Autónomo flat rate in Spain 2026: rules and extension

What the autónomo flat rate is and what you pay in 2026

The autónomo flat rate in Spain (tarifa plana) is a reduced fee of €80 a month plus the MEI for your first 12 months. You can extend it for another 12 months, at the same fee, if your net income stays below the minimum wage. You ask for it when you register, and for the extension before the first year ends.

Its official name is the "reduced fee for starting an activity" (cuota reducida por inicio de actividad), and it is governed by article 38 ter of the Self-Employed Workers' Statute. It is applied by the Seguridad Social, the Spanish social security system, not by Hacienda, the tax agency: it cuts what you pay each month into the RETA (the Special Scheme for Self-Employed Workers, where you contribute as an autónomo), not your income tax (IRPF) or VAT (IVA) rates. That said, your autónomo fee is a deductible expense for IRPF according to the Agencia Tributaria: under direct assessment, a lower fee also means a smaller expense to deduct, so your taxable income for IRPF can rise slightly. You apply for it in the same step as your self-employed registration through a gestoría, or yourself in Importass, the Seguridad Social portal.

If you are looking for the normal fee by income band, see the guide to autónomo contributions in 2026.

How much the flat rate is in 2026: €80 plus the MEI

The €80 a month was set by the fifth transitional provision of Royal Decree-Law 13/2022 for 2023 to 2025. On top comes the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI), a contribution to the pensions reserve fund that rises every year under the forty-third transitional provision of the General Social Security Act: 0.9% in 2026 and 1% in 2027.

The MEI is worked out on the minimum base of band 1 of the general table, which in 2026 is €950.98 a month under article 18 of Orden PJC/297/2026. 0.9% of €950.98 is €8.56, so the calculation gives €88.56 a month.

The Seguridad Social practical guide to self-employment says you "will contribute on the amount of the minimum base of band 1 of the general table" and that, with the MEI of 0.9%, the fee comes "to a total of €88.64". With the €950.98 base in the Orden, the calculation gives €88.56: a gap of 8 cents that the TGSS does not explain. In this article we use €88.56 as the calculated figure, not as the confirmed amount you will be charged. If your bill differs from the calculation, look at its breakdown in Importass and ask the TGSS to explain.

Why you still pay €80 in 2026 when the rule said "until 2025"

Paragraph 1 of article 38 ter says the amount "will be set in the relevant State Budget Act", and Royal Decree-Law 13/2022 adds that "from 2026" each year's Budget Act will set it. There is no new budget for 2026.

Article 3 of Royal Decree-Law 3/2026 keeps the self-employed contribution base tables "until the corresponding Budget Act is passed", and Orden PJC/297/2026 sets out this year's contributions. Neither expressly sets a new amount for the flat rate.

What is confirmed: the official Seguridad Social guide announces €80 plus the MEI. What is pending: if a budget were passed with a different amount, the figure could change, and we would update this article.

Who qualifies for the autónomo flat rate

Under article 38 ter and the Seguridad Social guide, you have to meet these requirements:

1. First registration, or two years without one. You are registering in the RETA for the first time, or you have not been registered as self-employed in the two years immediately before the effective date of your registration.
2. Three years if you have had it before. If you had the flat rate in an earlier registration, the period without registration rises to three years (paragraph 4).
3. Be up to date with payments to the Seguridad Social and Hacienda, according to the official guide.
4. Ask for it when you register (paragraph 3). It is not applied automatically.
5. Not be a relative working in the family business (familiar colaborador). Excluded are relatives of an autónomo up to the second degree (by blood, marriage or adoption) who register to work with them, and members of Catholic Church institutes of consecrated life (paragraph 11). These relatives have their own reductions.

What is not a requirement, even though you often read it:

• Having no employees. Paragraph 7 lets you hire staff and keep the flat rate.
• Being a sole trader. Paragraph 9 of article 38 ter extends the flat rate, "when they meet the requirements", to partners in capital companies and in sociedades laborales (Spain's employee-owned companies), and to working members of worker cooperatives, registered in the RETA.
• Being unemployed. You can come straight from a job as an employee. If you are registered in more than one scheme, the guide says you will have to choose between the flat rate and the benefits for holding several jobs at once (pluriactividad).

Cases with longer periods

With a disability of 33% or more, or if you are a victim of gender-based violence or terrorism, paragraph 10 lengthens the periods: 24 months at the reduced fee and a further 36 months of extension, again tied to income below the minimum wage. In these cases you ask for the extension before the first 24 months end. For 2023 to 2025, the fifth transitional provision of Royal Decree-Law 13/2022 set the fee in these cases at €80 for the first 24 months and €160 from month 25. That €160 applies only to these special cases: in the general 12-month extension you keep paying €80 plus the MEI. The Seguridad Social guide does not publish a different figure for 2026, so confirm the amount when you apply.

