Autónomo in Spain for developers: quotas, tax and invoices (2026)

An autónomo is Spain’s word for a self-employed person. If you want to work as a freelance developer in Spain, you register as an autónomo with the tax office (Agencia Tributaria) and with Social Security, and you then pay a monthly Social Security fee, the cuota de autónomos. In 2026 that cuota runs from about €206 to €1,607 a month depending on the net income you expect, and most people starting out pay a flat €80 a month for their first 12 months. On top of that you file quarterly income tax (IRPF) and VAT (IVA) returns.

This guide explains how the system works for developers: what the cuota costs at each income level, how tax and invoices work with Spanish and foreign clients, and when being an employee is the better deal.

Rules and amounts change every year. This guide is general information from official sources, not tax or legal advice. Check the linked sources or ask a gestor (a Spanish tax and admin adviser) before you decide.

What “autónomo” means in Spain

In everyday Spanish, autónomo means a freelancer or sole trader. In English searches you will also see “autonomo Spain” and “self-employed in Spain”; they mean the same thing. Legally, you join the special Social Security scheme for self-employed workers, the RETA (Régimen Especial de Trabajadores Autónomos), and you register an economic activity with the tax office.

You are not a company. You invoice in your own name and pay income tax on your profit as a person. Some freelancers later set up a limited company (sociedad limitada, SL) and become an autónomo societario. This guide covers the plain individual autónomo, which is how most freelance developers start.

Can a foreigner be an autónomo?

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can work as self-employed in Spain on the same terms as Spaniards once they have registered as residents and have an NIE.
• Non-EU citizens need a residence permit that allows self-employment. One common route for developers is the international teleworking (digital nomad) permit: it is for remote work for companies based outside Spain, but if you work as a freelancer you may also take Spanish clients, as long as that work is no more than 20% of your professional activity (Ley 14/2013, article 74 bis). Our work visa guide compares it with the employee permits.

Cuota de autónomos 2026: how much you pay

Since 2023 the cuota depends on your expected net income (rendimientos netos). You pick a monthly contribution base from a table of income bands (tramos), and the cuota is a percentage of that base (General Social Security Law, article 308).

The 2026 rates

The cotización order for 2026 (Orden PJC/297/2026, published on 31 March 2026, with effect from 1 January) sets these rates on your chosen base:

The 2026 table of income bands

These are the monthly bands and bases from the same order. The last column is our calculation of the minimum monthly cuota in each band (the minimum base times 31.50%). You can choose a higher base within your band if you want larger benefits later, such as a higher pension.

The maximum base for everyone is €5,101.20 a month, so the highest possible cuota in 2026 is about €1,607 a month. The first three rows are the “reduced table” for people who expect to earn less than €1,166.70 a month.

The Social Security practical guide for autónomos quotes a slightly different total rate (31.40%). The BOE order is the legal text, and its rates add up to 31.50%, so we use that. The difference is a few euros a month.

What counts as “net income”

For the table, net income is your activity’s profit as calculated for income tax (income minus deductible expenses), plus the cuotas you paid, minus a flat 7% deduction for general expenses (3% for some company directors and partners) (article 308.1.c). You then divide the yearly figure by 12.

Example. You invoice €62,000 a year to clients and have €8,000 of deductible expenses (laptop, software, coworking, a gestor). Your profit before the cuota is €54,000. Less 7% is €50,220, or €4,185 a month. That falls in the €4,050 to €6,000 band, so your minimum cuota in 2026 is about €546 a month, or €6,550 a year.

Your base is provisional, then corrected

The base you pick is a forecast. After the year ends, the tax office reports your real income to Social Security, which recalculates your cuota (the regularización). If you paid too little, you pay the difference; if you paid too much, you get a refund (article 308.1.c). You can change your base up to six times a year online if your income forecast changes (Social Security guide).

The tarifa plana: €80 a month to start

New autónomos pay a reduced flat cuota, usually called the tarifa plana, for their first 12 full calendar months, whatever their income (Ley 20/2007, article 38 ter). The law fixed it at €80 a month for 2023 to 2025 and says that from 2026 the budget law sets the amount (Real Decreto-ley 13/2022). Spain has no new budget for 2026, and the Social Security guide still gives €80 a month, plus the MEI contribution, for a total of about €88.64. Confirm the figure when you register.

The rules:

• You qualify if you have not been registered as an autónomo in the previous two years (three years if you already used a reduced cuota before).
• You must ask for it when you register. It is not applied later.
• After the first 12 months you can get a second 12 months at the reduced rate, but only if your expected net income is below the minimum wage (SMI). Most full-time developers earn more than that, so plan for the normal cuota from month 13.
• If you deregister during the reduced period, you lose it.

