Register as autónomo in Spain 2026: AEAT and RETA

Self-employment is the fastest legal way to start working for yourself in Spain: as a freelancer, tutor, tradesperson, consultant or online. Formally, an autónomo is an individual who carries out an economic activity personally and regularly (con habitualidad) and is enrolled in the Régimen Especial de Trabajadores Autónomos (RETA). Below is the full 2026 procedure based on primary sources: who is eligible, which documents you need, how to file the alta with the AEAT and the Seguridad Social, what it costs and which obligations come with registration. If you do not yet have a NIE/TIE, start with the guide «NIE for Ukrainians in Spain».

Who can register as autónomo

Any adult foreigner who is legally in Spain and holds authorisation to work por cuenta propia can register as autónomo. Beneficiaries of temporary protection (protección temporal) receive residence and work authorisation together with their resolution; it allows both employed work and work as an autónomo. For the alta you need a NIE, a Social Security number and proof of your work authorisation.

The Seguridad Social phrases the condition like this: alta en trabajo autónomo is mandatory if you regularly carry out an economic activity por cuenta propia, are 18 or older and are a Spaniard resident in Spain or a foreigner with a work permit. Foreigners legally in Spain who hold work authorisation are treated like Spaniards for afiliación and alta (RD 84/1996, art. 42.1); the application is accompanied by proof of nationality and the work authorisation.

Other permits under the Reglamento de Extranjería (RD 1155/2024) and related laws:

• Reagrupación familiar — the permit of a spouse/partner or child itself grants the right to work por cuenta ajena o propia with no further procedure (art. 65.2).
• Residencia por circunstancias excepcionales (arraigo social, familiar, de segunda oportunidad and others) — includes work authorisation por cuenta propia o ajena with no territorial limits; the exception is arraigo socioformativo, which allows only employed work up to 30 hours a week (art. 131).
• Initial employed-work permit (cuenta ajena) — also allows activity por cuenta propia in parallel, as long as employed work remains the main activity (art. 73.5).
• Students (estancia por estudios) — work por cuenta propia requires a separate authorisation request, except for higher-education students (art. 52.1.a), whose right to work por cuenta propia y ajena arises automatically where compatible with their studies (art. 57).
• Digital nomads (teletrabajo internacional) — under Ley 14/2013 (art. 74 bis) professional activity is carried out for companies outside Spain; Spanish clients may account for no more than 20% of total activity. More in the guide on the digital nomad visa.

What to prepare in advance

Before filing the alta, gather:

• NIE and the document proving it (TIE or resolution) — see the NIE guide.
• Número de la Seguridad Social (NUSS) — if you have never worked in Spain, request it in Import@ss: you need a NIE, phone, e-mail and address; identification via Cl@ve, certificado digital, SMS or a selfie with a photo of your document.
• Certificado digital or Cl@ve — with these both altas can be filed online in a single day. How to get them is covered in the guide «Certificado digital and Cl@ve».
• IAE and CNAE activity codes — Import@ss requires them at alta; the IAE is chosen from the Tarifas del IAE, for which the AEAT has a buscador de actividades.
• A Spanish IBAN for direct debit of the cuota — see the bank account guide.
• Business address — usually your home; empadronamiento is not required for the alta but is useful for other procedures — see the empadronamiento guide.

1. 1

   Right to work por cuenta propia

   Make sure your permit allows self-employment; prepare your NIE and TIE.

2. 2

   NUSS and digital identification

   Request a Social Security number via Import@ss, set up a certificado digital or Cl@ve.

3. 3

   Alta censal — modelo 036

   File the 036 with the AEAT before your first transaction: IAE heading, IVA regime, IRPF method.

4. 4

   RETA alta — Import@ss

   Before starting activity (at most 60 days ahead): IAE/CNAE, date, expected income, base, mutua, IBAN; request the tarifa plana.

5. 5

   Bookkeeping and calendar

   Libros registro, invoices, quarterly 303/130, annual 390 and Renta, Verifactu deadlines.

Step 1. Alta censal with the AEAT — modelo 036

The alta censal is your entry in the Censo de Empresarios, Profesionales y Retenedores. Under RD 1065/2007 (art. 9.4) the declaration is filed before activity starts, and the start is any delivery, service, purchase of goods or services for the business, receipt or making of a payment, or hiring of staff. In other words, your first invoice (and even your first business purchase) comes only after the 036.

Since 3 February 2025 there is a single form — modelo 036: the simplified modelo 037 was abolished by Orden HAC/1526/2024 and its convenience moved into the 036, where you complete only the sections you need. In the declaration you:

• state the IAE heading for your activity — casilla 402 per the Tarifas e Instrucción del IAE (the AEAT has a buscador de actividades that finds the heading from a description). Individuals do not pay IAE — they are exempt (Ley de Haciendas Locales, art. 82.1.c) — but the heading in the 036 is mandatory;
• declare your IVA regime (general, exemption by type of activity, etc.) and, if needed, request inclusion in the Registro de operadores intracomunitarios;
• choose the IRPF calculation method — for most new autónomos this is estimación directa simplificada: under RD 439/2007 (art. 28) it applies by default unless you opt out;
• state the activity start date and address.

The 036 can be filed online in the Sede AEAT with a certificado digital or Cl@ve. You then enter the same IAE code in Import@ss.

Step 2. RETA alta via Import@ss

The RETA alta is filed before activity starts, but no earlier than 60 calendar days ahead (RD 84/1996, art. 32.3.1º). Import@ss puts it this way: «el mismo día en el que empieces a trabajar por cuenta propia o hasta 60 días antes». An alta filed in advance takes effect from the actual start day of activity (art. 35.1.1º).