Your first-year contributions: what is included and what is not

During your first 12 months the reduced fee follows three rules:

• No year-end adjustment. Since 2023 autónomos contribute according to their net income (article 308.1.c of the General Social Security Act). The Seguridad Social later adjusts your contributions with the data Hacienda passes on, and the decision can take more than a year: the 2024 adjustment was notified between January and March 2026, according to the Seguridad Social adjustment calendar. Paragraph 6 of article 38 ter leaves the first flat rate period out: however much you invoice, they will not claim the difference for those months.
• You do not contribute for cessation of activity or vocational training. Paragraph 1 of article 38 ter excludes those two covers, during the extension too. If you close your business in that period, those months do not count towards the self-employed unemployment benefit (prestación por cese de actividad).
• Your benefits are calculated on a higher base. Under paragraph 5, sick pay, birth and childcare benefit and your retirement pension are calculated on the minimum base of band 1 of the general table, the €950.98 a month of 2026, not on the fee you pay.

When the flat rate ends you contribute for all contingencies from the first day of the next month (paragraph 8), at the fee for your band.

The flat rate extension: your second year

You have to ask for it in time and stay under an income limit. In return, you pay the same as in your first year: the fifth transitional provision of Royal Decree-Law 13/2022 sets a single amount of €80 a month for the article 38 ter reduced fee, and paragraph 2 of that article applies the same reduced fee during the extension. In 2026, €80 plus the MEI.

Who can renew the flat rate

You can renew it for another 12 months if your annual net business income is below the minimum wage (salario mínimo interprofesional, SMI), under paragraph 2 of article 38 ter. In 2026 the SMI is €17,094 a year, under Royal Decree 126/2026. The SMI for 2027 and 2028 has not been set yet.

Net income is worked out as for the normal fee (article 308.1.c of the General Social Security Act). Under direct assessment, the usual method, you start from the net income of your business for IRPF: income minus deductible expenses. You add back any autónomo fees you deducted, because for the Seguridad Social they do not count, and take off 7% for general expenses. That deduction is 3% for company autónomos who control their capital company and for certain working partners of sociedades laborales (letters b and e of article 305.2 of that Act), if they were registered on that basis for at least 90 days in the year.

The requirement is checked in each calendar year the extension touches, against that year's SMI. If your extension starts in April 2027, your 2027 income must stay below the 2027 SMI, and your 2028 income below the 2028 SMI.

When and how to apply for the extension

According to the Importass flat rate extension page:

1. Log in to Importass with Cl@ve, a digital certificate or your electronic ID (or as an authorised representative if a professional handles it for you).
2. Use the "Prórroga de la tarifa plana" (flat rate extension) service.
3. Declare that you expect your net income to be below the SMI.
4. Do it before your first 12 months end (24 in the special cases). The extension starts the next day.

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During the extension you will have to file your income tax (IRPF) return for those years. If you do not file it, or file it without declaring your business income, the adjustment applies a fixed minimum base. In the adjustment of 2026 contributions that base is €1,424.40 a month, according to the Seguridad Social RED News Bulletin 5/2026 (page 10). That is the latest published figure: the one for 2027 and 2028, the years of an extension starting in 2027, will be set by those years' contribution rules.

What happens if you reach the SMI during the extension

Unlike the first year, the extension can be adjusted. Paragraph 6 of article 38 ter only spares it if your net income is below each year's SMI. If in a calendar year of the extension you reach or exceed it, the Seguridad Social takes the proportional share of your income for the affected months of that year and claims the difference from the fee you would otherwise have paid. It is also adjusted if you do not file that year's IRPF return or file it without declaring your business income: in that case the fixed base of €1,424.40 a month applies (the figure in the 2026 adjustment), according to the RED News Bulletin 5/2026 (page 10).

Worked example: fee and savings for an autónomo in 2026

Lucía is a graphic designer in Valencia. She registers in the RETA with effect from 1 April 2026 and ticks the flat rate. She expects to invoice €1,500 a month before VAT, with €400 a month of deductible expenses (not counting her autónomo fee). To keep every figure in 2026, the example covers the nine months from April to December.

Step 1. What she pays on the flat rate.

• Calculated fee: 80 + (950.98 × 0.9%) = 80 + 8.56 = €88.56 a month.
• April to December: 88.56 × 9 = €797.04 (797.76 with the guide's €88.64).

Step 2. Her net income for contributions.

• Income: 1,500 × 9 = €13,500.
• Deductible expenses: 400 × 9 = €3,600. As they do not include her autónomo fee, there are no fees to add back.
• Net income: 13,500 − 3,600 = €9,900.
• 7% deduction for general expenses: 9,900 × 7% = €693, which leaves €9,207.

