Ending a job or self-employed (autónomo) activity before you leave

Terms used

• Finiquito — The finiquito is the final pay settlement your employer gives you when your job ends.
• Certificado de empresa — The certificado de empresa is the document your employer sends to the employment service with your work and contribution data.
• SEPE — SEPE is Spain's public employment service, which pays unemployment benefit.
• Autónomo — An autónomo is a self-employed person registered with Social Security.
• RETA — RETA is the Social Security scheme for self-employed workers.
• Baja — A baja is the formal deregistration that ends your registration with Social Security or the tax census.
• AEAT — AEAT is Spain's tax agency.
• IRPF — IRPF is Spanish personal income tax.

Key rules

• Resignation notice: Give notice in writing and get it acknowledged; the usual default is 15 days unless your contract or agreement says otherwise.
• RETA baja: Request the Social Security baja within three natural days of stopping, or it only starts from the day you file.
• Census closure: File the tax census closure within one month of stopping.
• Finiquito: You do not have to sign it; write "no conforme" if you disagree, to keep your right to claim.
• Final returns: Closing the census does not cancel your last quarterly returns, January summaries or final annual IRPF return.

If you are an employee

Resign in writing and ask your employer to acknowledge receipt. If your contract or collective agreement sets no other period, notice is usually 15 days. Your sector's collective agreement may set a longer one, so check it first.

If you leave without giving the full notice, your employer can deduct one day of salary from your final pay for each missing day. It can also claim damages if it can prove a loss.

Your finiquito

The finiquito must list:

• salary owed up to your last day;
• the part of your extra pay (pagas extra) you have earned, if it is not already spread across monthly pay;
• holiday pay you have not taken.

It can also include bonuses or severance owed to you. It is normally paid on your last day or the next regular payday, though your collective agreement may set the timing.

You do not have to sign it on the spot. If you disagree, write "no conforme" next to your signature. This keeps your right to claim. A finiquito signed without that note can be treated as acceptance. You have one year to claim, first through conciliation (SMAC) and then the labour court.

Your certificado de empresa

Your employer reports your contribution and work data, and the reason your job ended, to the employment service (SEPE). This is normally done electronically within 10 days of the contract ending. You need it to claim unemployment benefit, and you can ask your employer for a copy. If it is late, raise it with your employer, then with the labour inspectorate.

If you are self-employed (autónomo)

You can close your activity on the day you leave, but there are two separate closures with different deadlines.

1. Social Security (RETA). Request the baja within three natural days of stopping. Filed in time, it takes effect from the day your activity ended. A late request only takes effect from the day you submit it, and you keep paying contributions until then. A baja backdated beyond the limit is generally not allowed.
2. Tax census. File the census closure with the tax agency (AEAT), using modelo 036 or, if you are eligible, 037, within one month. Tick the cessation of activity and give the real end date.

Final filings

Closing the census does not end your tax duties. File:

• the last quarterly VAT return (IVA, modelo 303);
• IRPF instalments (modelo 130, or 131 if you are in módulos) for the quarter you stop;
• withholding returns (111, 115) if you had them.

Then file the yearly summaries in January: 390 for IVA, 190 and 180 for withholdings, and 347 if you reach the thresholds. Your final annual IRPF return is filed in the normal campaign, April to June of the following year. The quarterly deadlines are the first 20 days of April, July and October, and 30 January. The date for your last quarter depends on when you stop.

Keep invoices and books for 4 years for tax purposes and 6 years under commercial law.

If you own a Spanish SL

Closing an SL takes longer and usually needs a gestor or lawyer. In outline:

1. The owners' meeting votes to dissolve and appoints liquidators.
2. The liquidators pay debts, collect what is owed, and share what remains.
3. The dissolution is signed before a notary and the company is cancelled in the Registro Mercantil.

Settle employees and Social Security first. File the census closure, the final Corporate Tax return and the IVA returns. Liquidators can be personally liable if debts are left unpaid. Start well before your departure date.

