Registering a family member who helps in your business (colaborador familiar)

Terms used

• Colaborador familiar — A colaborador familiar is a close relative who regularly helps in an autónomo's business without being an employee.
• Autónomo — An autónomo is a self-employed person registered with Spanish social security.
• RETA — RETA is the social security scheme for self-employed workers.
• Alta — The alta is the registration that starts someone's social security coverage.
• TGSS — The TGSS is the social security office that handles registrations and contributions.
• Cl@ve — Cl@ve is the government's electronic identification system for online procedures.

Key rules

• Timing: File your relative's alta before they start work.
• Eligibility: Your relative must be over 16, not salaried, within the second degree, and live with you and depend on you.
• Bonus: The quota bonus is 50% for 18 months, then 25% for 6 months, if there was no colaborador registration in the last five years.
• Risk: An unregistered relative can mean fines, back payments and lost bonuses.

Do you need to register your relative?

If a relative helps you regularly in your business and is not your employee, register them. Leaving them unregistered is risky (see the last section).

A colaborador familiar must meet all of these conditions:

• They are your spouse or a relative up to the second degree, by blood, marriage or adoption. That covers parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings and in-laws of the same degree.
• They are over 16.
• They work with you habitually but are not salaried.
• They live with you and depend on you financially. The social security office (TGSS) applies these two conditions, so ask it if your case is borderline.

If your relative really works like an employee, with a contract and fixed pay, this status does not apply. They need an ordinary employment registration instead. Proof of an employment relationship can override the family status.

How to register them

You, as the owner, register your relative in the self-employed scheme (RETA). The registration is called the alta. File it before they start work.

1. Fill in form TA.0521. It must show the family relationship, and your relative must appear as a family member working for you.
2. Attach or have ready the documents listed below.
3. File online through the Seguridad Social electronic office. You can use a digital certificate, Cl@ve or an authorised social security professional. Or go in person to a TGSS office with an appointment.

Form names and channels change, so confirm the current ones with the TGSS.

What your relative pays

Your relative pays contributions under the ordinary self-employed system. They choose a contribution base within the allowed limits, based on their real income, using the same income bands as other autónomos.

New colaboradores get a bonus on the common-contingencies quota:

• 50% off for the first 18 months.
• 25% off for the following 6 months.

To qualify, you must be the autónomo owner, and your relative must have had no colaborador registration in the previous five years.

For 2025, the common-contingencies rate was 28.3%. On top of that came 0.8% for the MEI (an intergenerational equity contribution) and 0.9% for cese de actividad (unemployment-type cover for autónomos). Rates are revised every year.

If your relative already helps you unregistered

Register them now. Don't wait for an inspection.

Unregistered work can lead to a visit from the labour and social security inspectorate. The law presumes work for an employer is employment. Relatives who live with you and depend on you may be excluded from that presumption, but don't count on it.

If an inspector finds an unregistered worker, the fine can run from the low thousands to tens of thousands of euros per worker. You would also owe back contributions with surcharges, and you could lose bonuses and aid. Fines have risen in recent years.

The checklist, documents list and warnings below cover the steps in more detail.

Timeline and deadlines

• Register your relative as colaborador familiar: before they start work

• Receive the 50% bonus on the common-contingencies quota: for the first 18 months

• Receive the 25% bonus on the common-contingencies quota: for the following 6 months

Documents you need

• Your relative's ID card or NIE, the identity document that foreigners in Spain hold.

• Your relative's social security number.

• Proof of the family relationship, such as the family book (libro de familia).

• Your relative's bank account details.

• Your own autónomo details as the owner.

• The self-employed registration form TA.0521, which must show the family relationship.

Checklist

• Confirm your relative is within the second degree, over 16, not salaried, and lives with you and depends on you.

• Gather your relative's ID or NIE, social security number, proof of relationship and bank details.

• File the registration (alta) with form TA.0521 before your relative starts work.

• Choose how to file: online with a digital certificate, Cl@ve or an authorised professional, or in person at a TGSS office with an appointment.

• Check whether your relative had no colaborador registration in the last five years, to qualify for the bonus.

• If your relative already helps you unregistered, register them now rather than waiting for an inspection.

What to watch out for

• Unregistered relative can trigger an inspection: A relative who helps in your business without being registered can lead to a labour and Social Security inspection. If the inspector finds an unregistered worker, the fine is classed as serious or very serious, and can run from a few thousand to tens of thousands of euros per worker. Register your relative as colaborador familiar before they start work, or give them an employment contract if they do not fit the conditions.

• Back payment and lost benefits: On top of fines, you may have to pay back contributions with surcharges and lose bonuses and aid you receive. Regularise the situation as soon as you notice it and ask the Seguridad Social what you owe.

• Living together and depending on you is not automatic protection: The law assumes that work for an employer is employment. Relatives who live with you and depend on you may be left out of that, but proof of an employment relationship can overturn it. If your relative works fixed hours under your orders for a wage, ask the Seguridad Social whether they need a contract instead.

Frequently asked questions

Can my spouse or my brother work in my business as a colaborador familiar?

Yes, your spouse and your brother both count, because relatives up to the second degree by blood or marriage can qualify. The same goes for parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren and in-laws of that degree. They must be over 16, not be salaried, and normally live with you and depend on you financially.

How much is the bonus on a colaborador familiar's contributions?

The bonus is 50% off the common-contingencies part of the quota for the first 18 months, then 25% off for the next 6 months.

Can I register my relative after they have already started helping me?

No, the registration must be requested before your relative starts work. If they already help you without being registered, register them now and expect that an inspection could treat the past work as unregistered employment.

What happens if my relative actually works like an employee?

Then the colaborador familiar status does not apply and they need a normal employment contract. The assumption that a relative is not an employee can be overturned if there is proof of an employment relationship.