Becoming autónomo in Barcelona on your own: self-employed registration step by step

Autónomo in Barcelona: the 15 steps

1. Check whether your residence permit allows self-employment

   Registering as autónomo does not give you the right to work: your residence basis does. On a DNV, a freelancer can take Spanish clients, but no more than 20% of their activity. The ministry treats an initial employee work permit and a self-employment permit as different permits.

   • Found on the TIE and in the decision which kind of work is authorised
   • On a DNV, worked out the share of Spanish clients: the 20% rule and the DNV route
   • With an employee permit, checked the conditions against the work residence route
   • Looked into the cuenta propia basis: residence permit for the self-employed

   Where: your residence permit decision, Ministry of Inclusion information sheetsTime: before any registrationCost: free

   When to get help: you hold an employee permit, no lucrativa or a student permit: working outside your basis can cost you the renewal, so see an extranjería lawyer first.

2. Get a digital certificate or Cl@ve

   Without an electronic signature you cannot file the 036, log in to Import@ss or submit quarterly returns. The FNMT certificate is requested online, your identity is confirmed at an office, and you download it about an hour later.

   • Requested the certificate on the FNMT website and received the código de solicitud
   • Confirmed my identity at an oficina de acreditación (documents as listed by the FNMT)
   • Registered with Cl@ve: some services need the advanced level (how to get Cl@ve)

   Where: FNMT sede, clave.gob.esTime: download about an hour after your identity is confirmedCost: see the FNMT page

   When to get help: the certificate will not install or no office appointments are available: a gestor can file the documents as your representative.

3. Choose your IAE epígrafe

   The epígrafe describes your activity in the tax register. IAE headings are split into business, professional and artistic; the section affects withholding by clients and some of your obligations. Individuals are exempt from paying IAE, but registering in the census is mandatory.

   • Found the epígrafe in the Buscador de actividades on the AEAT website
   • Checked whether it is professional or business
   • If I have several lines of work, noted an epígrafe for each

   Where: AEAT sede, Buscador de actividadesTime: before filling in the 036Cost: individuals do not pay IAE

   When to get help: your activity is mixed (for example, services and selling goods): the wrong section changes withholding and the IVA regime.

4. File the alta censal: modelo 036

   Modelo 036 is filed before you start trading. The simplified modelo 037 was abolished by order HAC/1526/2024 from 3 February 2025; its functions moved to the 036.

   • Entered the epígrafe, start date and business address
   • Ticked IVA and the IRPF method (usually estimación directa simplificada)
   • Kept the justificante with the filing code

   Where: AEAT sede, Censos sectionTime: before you start tradingCost: free

   When to get help: you are not yet tax resident, you have income from another country, or you need a special IVA regime.

5. Register with RETA through Import@ss

   RETA, the Social Security scheme for the self-employed, comes after registering with the AEAT. You apply no earlier than 60 calendar days before you start trading and no later than your start date (what RETA and alta are).

   • I have a social security number (NUSS)
   • Entered the start date, activity, IAE code, address and mutua
   • Downloaded the resguardo after confirmation

   Where: Import@ss (TGSS)Time: from 60 days before you start trading up to your first dayCost: registration is free, then monthly contributions

   When to get help: you have already worked without an alta, or you also work as an employee: a gestor needs to work out the consequences.

6. Choose your contribution base and check the cuota reducida

   Since 2023 the contribution depends on expected net income: in 2026 there are 3 tramos in the reduced table and 12 in the general one, a minimum base from €653.59 to €1,928.10 and a maximum of €5,101.20 a month. New autónomos have a cuota reducida (tarifa plana): in 2023-2025 it was €80 a month for 12 months, extendable for another 12 if income is below the minimum wage.

   • Estimated my monthly net income: income minus business expenses
   • Found my tramo in the 2026 table on seg-social.es
   • Ticked in the application whether I want the cuota reducida, and checked the 2026 amount in Import@ss
   • I know the base can be changed up to six times a year (cuota autónomo 2026)

   Where: Import@ss, the page on the new contribution system at seg-social.esTime: at alta, then changes every two monthsCost: base × rate, amount set by your tramo

   When to get help: your income swings a lot from month to month: too low a base means an extra payment at the annual regularisation.

7. Open an account and set up domiciliación

   RETA contributions are paid only by direct debit (domiciliación bancaria); this has been mandatory since 2018. The law does not require a separate account for the business, but one makes bookkeeping and checking expenses easier.

   • Opened an account in my name at a Spanish bank (how to open an account)
   • Entered the IBAN for contributions in Import@ss
   • Decided which account to pay AEAT taxes from (paying tax online)

   Where: bank, Import@ssTime: at alta in RETACost: according to the bank’s charges

   When to get help: the bank refuses to open an account or a debit fails: late payment adds surcharges (recargos).

8. EU clients: ROI and the VIES check

   To provide services to companies in other EU countries you need to register in the Registro de Operadores Intracomunitarios (ROI) through the 036: you get a NIF-IVA with the ES prefix. Client numbers are checked in VIES, and the transactions are reported on modelo 349.

