How to be Autónomo
in Euskadi.

Yes. This page is a starting point for both. Your right to live and work depends on your situation. Not every visa or residence status allows self-employment. Check with the relevant official authority before you start.

Yes. Araba/Álava, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa have their own provincial tax offices (Hacienda Foral). Tax forms and reporting duties can differ. Address registration (empadronamiento) is handled by your local town hall (Ayuntamiento).

An autónomo is a self-employed worker. You work on your own account, rather than as an employee. You manage your registrations, invoices, and tax duties. The exact duties depend on your work and situation.

Many official services are online. Cl@ve, an FNMT certificate, or BakQ from Izenpe can help you access them. Each portal accepts different methods. Check which one the service accepts before you apply.

No. This is a general overview, not legal, immigration, or tax advice. We do not calculate taxes or collect personal data. Confirm your next steps with official services or a qualified adviser.

File a census form with the Hacienda Foral of the territory where you live, not with the Spanish tax agency (AEAT). Álava uses the modelo 037 before you start. Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa use the modelo 036. Then register with Social Security for the same start date, on that date or up to 60 days before. Where your clients are does not matter.

Use one start date for both. File Social Security on that date or up to 60 days before it, never after, or the registration is late. In Gipuzkoa and Álava the Hacienda form is due before you start, so file that first. In Bizkaia the modelo 036 is due within one month of the start date, with two exceptions that must be filed before you start.

No. The AEAT also uses a modelo 036, but in Euskadi you file with your Hacienda Foral. Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa use their own modelo 036. Álava uses the modelo 037. Social Security is the same as in the rest of Spain.

Every sale needs a TicketBAI invoice with its own number, the date, your name and NIF, your client's name, both addresses, a description, and the VAT rate and amount. Professional work invoiced to a Spanish business also shows the income tax they keep back: 15%, or 7% in your start year and the two years after. A business in another EU country is invoiced with no Spanish VAT and the words inversión del sujeto pasivo.

Each quarter you file VAT with your Hacienda Foral: modelo 303 in Álava and Bizkaia, modelo 300 in Gipuzkoa. The fourth quarter is settled in January on the modelo 390, not on another quarterly form. You also file a modelo 130 income-tax prepayment unless you are exempt. The 2026 dates, already moved off weekends and holidays, are on the tax calendar page.

An expense lowers your income tax when it is for the business and you record it, with the invoice where there is one. Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa each have their own income tax law, so home, car and equipment rules are not the Spanish tax agency's rules. In the simplified method you also take a flat percentage.

You need two codes before you register: an IAE epigraph for your Hacienda Foral, and a CNAE-2025 code for Social Security. IAE section 2 is professional work, and Spanish business clients then keep back income tax. Section 1 is a business activity, such as a shop, and they do not. If you are not sure, call your Hacienda with one sentence about what you sell.

If you live legally in the EU, you have the right to a basic payment account, even without a fixed address, for at most €3 a month. You can ask with your passport if you do not have the TIE yet. The bank still has to identify you. To pay your Hacienda Foral by direct debit, the account has to be at one of that office's partner banks.

Only with a legal basis that allows self-employment. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens register and get a certificate with their NIE. A qualifying relative of an EU or Spanish citizen can apply for a family residence card. Other people need a permit: from abroad, or from inside Spain through arraigo or a change of status. This guide does not tell you which permit you qualify for.