Becoming Self Employed in Spain.

[billabongdom]

Hello All,
does anyone out there know, where one starts when wanting to become Self-Employed, in the U.K one pretty much just declares themself self employed and then, it is ones responsibility to pay their own taxes.
Any help greatly appreciated !!!

Ciao !!!!

[Jerezano]

First off, A quick visit to a local "asesor" or accountant will get you on the right track with all the info you need relative to your particular work situation. If you don't have a work permit, you will have to sort that out first.

I myself was a self-employed English teacher. Becoming one (legally, unlike a lot of foreigners who come to Spain to teach) required two visits, first to "Hacienda" or the local tax office, the second to the "Tesoreria de la Seguridad Social" or the local Social Security office. At Hacienda, you have to fill out a long series of forms (I believe its the 130) providing info such as your address, your work address (if your business is not your home), as well as documentation certifying that your permits to run the business are in order. The tax office people were actually very helpful in filling out my forms, and as I taught out of my home and did not have any employees, filling out the forms was a piece of cake. With the document you've filled out stamped and registered by the tax office, you then have to go to Social security and apply to be registered as a "trabajador por cuenta propia". I already had my work permits in order, if you don't then you will have to visit the office of "extranjeros" of the ministro del interior in your town in order to apply for a work permit. This will require several different documents including a simple business plan and any accreditation necessary to carry out the work you will be doing. Once that is in order, the Seguridad Social office issues you a number, and you begin paying (starting from the date in which the Tax office has stamped your form) monthly seguridad social to the state (in my case, and according to my situation, it was 208 euros per month).

It is fairly straitforward once you've got the hang of it but I did make a lot of wasted trips at first, visiting the offices in the wrong order! I would definitely recommend hiring an asesor however as they will also be able to help you file your trimesterly tax declarations.

[billabongdom]

Thank you !!!!!