Registration of individual entrepreneurs (self-employed)

They need to obtain the Foreigner Identification Number (NIE) and register with the Foreigners' Registry.

Once they have obtained the NIE, they can proceed to register their business activity with the Tax Agency and under the Social Security Self-Employed Regime

There is no legal impediment, unless the individual has signed an exclusivity clause with their employer or is subject to incompatibilities required by public administration regulations.

Regarding Social Security, contributions will be required to the RETA for self-employment and to the general regime for employed work. This is considered a case of concurrent employment.

The Entrepreneur Support Law outlines measures that reduce contribution obligations in cases of concurrent employment (see Article 28).

The registration procedures for self-employment can be completed either online (using the CIRCE system) or in person.
 

Yes, in that case, to register, you will need your NIE, Social Security Number (NUSS), and a work and residence permit. If you don't have a NUSS, you can request it through the Request the Social Security Number service. If you already have a Social Security Number and don't remember it, you can check it in your Personal Area.

When registering as a self-employed person and starting more than one activity simultaneously, you must communicate this to the General Treasury of Social Security at that time.

If, as of January 1, 2023, you are already registered as a self-employed worker and engage in more than one self-employed activity, you must inform the General Treasury of Social Security and communicate all of them. This can be done through the Notify new activity service.

If, at a later time after registration, you decide to start a new activity or several self-employed activities while maintaining the initial one, you must also communicate this through the Notify new activity service.

Even if you engage in more than one professional activity, your registration and contributions for self-employment will be unique.

If you want to stop one of these activities but not all of them, you can communicate the end to the General Treasury of Social Security through the Notify the end of one of your activities service.

Yes, all individuals working for themselves must register as self-employed. If you are a self-employed worker and also employed under the Social Security General Regime, you are considered in a situation of simultaneous employment (pluriactivity). In this case, coverage for temporary incapacity due to common contingencies (common illness and non-work-related accidents) in the Special

Regime for Self-Employed Workers will be optional as long as you contribute to it in the General Regime.

Similarly, you have the right to a 50% refund of the excess contributions for common contingencies in both regimes. The General Treasury of Social Security will process the corresponding reimbursement within a maximum period of four months from the regularization of Social Security contributions, at which point the amount will be determined.

Yes, you can register and deregister as many times as you want. However, you can only choose the registration and deregistration dates three times a year, and you must have requested them within the specified timeframe. In these cases, your contributions will start from the registration date or cease from the deregistration date. Any other registrations processed during that year will take effect from the first day of the month in which you start working. Similarly, any other deregistrations processed during that calendar year will take effect from the last day of the month in which you stop working. In both cases, you will contribute for the entire month.

Yes, you can hire employees or other self-employed professionals. To hire employees, you need to:

• Register as an employer with the Social Security, using the service on the Electronic Headquarters for the Registration and Assignment of CCC for an individual employer or through the RED System. To use this system, you need to request authorization or contact an authorized RED agent.
• Find more information on Employer Registration and Contribution Account Code. 
• Request the assignment of a Social Security Number for the worker if they do not have one. This process must be done through the RED System.
• Register the worker through the RED System.
• Notify the hiring to the Public State Employment Service within a maximum period of 10 days by submitting a copy of the employment contract through Contrat@. Check contract models in
• Contract Types.

You will be responsible for the Social Security contributions of your employees. On the other hand, if you hire another self-employed professional, it establishes a service provision relationship; the self-employed professional is not your employee but pays their own contributions.

Self-employed agricultural workers who are owners of an agricultural operation can only hire 2 indefinite workers or their equivalents in temporary contracts.

Economically dependent self-employed workers, those working with a main client, can hire a single employee when they are in situations such as pregnancy or natural lactation risk for a child under nine months, periods of rest due to childbirth, adoption, care with a view to adoption, or family fostering, care of dependents, or disabled family members up to the second degree.

Being registered with Social Security on the day of starting the activity is a requirement. If you report your registration after beginning to work, it will be considered that the registration date is the first day of the month, and you won't be eligible for fee discounts.

Moreover, you may face a fine ranging from €3,750 to €12,000 depending on the severity, and you will have to pay the corresponding contributions from the date the authorities become aware of the start of your activity.

If you requested your registration as a self-employed worker outside the deadline, from the day you started the activity until the last day of the month in which you reported it, the contribution base for this period will be the minimum base of level 1 in the general table, which in 2023 is €950.98/month.

Additionally, note that the contributions for this period will not be included in the annual regularization of contributions.

Yes, during the period between the registration date and the last day of the natural month before the effective date of registration, the contribution base will be the minimum base of level 1 in the general table, specifically €950.98/month in 2023.

