subject: Working is Spain [print this page] Working is Spain Working is Spain
It is no secret that Spain has the worst unemployment in Europe and jobs are very hard to come by but if you are an expat looking for work in Spain here are some tips and things you will need to do.
Firstly, the employment laws in Spain heavily favour the employee so many companies are reluctant to employ staff on full time contracts. If you are lucky to be employed in a fixed contract you are entitled to more benefits and are protected from being sacked.
As a European citizen you will not need any permits to work in Spain but you will need to obtain a NIE number from the police station. You can get help with this from many gestorias. Working in Spain means that you will become a fiscal resident of Spain (you will pay your taxes in Spain) and your NIE number is the equivalent of your National Insurance number.
If you are working for a company on a fixed contract you will pay social security and tax at source meaning this will be deducted from your wages. Then every June you will have to submit a tax return to establish whether you are owed tax or you owe additional tax.
The other popular way you may be offered employment is for you to become autonomo' which is the equivalent of self-employed. This means that you are not actually employed as such so you will have no rights of employment. If this is the route you will take then you need to be aware that you will incur some additional monthly costs such as your monthly autonomo fee (social security) of around 250 plus accountancy fees each month of around 60.
When you invoice as autonomo the company you invoice must withhold 15% tax on your behalf and you must add IVA (VAT) to each invoice. Unlike the UK where there is a minimum threshold of being VAT registered, all Spanish invoices must include IVA.
Each quarter you will need to submit accounts and pay your IVA and the balance of tax after any expenses are deducted to make it up to 20%.
