Becoming autonomo in Barcelona on your own: registering a self-employed person by step

Autonomo in Barcelona: 15 steps diagram

1. Check if your residence permit allows you to work for yourself.

   Registration autónomo does not allow work: it gives rise to residence. The DNV freelancer can take Spanish clients but not more than 20% of his activities. The Ministry describes the first employment permit and the work permit as different permits.

   • Found it on TIE and in the decision on what work was authorized
   • On DNV, the percentage of Spanish clients was: Rule 20% and DNV route
   • When authorizing employment, reconciled with by the route of the residence
   • I've got the basis for the cuenta propia: A residence permit for self-employed persons

   Where: residence permit decision, Ministry of Inclusion reference listsDuration: until any registrationCost: free of charge

   When assistance is needed: a permit for employment, no lucrativa or student: work on a non-base may cost an extension, first, an ex-tranjería lawyer is needed.

2. Get digital certificate or Cl@ve

   Without an electronic signature, do not file 036, do not enter the Import@ss, or do not file quarterly declarations. FNMT is requested online, identity confirmed in the office, downloaded in about an hour.

   • Asked for a certificate on FNMT and received a Código de solicitud
   • Confirmed identity in the ocina de acreditación (FNMT list)
   • Registered at Cl@ve: part of the service needs an extended level (How to get Cl@ve)

   Where: sede FNMT, clave.gob.esDuration: downloading approximately an hour after identification is confirmedValue: See FNMT page

   When assistance is needed: no certificate is installed or office entry is unavailable: the guest may file the documents as a representative.

3. Select the iAE

   The Epiograph describes your activities in the tax register. IAE tariffs are divided into business, professional and artistic, and the division depends on the retention of customers and part of the duties. Individuals are exempt from payment of IAE, but registration in the price is compulsory.

   • Found an epigraph at Buscador de actividades on AEAT
   • Checked whether he was professional or entrepreneurial.
   • If there are several directions, write an epigraph for each

   Where: Sede AEAT, Buscador de actividadesDuration: until 036Value: IAE is not paid for physicals

   When assistance is needed: mixed activities (e.g. services and sales of goods): the wrong section changes retention and IVA regime.

4. Give alta consal: modelo 036

   Modelo 036 is served before the start of the operation. The simplified modelo 037 was cancelled by HAC/1526/2024 on 3 February 2025, and its functions were transferred to 036.

   • The date of the beginning and the address of the activity
   • Noted IVA and IRPF method of calculation (usually estimación directa simplicada)
   • Saved the justificante with the delivery code

   Where: Sede AEAT, section of CensosDuration: before operationCost: free of charge

   When you need help, you're not a tax resident, you have income from another country, or you need a special IVA regime.

5. Get on the RETA account via Import@ss

   RETA, the self-employed social insurance scheme, is processed after registration with AEAT.What RETA and alta are).

   • There's a social security number.NUSS)
   • Set the date of commencement, activity, IAE code, address and mutua
   • I downloaded resguardo after confirmation.

   Where: Import@ss (TGSS)Duration: 60 days before the start of the operation until its first dayCost: registration is free of charge, followed by monthly contributions

   When you need help, you've already worked without an alta or you've been working at the same time as a job: you need to calculate the consequences for the hestor.

6. Select the contribution base and check the cuota redocida

   Since 2023, the contribution depends on the expected net income: in 2026, 3 tramos reduced table and 12 general, minimum base from 653.59 y to 1.928.10 y, maximum 5.01.20 a month. The new autono is provided for cuota reducida (tarifa plana): in 2023-2026, 80 y per month for 12 months, with an extension of 12 months at an income below the minimum wage.

   • Estimated net income per month: income less expenditure of activities
   • Found his tramo in the 2026 table on seg-social.es
   • Checked in the application if I wanted a cuota redocida and checked the 2026 amount at Import@ss
   • I know you can change base to six times a year.cuota autónomo 2026)

   Where: Import@ss, page of the new contribution regime for seg-social.esDuration: at alta, further change every two monthsCost: base x rate, sum per your tramo

   When you need help, income varies considerably by month: the underpaid base will be paid in a year's regularization.

7. Open the account and connect the domiciliación

   RETA contributions are paid only by write-off (domiciliación bancaria), which is mandatory from 2018; a separate account is not required for legal activity but facilitates the recording and verification of expenditures.

   • Opened an account in his name at the Spanish bank (How to open the account)
   • IBAN for Import@ss
   • I figured out why to pay AEAT taxes.Tax on-line)

   Where: bank, Import@ssDuration: at alta in RETAValue: Bank tariff

   When assistance is needed, the bank refuses to write off the account or does not pass: the payment of the allowance is due on time (recargos).

8. EU Clients: RIO and VIES Testing

   For services, companies from other EU countries need registration in Registro de Operadores Intracomunitarios (ROI) through 036: you get NIF-IVA with an ES precursor. The client number is checked in VIES, the transactions are shown in a modelo 349.