However, the Labor Inspection and Social Security may set a higher contribution base than the one indicated.

The self-employed fee is payable from the start date of the activity or from the effective date of registration.

Keep in mind that you can choose the registration date three times a year, making it effective from the start of the activity. The rest of the registrations will take effect on the first day of the month in which you commence your activity.

The fee will be debited from your bank account on the last business day of each month.

The fee you will need to pay is 31.20% of the contribution base. For the year 2023, within the general table, the minimum contribution base is €950.98 per month, and the maximum is €4,495.50 per month. If your projected earnings are below the annual minimum wage, you can choose your contribution base from a reduced table, with the minimum base being €751.63 per month.

The percentage (contribution rate) applied to the contribution base to calculate the fee is broken down as follows:

• 28.30% for common contingencies. This contribution ensures coverage when you cannot work due to a non-work-related accident or illness.
• 1.3% for professional contingencies. This contribution covers you in cases of a work-related accident or professional illness.
• 0.9% for cessation of activity. It covers you in case of the definitive end of your activity.
• 0.1% for professional training. Contribution aimed at accessing training to facilitate your integration into the labor market.
• 0.6% for the mechanism of intergenerational equity (MEI): This contribution aims to maintain balance between generations and the sustainability of the Social Security system.

If, throughout the year, your net annual earnings on a monthly average are different from the initially projected ones, you can adjust your contribution base up to six times using the Contribution Base and Earnings service.

You will have access to a fee simulator where you can review and adjust it to the new contribution system, taking into account the situation of your earnings at the time of consultation. The modification of bases is not immediate; depending on when you make the communication, the change will be effective on the 1st of the following months: March, May, July, September, November of 2023, and January 2024.

The goal of this service is to ensure that, at the end of the year, the result of your regularization is zero.

The self-employed fee will be debited from your account on the last business day of each month. You will need to set up direct debits through a bank or a financial institution collaborating with Social Security. Check all the financial institutions collaborating with Social Security.

To promote self-employment, there are discounts on the self-employed fee if:

• It's your first registration as self-employed (Flat rate).
• It's your first registration as self-employed, and you conduct your activity in Cuenca, Soria, and Teruel.
• You reside in Ceuta and Melilla.
• You are on leave due to childbirth, adoption, guardianship for adoption purposes, foster care, risk during pregnancy, and risk during natural lactation.
• In situations of return to work after the birth of a child, adoption, guardianship for adoption purposes, foster care, and guardianship.
• You are in a situation of caring for minors affected by cancer or another serious illness.
• If you combine your self-employed activity with salaried work.
• You work in street vending activities.
• For artistic creation.
• You are a collaborating family member of a self-employed worker.
• You are a family member of the owner of a farm.
• You hire another professional to facilitate your work-life balance.
• You are receiving a retirement benefit and are registered as self-employed.

These are the situations covered by Social Security in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers:

• Sick leave due to common illness and non-work-related accidents.
• Sick leave due to professional illness or work-related accidents.
• Birth and care of a minor.
• Risk during pregnancy and lactation.
• Permanent disability.
• Widowhood and orphanhood.
• Cessation of activity due to involuntary reasons.
• Retirement.

In general, as a self-employed individual, you will have to contribute for:

• Common contingencies: Ensures coverage when you cannot work due to a non-work-related accident or illness.
• Professional contingencies: This contribution covers you in cases of work-related accidents or professional illnesses.
• Cessation of activity: Covers you in case there is a definitive end to your activity.
• Measures for training, professional guidance, and promotion of entrepreneurial activity: Contribution aimed at facilitating your access to training for labor market insertion.
• Mechanism of intergenerational equity (MEI): This contribution aims to maintain balance between generations and the sustainability of the Social Security system.

However, there are some exceptions:

• Contribution for common contingencies is optional for self-employed individuals who are also registered in other Social Security schemes, and also for workers in the Special System for Agricultural Self-Employed Workers (SETA).
• Contribution for professional contingencies is not mandatory for cooperative partners, self-employed individuals with a cooperative system of social benefits complementary to the Public System, and for agricultural self-employed workers (SETA).
• Contribution for cessation of activity and training is not mandatory for self-employed individuals who are benefiting from the flat rate.

If you have communicated more than one self-employed activity to the General Social Security Treasury, you can process the end of any of them through the "Communicate the end of any of your activities" service. This will not lead to your deregistration from the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers, as long as you continue to carry out the rest of the self-employed activities.

Yes. If the deregistration is due to economic, technical, productive, or organizational reasons, force majeure, loss of administrative license, gender-based violence, or divorce or separation agreement, you will be entitled to the self-employed unemployment benefit. However, if the deregistration is voluntary, you will not have access to this benefit.