The online service is Import@ss → Alta en trabajo autónomo (identification via Cl@ve Permanente, certificado digital or an SMS to the phone the Seguridad Social has on file). You will need:

• NUSS/NAF and NIE; for a non-EU foreigner, also the permiso de trabajo y residencia;
• the IAE code and the tax administration you belong to, plus the CNAE code;
• the start date and business address;
• an estimate of annual net income (rendimientos netos) — it determines your tramo and base;
• your choice of contribution base and applicable benefits (this is where you request the tarifa plana);
• a mutua colaboradora and, optionally, extra cover;
• an IBAN for direct debit of the cuota.

The tarifa plana is requested at the moment of alta — Ley 20/2007 (art. 38 ter.3) requires it; it cannot be «added» later. If you have several activities, the RETA alta is done once.

Step 3. How much you pay: the 2026 cuota

The autónomo cuota in 2026 depends on your expected net income: you pick a tramo and, within it, a contribution base between the minimum and the maximum (Orden PJC/297/2026, art. 18). The minimum base of the reduced table is 653.59 € per month, of the general table 950.98 €, and the maximum is 5,101.20 €. The base is charged at 28.30% contingencias comunes, 1.30% profesionales and 0.90% MEI, plus the cese de actividad and formación profesional contributions.

How it works in practice:

• Rendimientos netos are income minus expenses under IRPF rules, plus the Seguridad Social contributions you paid, minus a general-expenses deduction of 7% (3% for socios mercantiles). The monthly average determines your tramo.
• The tables consist of a tabla reducida (income below the SMI, minimum base 653.59 € for income up to 670 € a month) and a tabla general (minimum base 950.98 €, maximum 5,101.20 €). The 2025 tables apply in 2026: RDL 3/2026 (art. 3.4) extended them until a Ley de Presupuestos is passed, updating only the maximum base of tramos 11–12.
• You can change your base up to 6 times a year through the Bases de cotización y rendimientos service.
• Once a year the Seguridad Social runs a regularización: it compares the bases you paid with your real income from the Renta and charges or refunds the difference.

Our autónomo cuota calculator gives the ready figure for your income and alta month — the 2026 tramo table is there too, so we do not duplicate it here.

Tarifa plana 2026: what is confirmed and what is not

The tarifa plana (legally the cuota reducida, Ley 20/2007, art. 38 ter) is a fixed contribution instead of the income-based calculation:

• it applies for 12 full months from the alta date and can be extended for another 12 months if your net income is below the SMI (a declaración forecasting your income is then filed before the second period starts);
• the condition is an initial alta or no RETA alta in the previous 2 years (3 years if you have used the benefit before);
• it is requested at the moment of alta; you may waive it;
• during this period no cese de actividad or formación profesional is paid, and the cuota reducida is not subject to regularización;
• for people with a disability of 33% or more, and victims of gender violence or terrorism, the periods are 24 and 36 months;
• it is not available to familiares colaboradores.

Step 4. What comes next: obligations after the alta

After the alta you have a tax calendar and bookkeeping. The essentials:

• IVA — modelo 303 quarterly: by 20 April, 20 July, 20 October and by 30 January for the 4th quarter; by the same 30 January, the annual summary modelo 390. If your activity is exempt from IVA (for example, medical care and a range of educational services — Ley del IVA, art. 20), the 303 is not filed — you stated this in the 036.
• IRPF — modelo 130 (pago fraccionado under estimación directa) on the same dates: 20 April, 20 July, 20 October and 30 January. Professionals are exempt from the 130 if in the previous year at least 70% of their income was subject to retención (RD 439/2007, art. 109.2).
• Retención on professionals' invoices — 15%; in the year you start and the two following years — 7%, provided you carried out no professional activity in the previous year (art. 95.1). You must notify the client of the rate in writing.
• Annual Renta — the IRPF return for the previous year; the campaign ends on 30 June.
• Libros registro (art. 68): for professionals — ingresos, gastos, bienes de inversión and provisiones de fondos y suplidos; for business owners under estimación directa simplificada — ventas e ingresos, compras y gastos, bienes de inversión. The AEAT publishes the format in its Sede.
• Verifactu — new requirements for invoicing software (RD 1007/2023). The deadlines were moved by RDL 15/2025: for Impuesto sobre Sociedades taxpayers by 1 January 2027, for everyone else, including individual autónomos, by 1 July 2027. All business owners and professionals with income from economic activity under IRPF are obliged; those already in the SII are excluded. Joining before the deadline is voluntary.
• Baja when you stop: with the Seguridad Social — up to 60 days in advance or within 6 calendar days after; with the AEAT — modelo 036 with the same date.

Common mistakes

• An invoice or purchase before the 036. The AEAT determines the start of activity by the first transaction.
• RETA alta after you start working. You lose benefits, pay the full month and risk a fine.
• Not requesting the tarifa plana at alta. It cannot be added later — that is how art. 38 ter.3 works.
• Under- or overstating income at alta. The regularización evens it out, but it is better to pick the real tramo at once and adjust up to 6 times a year.
• Working under a permit that does not allow cuenta propia (for example, arraigo socioformativo or a student permit without a separate request).
• A forgotten baja. The cuota accrues while you are in alta; the deadline for the Seguridad Social baja is 6 days after you stop.
• Expecting Verifactu «right now». For autónomos the deadline is 1 July 2027; but it is wise to choose invoicing software with the requirements in mind.

This article is for reference and describes the general procedure; deadlines, amounts and forms may change — check the primary sources sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es (alta censal, calendar) and portal.seg-social.gob.es/importass (RETA alta, cuota, tarifa plana). Facts were verified against these sources in September 2026. If you need a Russian- or Ukrainian-speaking gestor, see our vetted directory.