   • Marked the RA registration at 036 and the date of the first operation
   • Checked VAT number of each EU client in VIES and saved the result
   • I put a modelo 349 on the calendar.

   Where: Sede AEAT (036, VIES)Duration: Until the first transaction with an EU clientCost: free of charge

   When assistance is needed: customers outside the EU, private persons in the EU or digital services: the rules of the service location differ.

9. Set accounts for Reglamento de factoción

   The full factura contains a number and series with continuous numbering, date, name and NIF of both sides, addresses, description of service, base, rate and amount IVA in a separate row, and, upon release or release, sub-jeto pasivo note, the accounts should conform to the VERI*CEFACT regulation: autónomo until 1 July 2027.

   • Made a template with all the mandatory props.
   • I'm running one series without numbers.
   • Checked that the program is declared compatible with VERI*CEFACT

   Where: Real Decreto 1619/2012, AEAT page on account contentDuration: VERI*CEFACT, July 1, 2027 for physicalsCost: programme dependent

   When help is needed, you need to correct the already issued account (factura rectifikativa) or the client requires a special format.

10. IVA: Modelo 303 each quarter and 390 per year

    Modelo 303 is served from 1 to 20 April, July and October for the fourth quarter from 1 to 30 January, and at the same time in January is served with the annual module 390 if you do not fall into the excepted categories. IVA and modulo 303 for freelancer.

    • Added 303 and 390 dates to the calendar
    • I reconcile IVA accruals and IVA deductions against actuals received
    • I serve 303 a block without surgery.

    Where: Sede AEATDuration: 1-20 April, July, October; 1-30 JanuaryValue: amount of tax on declaration

    When you need help, operations are free from IVA or mixed with venison: the proportion of the deduction requires calculation.

11. IRPF: Modelo 130 or retention of clients

    Autonomo in estimación directca pays 20% of net income in advance from the beginning of the year to modelo 130 in the same period as 303. The profession does not pay 130 if in the past year at least 70% of the income was withheld: Spanish companies retain 15% and in the year the next 2.7%.

    • See if my clients hold IRPF.
    • If I have a 7% right, I've written to Spanish clients.
    • I'm preparing for the annual declaration.modelo 100)

    Where: Sede AEATDuration: 303 times a quarterValue: 20% of accumulated net income minus past payments and retention

    When assistance is needed: first year in Spain or income from several countries: residence and double taxation treaties decide more than the rate.

12. Take into account the costs from day one

    Subtract the costs of activities confirmed by the facts of your NIF and reflected in the books of account. IRPF books can be maintained with IVA books if you add the necessary data.

    • Please, let's just ask for a factura completa with my NIF, not just a check.
    • Maintenance of books of income, expenditure and investment assets
    • I keep documents for each declaration

    Where: your account program or tableDuration: continuous, quarterly reconciliationCost: free if you drive

    When you need help, you work from home, you buy a car or a machine in a row, the rules are special, you better check out the hestor.

13. Accommodation and licences in Barcelona

    If you open a room for activity, Barcelona needs one of the operating regulations of the municipality (OMAIIA): llicción, comunicat or declaracio responsable. They serve online via eActivitas. This is the Barcelona municipal rule, and in other cities it is their order.

    • I thought I was working remotely, in my client's office or in my own room.
    • For the premises, before the lease, checked the compatibility of activities with urbanism (informe urbanístic de compatibilitat)
    • Set the right mode through eActivitas and emailed the address to 036.

    Where: Auntation de Barcelona, eActivitatsDuration: until opening of the premisesValue: See Auntation page

    When you need help, you need a place with visitors, repairs, or a public place, you need a technical project, usually through an architect or engineer.

14. Go to annual regularization of contributions

    The contributions are temporary for a year. After the annual declaration, AEAT transfers your real income to Segurid Social, and TGSS re-counts the base: if the payment is not paid, the claim comes in, if the return is overpaid.

    • Comparison of actual income with the chosen trade once a quarter
    • I'm changing base to Import@ss if income went to another Tramo
    • Following TGSS notifications after the modelo 100 declaration

    Where: Import@ss, TGSS notificationsDuration: After AEAT data transmission, payment in time from notificationCost: difference between the time and final base

    When you need help, the amount of the extra payment seems wrong or the income is counted twice: checking the settlement before payment.

15. Decide when to go to SL

    The law does not set the income threshold for the company to move to, compare the income tax with IRPF, the cost of accounting and registration, the liability of property, and for foreigners the impact on the basis of the residence permit.

    • Calculated the tax in both options on annual figures (in the table below).SL taxes)
    • I found out how SL would affect my residence permit extension.
    • Studyed the opening stages (in the case of theHow to Open SL)

    Where: Notary, Registro Mercantil, AEATDuration: Decision usually by the end of tax yearCost: SL costs and accounting

    When assistance is needed: the transition involves a residence permit on DNV or a cuenta propia: a change of form may affect the ground, the decision is made with the lawyer and the hestor.