Registering as an autónomo, step by step

Two procedures, and in this order

Registering as an autónomo does not exist as a single procedure. There are two independent registrations, with two administrations that do not talk to each other:

1. Registering on the census with Hacienda, with form 036. That is where you say what activity you are going to carry on, where, and under which VAT and IRPF regime.
2. Registering with RETA, the Seguridad Social's special scheme for self-employed workers. That is where you start paying contributions.

The right order is Hacienda first: RETA registration asks for the details of the activity you declared on the 036. Doing it the other way round means going back.

The IAE heading: the decision with the longest tail

On the 036 you have to declare the heading in the Tarifas del Impuesto sobre Actividades Económicas that corresponds to what you are going to do. It sounds like a formality and it is not: very concrete things depend on that number.

• Whether you are «business» or «professional». The headings in section one are business activities; those in section two, professional ones. And only professionals carry withholding on the invoice.
• Which record books apply to you. A professional keeps four; a business, three.
• Whether you can be on módulos, because estimación objetiva only reaches a closed list of activities.
• Whether the recargo de equivalencia applies to you, in retail.

You can declare several headings if you do several things, and add or remove them later with another 036. What is not a good idea is choosing by eye on day one: it is the decision with the most consequences and the one given the least thought.

And a reassuring clarification: being registered for the IAE does not mean paying it. Article 82 of the Ley de Haciendas Locales exempts every natural person, with no turnover limit, and companies and other entities that do not reach one million euros of net turnover. If you are an autónomo, you do not pay it.

Which VAT regime applies to you

On the same 036 you choose the regime. For the vast majority it is the general one, but it is worth knowing there are more:

And if you are going to invoice companies in other European Union countries, you have to apply on the same 036 for registration on the ROI. It comes before the first invoice, not after.

RETA registration and the cuota

It is done on the Seguridad Social's electronic office and asks, among other things, for the activity declared on the 036 and a forecast of your net income for the year.

That forecast is what determines your cuota, because since 2023 the self-employed pay contributions on their real income: there is a table of net income bands, each with a minimum and a maximum base, and you choose within your band.

There is also a reduced cuota for those starting out — the so-called tarifa plana — with its own requirements and its own duration. It changes too, so check it at source.

Which forms you are going to file

It depends on what you declared on the 036. The most common case, a professional invoicing companies:

The 70% rule for form 130 is the one most often applied wrongly, and the nuance matters: article 109.3 of the IRPF Regulations says «al menos el 70 por ciento» — at least 70 per cent — of the previous calendar year's income with withholding, not «más del 70 %», more than 70%. At exactly 70.00% you are already outside the obligation. If you invoice almost everything to companies that withhold, you probably do not have to file it.

And from day one, three things

1. Number your invoices sequentially from the first one, with no gaps and no going back. Changing your numbering system halfway through the year is a mess that follows you around.
2. Keep every expense with its full invoice, not with the till receipt. A till receipt gives no right to deduct VAT, and in January there is no way to ask for the invoice for a meal in March.
3. Keep the VAT separate from the money you think of as yours. That money is never yours at any point: you collect it on Hacienda's behalf.

And a fourth, which does not bind you yet but will: from 1 July 2027, your invoicing software will have to comply with VeriFactu. Starting now with one that complies saves you changing systems with the business up and running.