Self-employed in the Basque Country or Navarre: which rules differ

Terms used

• Hacienda Foral — The Hacienda Foral is the regional tax office of Araba, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa or Navarra, which replaces the national tax agency there.
• AEAT — The AEAT is Spain's national tax agency, which handles taxes outside the foral territories.
• RETA — RETA is the national Social Security scheme for self-employed people.
• TGSS — The TGSS is the national Social Security treasury, where you register as self-employed.
• IRPF — The IRPF is Spain's personal income tax.

Key rules

• Tax office: In Araba, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Navarra you file tax registration and returns with the Hacienda Foral, not the AEAT.
• Social Security: RETA registration is national and works the same as in the rest of Spain.
• Income tax: Your income tax goes to the territory where you are resident, using that territory's scale.
• Forms: Check form numbers on your Hacienda Foral's website, because they differ by territory and can change.

Which tax authority you deal with

Araba, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Navarra have their own tax administration, so you file your tax registration and returns with it instead of the national tax agency. Each is called a Hacienda Foral. The three Basque provinces each have their own, run by their Diputación Foral. Navarra has the Hacienda Foral de Navarra, run by its regional government. Each has its own website and electronic office.

Everywhere else in Spain, the national tax agency (AEAT) applies.

What stays national

Social Security registration for the self-employed is the same across Spain, including the Basque Country and Navarra. You register in RETA with the national Social Security office (TGSS), online or in person, exactly as anywhere else. Contribution rules are the same too. Only the tax side changes.

What changes

• Tax registration. You use your Hacienda Foral's own census form instead of the national forms 036/037. For example, Bizkaia uses modelo 400. Register before you start the activity, and in any case before your first tax obligations arise.
• Income tax (IRPF). Each territory sets its own scale, deductions and rules, including estimation methods and withholding. The structure looks like the national one, but brackets, rates and deductions differ. Find the current scale on your Hacienda Foral's website or in its official bulletin.
• Quarterly instalments. You do not use the national modelo 130 or 131. Each Hacienda Foral has its own forms, usually filed online. Deadlines generally fall in the first 20 days of April, July and October, and by 30 January for the fourth quarter. Check the exact forms and dates with your Hacienda Foral.
• VAT. You file with your territory's Hacienda Foral, using its equivalent of modelo 303. Small businesses usually file quarterly and larger ones monthly.

Which authority gets your tax

Income tax follows where you are tax resident, not where your clients or work are. You are resident in a foral territory if you spend more than 183 days of the year there, or your main centre of interests is there.

For VAT, if your total operations in the previous year did not exceed 10 million euros, only the administration of your tax domicile handles it. Above that:

• If over 75% of your operations are in common territory, the AEAT handles it.
• If over 75% are in foral territory, the foral administration handles it.
• Otherwise the tax is split in proportion to where you carry out operations.

The decision, timeline, checklist and questions below take you through these steps.

Choosing between options

Which tax administration handles your VAT: the foral one or the national tax agency?

• Your foral Hacienda: Your operations in the previous year did not exceed 10 million euros and your tax home is in a foral territory. Also if you are above that and over 75% of your operations are in foral territory.

• The national tax agency: Your tax home is in the rest of Spain, or you are above 10 million euros and over 75% of your operations are in the rest of Spain.

• Both, in proportion: You are above 10 million euros and neither side has over 75% of your operations. The tax is split by where you operate.

Income tax follows where you live: more than 183 days in the year, or your main centre of interests, in a foral territory means you pay income tax to that territory.

Timeline and deadlines

• Register your activity in the census of your Hacienda Foral: before you start the activity

• File the fourth-quarter income tax instalment: by 30 January in most cases

Checklist

• Register your activity with the Hacienda Foral of your territory, using its own census form instead of the national modelo 036 or 037.

• Register in RETA, the self-employed Social Security scheme, with the national Social Security office (TGSS), as everywhere in Spain.

• Find the form numbers for your quarterly income tax instalments on your Hacienda Foral's website.

Frequently asked questions

Which tax authority do I deal with if I live in Bizkaia but my clients are elsewhere in Spain?

You file income tax with the Hacienda Foral of Bizkaia, because individuals pay income tax by where they live, not where the activity takes place. VAT also goes to your home territory while your operations in the previous year did not exceed 10 million euros.

What happens to my VAT if my turnover goes above 10 million euros?

Above 10 million euros in the previous year, the split depends on where your operations take place. If over 75% are in the rest of Spain, the national tax agency handles your VAT. If over 75% are in a foral territory, the foral administration does. Otherwise the tax is divided in proportion to where you operate.

Do I use the national modelo 130 for quarterly income tax payments in a foral territory?

No, foral self-employed people use forms specific to their territory instead of modelo 130 or 131. Each Hacienda Foral sets its own form number and filing channel, usually electronic.

Where do I find the income tax scale for my territory?

Each Hacienda Foral publishes its current scale on its website and in its official bulletin. Brackets, rates and deductions differ from the state ones and are updated yearly.