Taxes for a freelance developer

Income tax (IRPF)

As an autónomo you pay the normal progressive income tax on your profit. During the year you pay on account in one of two ways:

• Withholding (retención) by Spanish clients. When you invoice a Spanish company or professional, they withhold 15% of your fee and pay it to the tax office for you. In the year you start and the two years after, you can apply 7% instead, if you did no professional activity in the year before you started; you must tell the client in writing (IRPF regulation, article 95).
• Quarterly payments (modelo 130). You pay 20% of your profit so far in the year, minus withholding and earlier payments (IRPF regulation, article 110). You don’t have to file it if at least 70% of your income in the previous year had withholding (article 109). Foreign clients don’t withhold Spanish tax, so a developer working mainly for clients abroad will usually file modelo 130.

In the simplified direct assessment method that most freelancers use, you can deduct 5% of your net profit, up to €2,000 a year, as hard-to-justify expenses on top of your real expenses (IRPF regulation, article 30). Then, in spring, you file the yearly income tax return like everyone else.

To see how much income tax and social security would take from an employee salary of the same size, try our salary after tax calculator for Spain.

VAT (IVA)

The standard VAT rate is 21% (VAT Law, article 90). Where you charge it depends on the client:

The rule behind this is that a service to a business is taxed where the business client is established (VAT Law, article 69). Selling to private individuals abroad has extra rules; ask a gestor if that is your model.

The quarterly calendar

Quarterly returns are due between the 1st and 20th of April, July and October, and between 1 and 30 January for the fourth quarter (IRPF regulation, article 111). VAT returns (modelo 303) follow the same calendar for most freelancers.

How to register as an autónomo

1. Get your NIE and, if you are not an EU citizen, a permit that allows self-employment.
2. Register with the tax office using the census form (modelo 036). You choose your activity code and say whether you will deal with EU businesses (for the ROI). Do this on or before the day you start.
3. Register with Social Security (RETA) online through Import@ss. You can do it on the day you start or up to 60 days before (Social Security guide). Choose your expected income band and ask for the tarifa plana here. If you register late, you pay the whole month.
4. Choose a mutua, the insurer that manages your sick pay and work accident cover.
5. Set up invoicing. Each invoice needs a number, date, your NIE and the client’s tax ID, a description, the VAT (or the legal reason for no VAT) and any withholding.

A digital certificate makes all of this possible online. Our relocation checklist explains how to get one.

Autónomo or employee?

For many developers, freelancing for a single client is a worse deal than a job:

• You pay all of the Social Security yourself. An employer pays most of an employee’s contributions on top of the gross salary.
• No paid holiday, no severance, no 14 payments. You price these into your rate or go without.
• The Beckham Law usually doesn’t help. The special 24% regime is mainly for people who move to Spain for a job. See our tax basics guide.
• Watch the “false freelancer” line. If you work only for one company, on its schedule and under its direction, you may legally be an employee. If you get 75% or more of your income from one client, you are a “dependent” autónomo (TRADE), with some extra rights such as a written contract (Ley 20/2007, article 11).

Freelancing works best if you have several clients, high day rates or foreign clients who can’t hire in Spain. If you would rather have a salary, many companies hire developers in Spain as employees, including fully remote: see remote jobs, jobs you can apply for from abroad and the companies on our board. Our salary guide helps you compare a day rate with a salary.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the cuota de autónomos in 2026?

It depends on your expected net income. Using the 2026 bases and a total rate of 31.50%, the minimum cuota runs from about €206 a month for income up to €670 a month to about €607 for income over €6,000 a month. The maximum, on the top base of €5,101.20, is about €1,607 a month.

What is the cuota de autónomo in the first year?

Most new autónomos pay the reduced flat rate (tarifa plana) for their first 12 full months: €80 a month, plus the MEI contribution, about €88.64 in total according to Social Security. You qualify if you haven’t been registered as an autónomo in the previous two years, and you must ask for it when you register.

What are the requirements to become an autónomo in Spain?

You need an NIE, the right to work as self-employed (automatic for EU citizens; non-EU citizens need a suitable permit), a tax registration with modelo 036, and a Social Security (RETA) registration on or before the day you start. A digital certificate lets you do it all online.

Do I charge VAT to clients outside Spain?

Usually not. For business clients, the service is taxed where the client is based. A business in another EU country accounts for the VAT itself (reverse charge), and you must be on the EU VAT register (ROI). A business outside the EU gets an invoice without Spanish VAT. Spanish clients pay 21%.

Can I work as an autónomo on a digital nomad visa?

Yes, if you work as a professional rather than an employee. The international teleworking permit is for work for companies outside Spain, but freelancers may also have Spanish clients, as long as that work is no more than 20% of their professional activity.

Is there an autónomo tax calculator?

Use the tables above for the cuota: work out your monthly net income, find your band and multiply the base by 31.50%. For income tax, there is no single official calculator for freelancers, because it depends on your expenses and region. A gestor can run the numbers, and our salary after tax calculator shows the employee equivalent.

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Amounts are for 2026 and change every year; check the official sources linked above.