Shorouk Express
If you’re thinking of becoming self-employed in Spain or you’re moving over on the digital nomad visa and have to sign up as ‘autónomo’, there are many factors you should be aware of first, writes Barcelona-based freelance journalist Esme Fox.
As of 2025, there are approximately 3.3 million autónomos or self-employed people registered in Spain, which is around 16 percent of the working population. This includes everyone who works for themselves either for various private clients or who own a small business like a bar or a café.
And with Spain’s digital nomad visa, which has now been available since 2023, there are now more foreign autónomos than ever before in Spain, and more people signing up to the system without really knowing what they’re getting themselves into.
Although this seems like a very big number, Spain is not really known as being a good place for being self-employed and it can be extremely tough to survive financially.
Most people move here for the sun, the culture and the way of life, not because of the career prospects, high salaries or good working conditions.
Obviously though, if you work for yourself, or you’ve come over on the digital nomad visa and are self-employed, you don’t have a choice, you have to sign up to the system, whether it’s fair or not.
You have to hire an accountant
Like many bureaucratic processes in Spain, the autónomo system is very complicated and there are so many forms and rules you’ll have to be aware of that’s it’s almost impossible to do yourself. If you’re coming from being self-employed in the UK this may seem quite foreign to you as you will be used to doing the self-assessment form which is very straightforward by comparison. Most likely you’ll have to hire an accountant or gestor which is like an accountant to do your tax returns for you. This can cost you anywhere from €50 to €100 per month.
READ MORE: What’s a gestor in Spain and why you’ll probably need one
The system is very complicated and you are fined for mistakes
Spain’s autónomo system is convoluted and isn’t really designed for everyday people to understand. This can make it difficult to navigate, even if you have a professional helping you. Sometimes the professionals don’t always have the answers, so it’s important that you’re on top of the rules yourself too. For example, even if your gestor makes a mistake, it’s you that will still be fined for this error. Anything from late payments to a missing form or an inconsistency can incur fines. Furthermore, you have to file your taxes not just once but five times a year, making it extra confusing and time-consuming.
READ ALSO: Third of Spain’s self-employed to pay €1,000+ more in social security
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You pay one of the highest social security fees in Europe
Although the social security system for the self-employed has changed in Spain in recent years so that not everyone pays the same flat rate, it is still very unfair and one of the highest fees in Europe. These fees are not your income taxes, no this is another fee on top of those that you will pay every month. Even if you earn under a measly €670 you will still pay this fee. Currently in 2025, this equates to €200 per month.
While anyone earning between €1,300 and €1,700 will pay €294 per month, and anyone earning more than this will pay up to €590 a month (for high earners). So as you can see, already if you earn €1,300 you’ll have to pay €294 in social security fees, around €50 to €100 per month for a gestor, plus taxes, leaving you less than €800 to live on per month, which will only just about cover rent in most cities in Spain, and will not be enough in places like Barcelona and Madrid. The upside is that there is a lower flat fee of around €80 per month for those who are newly self-employed during their first year. This can be extended for a second year for low earners. There are also some regions such as Madrid, which will pay your social security for you during the first two years.
READ ALSO: How self-employed workers in Madrid can pay no social security taxes
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You will have to pay a lot in taxes
As mentioned, on top of your social security payments, it’s likely that you’ll pay a lot in income tax too. Spain has a progressive tax system which ranges from 19 to 45 percent, but the issue is that there’s no threshold for self employed people like there is in the UK for example. In the UK, you don’t get taxed at all on the first £10,000 and are only taxed on anything after that.
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You will find it more difficult to get a mortgage
If you have hopes of getting on the property ladder and buying a home as a self-employed person, you’ll also find it much more difficult for banks to agree to give you a loan. Typically they like to see that you have a salary from a Spanish company, but there are certain banks that will work with autónomos. There are however several hoops you have to jump through though such as submitting business plans and tax returns.
READ ALSO: How to get a mortgage in Spain if you don’t have a job contract
You won’t get access to as much pension as employees
The good news is that you can get a state pension if you’re self employed in Spain, but the bad news is that you have to pay in for a minimum of 15 years to get the minimum contributory base and 68 years for the full amount. According to Infoautónomos in 2024, the average retirement pension for self-employed workers was approximately €970 per month, while that of salaried workers was over €1,600, even though self-employed people typically pay more social security.
READ ALSO: How to calculate your pension if you’re self-employed in Spain
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It can be almost impossible to get benefits if you lose your work
While technically social security covers you if you lose your work, in reality it’s very difficult to claim anything. To give you an idea of how difficult it is, according to Selfemployedspain.com over 50 percent of applications for unemployment benefits from the self employed are rejected. This is because you have have incurred a 10 percent loss in excess of your income over the last 12 months before you apply. Anyone losing that much money is unlikely to be able to keep being signed up to the system and making social security payments in the meantime. If you have an establishment such as a café, you must also close this before you apply.
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You can get sick pay, but it can be tricky to access
Again, you pay such as high social security fee because technically, you can get access to sick pay, but in reality it’s not so good. You should be able to get sick pay from the 4th day of being ill with a doctor’s note, but you will have to contact your Mutua or Mutual Society, which covers you in these types of events. It will be them who decides if they grant it to you or not. In the case of leave due to a common illness or an accident that wasn’t at work, you will be paid 60 percent of the self-employed regulatory base (the average amount you earn per month). You will receive this from the fourth to the twentieth day of leave. If your illness lasts longer than 20 days, this will go up to 75 percent of the same base.
Keep in mind though, there are several benefits you can get if you are self-employed such as maternity and paternity pay. To give you some idea if you’re paying the paying a social security fee of €289 , the maternity benefit would be €36.9 per day.
READ ALSO: How self-employed workers in Spain can request sick leave
