Question about autonomo(yes, again...)

[Zofia]

I currently work from home(my status is freelance), for a UK company, getting paid in UK money into my UK bank. I want to register for autonomo (need health cover, and private will work out a lot more). What are the logisitics of this? I don't think my company would pay in euros into my Spanish bank, so how would I work out my tax returns?

Also would it cover my partner and my children for health care?

Thanks.

[julian]

are you sure than private health care here is more expensive than paying autonomo?

[Zofia]

Yes, if you want to be covered for everything, for a family of 4. We were quoted way over 300 euros a month, and that didn't include things like smear tests/mammograms etc. Also we were limited to where we go for healthcare. Want to be able to just use the local surgery, rather than traipse around Granada when a small boy has an ear infection....

[spanish_lad]

also very interested in this answer. julian, are you saying that earning in this "fashion", it would be "legal" to pay for private cover? i haven´t been to the centro salud in 10 years, i dont intend to start now

[sunkissed]

A single person pays as much for autonomy as a family with six children which is why there are so few young people going out and starting businesses

[julian]

sorry SL, I don´t understand exactly what you are asking...do you mean that if you are autonomo would it be legal to also have private cover? if so, yes.
the logistics and costs of paying autonomo with all the legal and tax costs7hassles etc I think would be far more complicated than using/paying private health cover.

[spanish_lad]

no, im asking the legality of paying private rather than ss, seeing that 90% of income is earned outside spain.

[julian]

I imagine that Zofia earns 100% outside of spain,and is doing tax returns in uk...so if you can find a private health insurance that will give you cover it is not illegal......whether or not Zofia should legally be paying tax in spain rather than the uk is another matter,depending on the amount of time spent in spain each year.

[Zofia]

Zofia 'physically' does all the work in Spain, as it's online. I don't go to the UK to work at all. But the money is paid into a UK bank in £s by a UK company. Even my gestor doesn't really know the legalities in this situation, and neither do the legal department of the company (and my company is part of GE, the biggest company in the world, so you'd think someone there would know!). Inland Revenue are useless too.

I was merely wondering if I am allowed to pay autonomo if my pay is not Spanish, and if I did, would the health cover be for my family too.

[BENIDORM]

Zofia,
I see no reason why you couldn't contribute to the system in Spain by paying Autonomo, and unless rules have changed recently you should receive medical cover for yourself and your dependants.
As you are carrying out your work in Spain I would also think that it is correct that you should be part of the Spanish system, paying your taxes etc in Spain,and where you receive your incoming remuneration from is I would think irrelevant, I would say that it is where you are domiciled that is most important.
If you are intending to stay permanently in Spain I would say that in my opinion it is better to arrange all of your affairs in Spain.
I don't know your personal circumstances so really you should seek the advice of a qualified person...if you can find one !
Hope this helps...

Regards,
Gordon.

[pilgrim2]

I live in Spain worked for a Uk partnership, paid tax and national ins. to UK for a number of years then last year the UK tax office decided I was no longer classed as a distance worker? (it was the UK tax office who said I was a distance worker in the first place)Any way after lots of ph calls and letters to and fro I think the UK had made a mistake but did not actually want to admit it - epescially as I asked if they wanted to give me a nice big rebate of my contibutions for the last 5 years On another note Zofia, if you contact the British Consulate in Malaga they will be able to clarify your childs right to medical care in Spain, I am sure they are entitled to healthcare under a European legislation I made enquiries along these lines before we came to Spain.

[Zofia]

Thanks guys.

[Emma-Louise]

If you are living in Spain you should play by the rules in Spain! Simple!

Pay into the system...unless you are going to pretend to be on holiday if you need hospital treatment? Which is not on!

Social Security is expensive, if everyone who was avoiding the system, paid up, social security payments could be lower!

[julian]

AMEN

[Zofia]

Emma, I'm not trying to avoid the system, I WANT to pay autonomo, I wasn't sure if I was allowed to. If I start paying Spanish taxes, I will probably be better off too, just not sure how to go about doing things like proof of income, if it's all in UK money. Lots of fiddling about with exchage rates etc...also much of my income stays in my UK bank and doesn't get transferred here.

Having said that, 260 euros a month is unaffordable for most part-time self-employed people so I don't blame them trying to avoid it.

My OH works in the UK, and has an E111 card, does that mean my children would be covered by that too? double cover?

It's not emergency hospital treatment that bothers me either (we did have one of children rushed to Granada in an ambulance a few weeks ago with a convulsion -thankfully he's fine now- and they seemed to accept the E111 card), if they don't accept the card, I will pay. It's the every day medical care I am more interested in, general check-ups, childrens innoculations, normal stuff really.

[hillybilly]

If you're tax resident in Spain you should already be paying tax in Spain, not the UK. You should declare your worldwide income on your tax declaration in Spain and, if tax had already been deducted in the UK eg by an employer who won't pay you gross, then you won't have to pay tax on it twice (due to the dual taxation agreement between the 2 countries) but you may have additional tax to pay on it in Spain if the tax rate bracket you fall into is higher here. I'm sure Sid will be along soon to explain it better!

[Zofia]

Thanks, does the fact that I'm living here automatically make me a tax resident? Or do I have to register somewhere (would it be the same as registering as self-employed to pay autonomo, in which I get a SS number?)? I will ask the gestor to do that for me again (I did it for a month last year, long story...).

Will my partner, as well as my kids, then be covered for healthcare here, even though we are not married, he is the main wage-earner, and he works in the UK only? If not, what would he have to do to get health care here?

[BENIDORM]

I can fully understand why many expats seem happy to live in 'Limbo- land', with regard to paying Social Security etc, it is a lot of money to find for many , and it does seem expensive for someone working just part-time.
However I actually think that it is 'good value' if you do pay Social Security payments in Spain, particularly if you have a family, the medical services are in general very good.

And if you are running any form of business / work in Spain, surely it is better to be legal and correct, rather than always looking over your shoulder, and expecting a 'knock on the door'...
And , from my experience it is other expats who 'report' their fellow expats to the authorities for any 'mis-doings'..
I have heard that there is a possiblity that a different level of social security payments , for 'part time employment', may be introduced in Spain, in the near future, similar to the changes in the French social security system.
I know some people who work officially for 6 months, then do a 'Baja', then re-start again after 6 months, they seem to be covered still for medical etc., I'm not sure if this is legal though.( I don't know if I've explained that properly..my dyslexia just 'kicked in )...!...

If everyone paid their dues, I doubt that there would be any reduction in social security payments, it would mean more 'jobs for the boys' to administrate it ,and the powers that be would just be driving around in bigger cars !
Regards,
Gordon the Pensionista...

[Jool]

I was told autonomos cannot get part time registration or part time seg soc contributions as its assumed they would all claim for that but work full time hours, and there is no real way of monitoring how much work they do. I think if they reduced the contribution for autonomos for the first year (and then less of a reduction for the next 2 years, until well established) of a business more people would work legally.

At present autonomos are assumed to be inherently dishonest in the spanish system and hence receive nothing except hassle yet pay out a fortune each month, if legal.

[HKM]

My husband pays autonomos and when we had to spend a lot of time in the UK this year and was not working he went on to baja, it was simple and he has now switched back to paying without any problems at all. This week we recieved a 'history' from the Ministerio detailing all of this..

To add another question, if one person has 2 jobs do they have to pay 2 lots of autonomos?


HKM