Estimating your income and choosing your contribution bracket

Key rules

• Forecast: Choose your bracket from your expected monthly net income after expenses, the Social Security quota and the 7% deduction, not from your sales.
• Changes: You can change your contribution base up to six times a year.
• Start date: A change takes effect on the first day of the period after your request, so ask before the deadline.
• Company partners: If you are a company partner or director, the general deduction is 3% instead of 7%.

Pick your bracket from a realistic forecast

Your bracket depends on your expected monthly net income, not on your sales. Make a sensible forecast, choose a base close to it, and adjust later if the year turns out differently. You are not locked in: you can change your base up to six times a year.

How to estimate your income

Work through these steps:

1. Estimate your annual revenue: your clients, your rates and the months you expect to work.
2. Subtract the expenses you can deduct, such as rent, software, phone, an advisor and supplies.
3. Subtract the Social Security quota itself, which also counts as an expense.
4. Subtract the general 7% deduction for expenses that are hard to prove. If you are a company partner or director, it is 3%.
5. Divide the result by twelve. This is your monthly net income.
6. Find the bracket that contains that figure.

The result is your net yield (rendimientos netos). It covers all your self-employed activities together, not just one.

Set your starting base

Choosing a base close to your forecast is the usual advice. A very low base can mean a correction later, when your real income is compared with what you declared. A very high base means paying more every month than you need to. The decision below helps you weigh a cautious figure against one close to your forecast.

If your income ends far above or below your estimate, see the section below on that situation.

Change your base during the year

You request the change online, and the date it takes effect depends on when you ask. The timeline below lists each deadline and start date. The rule is simple: a request made by the end of a period applies from the first day of the next one.

Use the checklist below for the steps. In short, you sign in to the Social Security electronic office or its app, go to the self-employed section, and enter a new monthly base within your bracket's limits. If you cannot use the online route, book an in-person appointment.

Review your forecast every couple of months. If your income is clearly running above or below it, request a change before the next deadline so the new base starts as early as possible.

Choosing between options

How close to your forecast should you set your starting base?

• Close to your forecast: You have a clear idea of your clients, rates and months of work, so your forecast of monthly net income feels solid.

• A cautious, lower figure: Your clients or rates are still uncertain and you would rather start low and raise the base later.

Estimate your yearly revenue from clients, rates and months of work. Subtract expected expenses (rent, software, phone, advisor, supplies) and the quota itself, then take off the 7% deduction. Divide by twelve and find the matching bracket. Choose a base close to that figure, and adjust it later if your income changes.

Timeline and deadlines

• Request your base change online; you can change up to six times a year: any time, as long as you stay within six changes a year

• A change requested by 28 February starts on 1 March: by 28 February

• A change requested by 30 April starts on 1 May: by 30 April

• A change requested by 30 June starts on 1 July: by 30 June

• A change requested by 31 August starts on 1 September: by 31 August

• A change requested by 31 October starts on 1 November: by 31 October

• A change requested by 31 December starts on 1 January: by 31 December

Checklist

• Sign in to the Seguridad Social electronic office or its app with a digital certificate, electronic ID or Cl@ve.

• Open the self-employed section and select the change of base.

• Submit the request.

What if your income ends far above or below your estimate?

You can change your base when your income drifts, and the year-end adjustment settles whatever is left.

Change your base during the year

If your income is running well above or below your estimate, change your contribution base instead of waiting. You can do this up to six times a year. Each change moves you to a bracket that fits your real income better, so you avoid a big adjustment later.

A change takes effect on the first day of the period after your request:

• Request by 28 February: applies from 1 March.
• Request by 30 April: applies from 1 May.
• Request by 30 June: applies from 1 July.
• Request by 31 August: applies from 1 September.
• Request by 31 October: applies from 1 November.
• Request by 31 December: applies from 1 January.

A request made after a deadline waits for the next period. The choice of bracket itself is covered in the rest of this page.

What the year-end adjustment does

What you pay during the year is provisional, based on the income you expected. After the year ends, Social Security compares your bases with your net income as reported by the tax agency. Your real income decides which bracket you should have been in.

• You paid too much: the difference is refunded to you.
• You paid too little: you pay the difference.

So an estimate that turns out wrong is not a penalty. It is corrected later, and changing your base during the year only reduces the size of that correction.

When it happens

The adjustment usually comes in the year after the contributions, often between spring and autumn. Refunds are made automatically within a few months. If you owe money, Social Security notifies you, and you must pay by the end of the month after the notification. Exact dates depend on when your notification arrives, so keep an eye on your notifications from Social Security.

Frequently asked questions

What income counts when I choose my bracket?

Your bracket depends on your yearly net yield (rendimientos netos) from all your self-employed activities, divided by twelve. Net yield is your income minus deductible expenses, including the Social Security quota itself, and minus a general deduction for expenses that are hard to prove.

How big is the general deduction for hard-to-prove expenses?

The general deduction is 7% of your net yield. It is 3% if you are a company-partner or director autónomo. Take it off after subtracting your expenses and your quota, then divide by twelve.

What happens if my forecast turns out to be wrong?

You can change your base later, so a wrong forecast is not permanent. The year-end regularisation also corrects the difference between the base you paid on and what you really earned.