Order to follow

The timeline, documents list and checklist below set out the order and what to tell clients, banks and your town hall. Do not leave the country with a RETA baja or census closure still open. They keep costing you money.

Timeline and deadlines

• Give your employer written resignation notice and get it acknowledged: 15 days before your last day, unless your contract or agreement sets another period

• File the tax census closure (modelo 036 or 037): within one month of stopping

• File the yearly summaries: in the usual January deadlines

Documents you need

• Written resignation letter, which your employer acknowledges receiving. Give it with the notice set by your contract or agreement, usually 15 days if none is set.

• Finiquito (final pay settlement) from your employer, listing salary owed to your last day, unused holiday pay and any extra pay not yet paid. You may sign it with "recibí, no conforme" if you disagree.

• Certificado de empresa, which your employer sends to the public employment service (SEPE) and you can ask for a copy. You need it to claim unemployment benefit.

• Census baja form (modelo 036 or 037) filed with the tax agency within one month of stopping, if you are self-employed.

• Notarial deed (escritura) of dissolution and liquidation, if you close a Spanish SL company. It is used to cancel the company in the Registro Mercantil, where the company books are also deposited.

Who to tell: residence, Social Security, employer and clients

Who to tell before you leave

• Give your employer written notice of your last working day, using the notice period in your contract or collective agreement.

• Ask your employer for the finiquito (final pay settlement, including unpaid holidays and pro-rata extra pay) and the certificate of work.

• Ask your employer to file your Social Security baja, which ends employee affiliation. If you are self-employed, file your own baja through Import@ss, the Social Security online service, before the end of the month, or the full month's quota is charged.

• If you are self-employed, close your activity in the tax census with the tax agency (modelo 036 or 037), after the Social Security baja.

• If you are self-employed, tell your clients, send a final invoice and agree a plan for any open contracts.

• Stop the direct debits for your autónomo quota, taxes, mutual insurance, professional insurance, accountant (gestoría) and software, then check the last payment has gone through.

• Request your informe de vida laboral (record of your contributions), free from the Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social. Get it online with Cl@ve, an electronic certificate or DNIe for an immediate PDF, or by SMS, phone, post (up to about a week) or an appointment at a Social Security office.

• Tell your town hall to remove you from the padrón (municipal register) if you are leaving permanently, and notify the tax agency of your change of tax residence with modelo 030 or 036.

• Tell the Social Security office you are leaving, so your health card ends cleanly. Your Social Security number never lapses.

• If you are not sure whether you are leaving for good, keep your padrón registration, NIE, a low-activity Spanish bank account, and any health card and insurance you need, and hold off cancelling contracts that are costly to restart.

• If your plans are uncertain, set a date within the first months abroad to decide, and review your status then. Remember that tax residence depends on the 183-day rule and where your main interests are, and Spanish tax residents on the padrón must keep filing returns.

• If you are leaving permanently, go ahead with the full closure: padrón baja, tax residence change, ending self-employment, utilities and, last, the bank.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to sign the finiquito the day I leave?

No, you are not required to sign the finiquito, and you can sign it with the words "recibí, no conforme" to keep your right to claim.

What happens if I leave without giving the full notice?

Your employer may deduct one day of your salary for each day of missing notice from your final pay. It can also claim damages if it can prove it lost money because of it.

When does my employer have to send the certificado de empresa?

Your employer normally has to send the certificado de empresa to the public employment service (SEPE) within 10 days of your contract ending.

Can I close my autónomo activity on the day I leave Spain?

Yes, you can close your activity on the day you leave, and the baja takes effect from that date if you file in time. A late Social Security request only takes effect from the day you submit it and means extra contributions. You must still file the final VAT and IRPF returns for the last period.

What final tax returns do I file after closing as an autónomo?

You file the last quarterly VAT return (modelo 303) and, if they apply to you, the IRPF instalment (modelo 130, or 131) and withholdings returns (111, 115) for the quarter you stop. The yearly summaries follow in the usual January deadlines.