Freelancing for companies overseas but living in Spain
Posted: 28 August 2009 01:05 AM  
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Joined  2009-08-28

Hi,

I hope someone can give me some advice.  Im originally from the Uk and have recently moved back to Barcelona after living in Australia the past couple of years.  I lived in Barcelona for 3 years before that and have my NIE etc and was employed full-time by spanish companies previously.  I’m a web developer and for the next 3-6 months I will be freelancing for clients in Australia and the UK, though the workload is irregular - so perhaps one month I will not be paid much and the next a lot - and being paid retrospectively into accounts into both countries.  I will also be travelling away from Spain a lot. 

My question is what I should do regarding taxes/social security etc and signing on as autonomo as I will probably look for full-time employment in Spain later on which will organise these things for me, plus I am not going to be working for any spanish companies or being paid into a spanish account or in euros - my payments will be in other countries and currencies - so how do I work out the tax situation from these??  I am not registered for tax in the Uk as I haven’t lived there in 8 years or so, and have left Australia permanently so am no longer registered there for tax purposes.  If anyone who may have been in a similar situation can advise me what the best way to go about working legally here for the next 3-6 months, that would be great!  Or if anyone knows any affordable gestors I can speak to for advice that would be great too! Thanks!

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Posted: 17 November 2009 07:19 AM   [ # 1 ]  
Expatriator
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Total Posts:  306
Joined  2007-09-24

If you intend to exist and live legally in Spain you will need to pay tax and social seguridad (autonomos) in Spain.  And probably pay an accountant to sort the tax situation out for you.  I am not sure whether there are any special arrangements you can make given the temporary period involved, but I BELIEVE (ie I am not a tax advisor!) that you will be tax resident in Spain 6 months following your arrival.

It’s messy and complicated and I am afraid the main certainty is that you need to get advicce from somewhere a bit more specific than a forum however friendly and helpful this one is!  My situation is not too dissimilar to yours and I ended up setting up a Spanish limited company to bill through, though it would be very expensive to do this for a short period.  I think you need an asesor rather than a gestor, adn someone here may well be able to recommend one (sorry I am miles from Barcelona)

good luck!

Maya

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