
- At the start of the year you estimate what you expect to earn.
- That amount falls into a band with a minimum and a maximum base. The base is the amount you pay contributions on.
- After the year ends the Seguridad Social, Spain's social security, settles up against what you actually earned.
In 2026 the lowest base starts at € 653.59 a month and the highest is € 5,101.20. The contribution rate is 30.5%.
How does the system work since 2023?
There are two tables with fifteen bands in all: a reduced one for whoever stays below € 1,166.70 net a month, and a general one above that.
Within your band you choose a base between the minimum and the maximum yourself. The law obliges you to adjust that base as soon as your forecast changes.
On the base you pay in 2026:
- 28.30% for common risks;
- 1.30% for occupational risks, such as accidents at work;
- 0.90% for the intergenerational equity mechanism, a surcharge for future pensions.
That is 30.5% together. The table is set anew each year; the one for 2026 is in Orden PJC/297/2026.
| Net profit per month (2026) | Minimum base | Contribution at the minimum (30.5%, calculated) |
|---|---|---|
| up to € 670 | € 653.59 | ≈ € 199 |
| € 670 – € 900 | € 718.95 | ≈ € 219 |
| € 900 – € 1,166.70 | € 849.67 | ≈ € 259 |
| € 1,166.70 – € 1,300 | € 950.98 | ≈ € 290 |
| € 1,700 – € 1,850 | € 1,143.79 | ≈ € 349 |
| € 2,330 – € 2,760 | € 1,356.21 | ≈ € 414 |
| € 3,620 – € 4,050 | € 1,601.31 | ≈ € 488 |
| above € 6,000 | € 1,928.10 | ≈ € 588 |
| maximum base, whatever the profit | € 5,101.20 | ≈ € 1,556 |
Run your own situation through the Seguridad Social's simulator at the moment you need it. The bands shift every year.
What is the regularisation, and why does it surprise?
This is what the Dutch freelancer's mind doesn't expect. What you pay during the year is provisional. Afterwards the Seguridad Social gets your real profit from the tax authority and puts it next to your contributions:
- If you estimated too low and sat below the minimum of your real band, you pay extra. That comes without interest or surcharge, provided you pay before the end of the month after the notification.
- If you estimated too high and sat above the maximum of your band, you get the difference back automatically, without interest, before 30 April of the year after the tax authority passed on your figures.
So it isn't a punishment for a miss. But it does mean your first year only becomes final afterwards.
This is how you keep the settlement small:
- Set that difference aside instead of spending it, especially in a year that went better than expected.
- Adjust your estimate during the year.
What counts as net profit?
Net profit is your turnover minus your deductible costs, under the rules of the income tax (IRPF). After that comes a flat 7% deduction for general expenses: a fixed percentage, without having to prove those costs separately (3% for whoever is an autónomo as partner-director).
Under the ordinary method (estimación directa) it's the sum of boxes 0224 "rendimiento neto" and 0186 (your own contributions) from your return. The Agencia Tributaria passes precisely those figures to the Seguridad Social.
That's a practical point straight away: your tax return and your contribution are no longer separate worlds. Whoever keeps their costs sloppily notices it twice.
And the income tax?
Your profit as an autónomo is income taxed in Spain, in the ordinary progressive brackets of the IRPF. That's a different system from the contribution above, with its own return and its own rhythm. Two things to know in advance:
- You pay contribution and tax, and the two are separate.
- The contribution keeps running in months without turnover. It's a fixed charge, not a percentage of what comes in.
What does this mean for your decision?
For whoever comes from the Netherlands the comparison isn't "what do I earn there" but "what do I keep there". Work out three things before you start here:
- the contribution at the profit you realistically expect;
- the income tax on top;
- the difference the regularisation can produce in a good year.
This article explains the system; it isn't tax or accounting advice. Many autónomos in Spain work with a gestor: an administrative office that files the returns and adjusts the base. In a system where estimate and settlement are linked, that's a defensible fixed cost.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Spain or go straight to step 1.2 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Agencia Tributaria — the new contribution system for the self-employed — sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es
- Agencia Tributaria — how you determine the net profit — sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es
- BOE — Orden PJC/297/2026, the contribution tables and rates for 2026 — boe.es
- BOE — Real Decreto-ley 13/2022, the 7% deduction, the provisional base and the regularisation — boe.es
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