Spain Self-Employed Net Income Calculator 2026

Enter what you invoice and your expenses to see, in one go, your autónomo social security quota, income tax (IRPF), the VAT that passes through your hands and what you really keep each month.

The sum of the taxable amounts on your invoices for the year, without VAT and without subtracting withholding.

Business expenses with an invoice: materials, software, office rent, accountant, utilities… Not including the autónomo quota, which is calculated separately.

The VAT on your expense invoices. If you don't know it, roughly 21 % of the expenses that carry VAT.

Applies the 20 % reduction of net income in the first profitable year and the next one.

When should you use this calculator?

Use it when you are about to register as an autónomo in Spain, when comparing a job offer with working for yourself, or when you want to know how much you can spend each month without a nasty surprise at tax time. Unlike an employee, nobody tells a self-employed person their net pay: you invoice a figure, but social security, income tax (IRPF) and VAT that isn't yours all come out of it. This calculator puts the three together and shows your real income and how much to set aside each month.

How it is calculated

First the autónomo quota is worked out from your income bracket (using that bracket's minimum base), or the flat rate if you are new. The quota is a deductible expense, so net income is invoicing minus expenses minus the quota, and under the simplified direct assessment regime a further 5 % is deducted for hard-to-justify expenses, up to 2,000 € a year. If your income is below 12,000 € a reduction of up to 1,620 € applies, and if you started recently, another one of 20 %. The state and regional scales are applied to the resulting base, discounting the personal and family allowance, just as in the annual return. VAT is calculated separately: you charge it to your clients and pay it every quarter, minus the VAT on your expenses.

Practical example

Laura is a designer in Madrid: she invoices 40,000 € a year excluding VAT, has 5,000 € of expenses with 800 € of input VAT, and her clients withhold 15 %. Her income for social security is 2,712.50 € a month, bracket 7: she pays a 427.21 € monthly quota. Her IRPF for the year is about 5,246 €, and since 6,000 € was withheld she gets around 754 € back in her return. She keeps 24,628 € net, about 2,052 € a month; the quota and IRPF take 29.6 % of her profit. She also collects 8,400 € of VAT that isn't hers: after deducting the 800 € of input VAT she pays 1,900 € every quarter. All in all she should set aside about 633 € a month for the tax office.

Legal and tax context

The calculation follows the simplified direct assessment regime of Spain's IRPF Law 35/2006 and its Regulation: 5 % for hard-to-justify expenses (art. 30 of the Regulation, with the 2,000 € cap in art. 30.2.4 of the Law), the reduction for income below 12,000 € in art. 32.2.3 and the 20 % reduction for starting an activity in art. 32.3. The 15 % withholding (7 % in the first three years) is in art. 95 of the Regulation, and the 20 % modelo 130 instalment in art. 110; you don't have to file it if at least 70 % of your income has withholding. The quota follows Order PJC/297/2026 and the flat rate art. 38 ter of the Self-Employed Workers Statute. Simplifications: other income (such as a salary), regional tax credits and the special reduction for economically dependent self-employed workers are not included.

Data verified in 2026-10-29

Sources:

  • Ley 35/2006 del IRPF (texto consolidado BOE): art. 30.2.4.ª (gastos de difícil justificación, máximo 2.000 €), art. 32.2.3.º (reducción por rentas inferiores a 12.000 €), art. 32.3 (reducción del 20 % por inicio de actividad)
  • Reglamento del IRPF (RD 439/2007): art. 30.2.ª (5 % de gastos de difícil justificación), art. 95.1 (retención del 15 % y del 7 %), arts. 109-110 (pago fraccionado del 20 %, modelo 130)
  • Orden PJC/297/2026, de 30 de marzo (bases y tipos de cotización de autónomos para 2026) y art. 308 de la Ley General de la Seguridad Social
  • Ley 20/2007 del Estatuto del Trabajo Autónomo, art. 38 ter (cuota reducida o tarifa plana)
  • Ley 37/1992 del IVA, arts. 90-91 (tipos general, reducido y superreducido)

Common mistakes

The most common mistakes: counting the VAT you charge as your own income and spending it before the quarter ends; thinking the 15 % withholding is what you will pay in IRPF (with high profits it falls short and the return comes out to pay); forgetting that the autónomo quota is deductible; comparing your invoicing rather than your profit with a salary; and not setting money aside each month, so modelo 303, modelo 130 and the annual return all hit at once. If you change bracket during the year, remember that social security adjusts the quota the following year.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does a self-employed person in Spain take home?

It depends on invoicing, expenses, quota bracket and region. As a reference, in Madrid, invoicing 40,000 € a year with 5,000 € of expenses, an autónomo keeps about 24,600 € net, roughly 2,050 € a month: the quota and IRPF take close to 30 % of the profit.

Is the VAT I charge part of my income?

No. The VAT on your invoices belongs to the tax office: you collect it from the client and pay it every quarter with modelo 303, minus the VAT on your expenses. That's why invoicing is always entered without VAT to work out your net.

Should I apply 15 % or 7 % withholding?

Professionals apply 15 % on invoices to companies and other self-employed people. In the year you start and the following two you can apply 7 %, if you had no professional activity the year before; you must tell your clients. No withholding applies to private individuals.

Do I have to file modelo 130?

Yes, if you are under direct assessment and less than 70 % of your income has withholding: each quarter you pay 20 % of your year-to-date net income in advance, minus what you have already paid. If almost all your clients withhold, you are exempt.

Which expenses can I deduct as an autónomo?

Those linked to the activity and backed by an invoice: materials, software, office rent, accountant, training, the autónomo quota itself and part of the utilities if you work from home. Under simplified direct assessment you also deduct 5 % of net income for hard-to-justify expenses, up to 2,000 € a year.

Why do I owe money in my return if tax was already withheld?

Because the 15 % withholding is a flat rate on what you invoice, while the real IRPF is progressive on your profit. With high profits the tax exceeds what was withheld and you pay the difference; with low profits or high expenses you usually get money back. This calculator shows which case is yours.