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Step 3. What she would pay without the flat rate.

• Monthly average: the Seguridad Social divides net income by the days registered and multiplies by 30 (article 46 of Royal Decree 2064/1995). April to December is 275 days: 9,207 / 275 × 30 = €1,004.40.
• At €1,004.40 a month she is in band 3 of the reduced table (over €900 and under €1,166.70), with a minimum base of €849.67 under article 18 of Orden PJC/297/2026.
• 2026 rate: 28.30% (common contingencies) + 1.30% (professional) + 0.90% (MEI), under article 18.2 of the Orden, plus 0.90% (cessation of activity) and 0.10% (vocational training), under its article 37. Total: 31.50%.
• Minimum fee: 849.67 × 31.50% = €267.65 a month.
• April to December: 267.65 × 9 = €2,408.85.

Step 4. Her savings in 2026 (using the calculated €88.56 fee).

• Per month: 267.65 − 88.56 = €179.09.
• April to December: 2,408.85 − 797.04 = €1,611.81.
• With the guide's €88.64, she would save €179.01 a month and €1,611.09 over nine months.

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Step 5. January to March 2027 and the extension. The flat rate runs until 31 March 2027, with the 2027 figures: the MEI rises to 1%, and the reduced fee and bases may change if a budget is passed. Before that date she can apply for the extension in Importass. It would run from April 2027 to March 2028, so the requirement is measured twice: 2027 income below the 2027 SMI and 2028 income below the 2028 SMI. She will also have to file her income tax return for both years with her business income. At her current pace (about €12,276 over a full year: 9,207 / 9 × 12) she would be well short of the €17,094 of the 2026 SMI, but what counts is the figure approved for each year.

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Step 6. What if business goes better than expected? If her 2027 net income reaches €20,000 and that figure equals or exceeds the 2027 SMI (not yet set; the 2026 one is €17,094), the Seguridad Social will adjust the nine months of extension in that year (April to December). It will take the proportional share (20,000 × 9 / 12 = €15,000) and ask her for the difference in fees.

How to apply for the flat rate when you register

You ask for the flat rate on the same RETA registration form, in Importass. The steps:

1. Register with Hacienda on Form 036 (modelo 036, census registration). Form 037 no longer exists: the Agencia Tributaria abolished it on 3 February 2025.
2. Register with the Seguridad Social in Importass, before you start working.
3. Tick the reduced fee for starting an activity on the form. The law requires you to ask for it when you register (paragraph 3 of article 38 ter): if you do not tick it, you will pay the fee for your band, and fixing it later is not always possible.
4. Review your base before the flat rate ends. During the flat rate the minimum base of band 1 of the general table applies. Before it ends, check your income forecast in Importass and the base that matches it.
5. Check your first bill and make sure it shows the reduced fee.

The full process is in the guide to registering as self-employed. If you plan to start with your unemployment benefit, also see how to capitalise your unemployment benefit: the application goes in before you register.

Common mistakes

• Not ticking the flat rate when you register. It is not applied automatically.
• Forgetting the extension, or asking for it without running the numbers. It does not renew itself. If your real income reaches the SMI, the adjustment will charge you the normal fee for those months.
• Not filing your income tax return during the extension. The adjustment would apply the fixed base (€1,424.40 a month in the 2026 one), far higher than the flat rate base.
• Deregistering for a few months. Any deregistration during the flat rate or the extension ends it, and you need three years without registration to apply again. First, read our guide to deregistering as an autónomo (in Spanish).
• Having debts. A debt with the Seguridad Social or Hacienda can stop you getting it.

If you want to give up the flat rate

It can make sense if you want to contribute more towards your benefits, be covered for cessation of activity or avoid an adjustment during the extension. Under paragraph 3 of article 38 ter, you can expressly waive the reduced fee, with effect from the 1st of the month after you notify it. The Seguridad Social offers the "Renuncia a tu tarifa plana" (give up your flat rate) service in Importass.

How Melso helps

Melso is your AI tax agent, with human professionals behind it. For your self-employed registration, Melso collects what is needed and, with the required authority, a Melso gestor files it with Hacienda and the Seguridad Social. After that, over WhatsApp, Melso organises your income and expenses, and Melso and its professionals prepare and review the included returns, always for your activity and tax profile: you approve the exact draft in the app and, with the required authority, the professional files the approved version with the AEAT, Spain's tax agency. See the plans and pricing and tap Get started at melso.ai, or Message us on WhatsApp to tell us about your case.

This article is for information only and does not replace professional advice for your case. Last reviewed: 12 October 2026.