   • Ticked ROI registration in the 036 and the date of the first transaction
   • Checked each EU client’s VAT number in VIES and saved the result
   • Put modelo 349 in the calendar

   Where: AEAT sede (036, VIES)Time: before the first transaction with an EU clientCost: free

   When to get help: clients outside the EU, private individuals in the EU or digital services: the place-of-supply rules differ.

9. Invoice under the Reglamento de facturación

   A full factura has a number and series with continuous numbering, the date, the name and NIF of both parties, addresses, a description of the service, the base, the rate and the IVA amount on a separate line, and a note when the invoice is exempt or under inversión del sujeto pasivo. Invoicing software must comply with the VERI*FACTU regulation: for autónomos, by 1 July 2027.

   • Made a template with all the required details
   • I keep one series with no gaps in the numbering
   • Checked that the software is declared VERI*FACTU-compatible

   Where: Real Decreto 1619/2012, the AEAT page on invoice contentTime: VERI*FACTU from 1 July 2027 for individualsCost: depends on the software

   When to get help: you need to correct an invoice already issued (factura rectificativa), or a client requires a special format.

10. IVA: modelo 303 every quarter and 390 for the year

    Modelo 303 is filed from 1 to 20 April, July and October, and for the fourth quarter from 1 to 30 January. In the same January window you file the annual summary, modelo 390, unless you fall into an exempt category. More: IVA and modelo 303 for freelancers.

    • Put the 303 and 390 deadlines in the calendar
    • I reconcile the IVA charged on my invoices with the deductible IVA on facturas received
    • I file the 303 even for a quarter with no transactions

    Where: AEAT sedeTime: 1-20 April, July, October; 1-30 JanuaryCost: the tax due on the return

    When to get help: your transactions are exempt from IVA or mixed with taxable ones: the deduction proportion needs working out.

11. IRPF: modelo 130 or withholding by clients

    An autónomo under estimación directa pays 20% of net income since the start of the year in advance on modelo 130, on the same dates as the 303. A professional does not file the 130 if at least 70% of last year’s income was subject to withholding: Spanish companies withhold 15%, or 7% in the year you start and the following two.

    • Worked out whether my clients withhold IRPF (foreign clients usually do not withhold Spanish IRPF)
    • If I qualify for the 7%, told my Spanish clients in writing
    • I am preparing for the annual return (modelo 100)

    Where: AEAT sedeTime: same as the 303, once a quarterCost: 20% of cumulative net income minus earlier payments and withholdings

    When to get help: it is your first year in Spain, or you have income from several countries: residence and double taxation treaties matter more than the rate.

12. Record expenses from day one

    You can deduct expenses related to your activity, backed by a factura in your NIF and entered in your books. IRPF books can be kept together with IVA books if you add the required data.

    • I ask for a factura completa with my NIF, not a simple receipt
    • I keep books of income, expenses and investment assets
    • I keep the documents for every return

    Where: your accounting software or spreadsheetTime: ongoing, reconciled once a quarterCost: free if you do it yourself

    When to get help: you work from home, or buy a car or equipment in instalments: special deduction rules apply, so check with a gestor.

13. Premises and licences in Barcelona

    If you open premises for your activity, Barcelona requires one of the regimes under the municipal ordinance on activitats (OMAIIAA): llicència, comunicat or declaració responsable. You apply online through eActivitats. This is a Barcelona rule; other cities have their own procedure.

    • Decided where I work: remotely, at the client’s or in my own premises
    • For premises, checked before renting that the activity is compatible with zoning (informe urbanístic de compatibilitat)
    • Filed the right regime through eActivitats and entered the address in the 036

    Where: Ajuntament de Barcelona, eActivitatsTime: before the premises openCost: see the Ajuntament page

    When to get help: premises open to visitors, building work or food service: you need a technical project, usually through an architect or engineer.

14. Go through the annual regularisation of contributions

    Contributions during the year are provisional. After your annual return, the AEAT sends your actual income to the Seguridad Social and the TGSS recalculates the base: if you underpaid, you get a demand for the difference; if you overpaid, a refund.

    • I compare actual income with my chosen tramo once a quarter
    • I change the base in Import@ss if my income has moved into another tramo
    • I watch for TGSS notifications after the modelo 100 return

    Where: Import@ss, TGSS notificationsTime: after the AEAT sends the data; pay by the deadline in the notificationCost: the difference between the provisional and final base

    When to get help: the amount demanded looks wrong or your income was counted twice: have the calculation checked before you pay.

15. Decide when to move to an SL

    The law sets no income threshold for moving to a company. You compare corporate tax with IRPF, accounting and registration costs, personal liability with your assets and, for foreigners, the effect on the basis of the residence permit.

    • Calculated the tax both ways on annual figures (SL taxes)
    • Found out how an SL would affect the renewal of my residence permit
    • Read up on the set-up stages (how to open an SL)

    Where: notary, Registro Mercantil, AEATTime: usually decided by the end of the tax yearCost: SL set-up and accounting costs

    When to get help: the move is tied to a DNV or cuenta propia residence permit: changing the legal form can affect the basis, so the decision is made with a lawyer and a gestor.