Euskadi vs rest of Spain: what changes for autónomos

At a glance

Topic	Rest of Spain (AEAT guides)	Euskadi
Who collects your taxes	The Spanish tax agency (AEAT)	The Hacienda Foral of the territory where you live
Tax registration	Modelo 036 with the AEAT. The modelo 037 was removed on 3 February 2025	Modelo 036 in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, modelo 037 in Álava, with your Hacienda Foral
Quarterly VAT	Modelo 303, from 1 to 20 April, July and October, plus a fourth-quarter 303 in January	Modelo 303 (modelo 300 in Gipuzkoa) by 25 April, 25 July and 25 October. No fourth-quarter return: the annual modelo 390 settles it
Quarterly income tax prepayment	Modelo 130, 20% of the year's net income so far	Modelo 130 with different rules and dates in each territory
Invoicing software	VeriFactu, compulsory for autónomos from 1 July 2027	TicketBAI, already compulsory in all three territories. VeriFactu does not apply
Record books	Your own record books	Your own record books in Gipuzkoa and Álava. The online LROE (Batuz) in Bizkaia
Simplified method flat deduction	5% of net income, at most €2,000 a year	20%, 15% or 10%, by income bands
Income tax (Renta)	State income tax law, filed with the AEAT	Your territory's own income tax law, filed with your Hacienda Foral
Social Security	RETA, flat fee and brackets	The same
Residence and work permits	The State	The State, but the Basque Government decides the work part of first-time work permits
Start-up grants	Grants run by other regions	Lanbide's APES and APEC grants

Who collects your taxes

Where you live decides, not where your clients are. The Basque Country has its own tax system under the Economic Agreement (Concierto Económico), a State law. If you live in Álava, Bizkaia or Gipuzkoa, you deal with that territory's Hacienda Foral for income tax and VAT, not with the AEAT. See Find your Hacienda Foral.

VAT is the one tax where the rules are shared. The Concierto says VAT follows the same rules as in the rest of Spain, so the rates and what is taxed are the same. But each Hacienda Foral approves its own forms and sets its own payment deadlines, which must stay close to the State's. If your turnover in the year before was €12,000,000 or less, you pay all your VAT to your Hacienda Foral.

If you moved to Euskadi from elsewhere in Spain this year, your Renta for this year may still go to the AEAT. See If you moved from elsewhere in Spain this year.

Registering for tax

In the rest of Spain you register with the AEAT on the modelo 036. The AEAT removed the simplified modelo 037 on 3 February 2025, so Spanish guides now talk only about the 036.

In Euskadi you register with your Hacienda Foral, on that territory's form. Álava still uses the modelo 037. Gipuzkoa and Álava also ask for a separate business activity tax (IAE) form. See Register with your Hacienda Foral.

Quarterly returns

Rest of Spain (AEAT):

VAT: modelo 303, from 1 to 20 April, July and October. The fourth quarter has its own 303, from 1 to 30 January, and the annual summary (modelo 390) is due in the same January window.
Income tax prepayment: modelo 130, in the same windows. It is 20% of your net income from 1 January to the end of the quarter. Professionals do not file it if at least 70% of their income in the year before had income tax kept back (retención).

In Euskadi there is no fourth-quarter VAT return: the annual modelo 390, filed in January, settles it. The other dates and rules depend on your territory. When a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next working day. See File your quarterly returns and Check your 2026 tax deadlines.

Araba / Álava

VAT: modelo 303 by 25 April, 25 July and 25 October.
Income tax prepayment: modelo 130 by 10 May, 10 August, 10 November and 10 February. In your start year you pay 5% of the quarter's net income. From then on, Hacienda calculates and charges it for you, and you file nothing.

Bizkaia

VAT: modelo 303 by 25 April, 25 July and 25 October. Batuz prepares a draft for you.
Income tax prepayment: modelo 130 by 25 April, 25 July, 25 October and 31 January. In your start year and the year after, you pay 20% of the quarter's profit. After that, you pay 5% of your net income from 2 years earlier, minus 25% of the income tax your clients kept back. You do not file it if clients kept back tax on 70% or more of your income.

Gipuzkoa

VAT: modelo 300, not 303, by 25 April, 25 July and 25 October.
Income tax prepayment: modelo 130 by 10 May, 10 August, 10 November and 10 February. You pay 5% of your net income from 2 years earlier, minus 25% of the income tax kept back. You do not file it if clients kept back tax on 50% or more of last year's income.

Invoicing software: VeriFactu and TicketBAI

In the rest of Spain, invoicing software must meet the VeriFactu rules (Real Decreto 1007/2023). Real Decreto-ley 15/2025 moved the start dates to 1 January 2027 for companies that pay corporation tax, and 1 July 2027 for everyone else, including autónomos.

VeriFactu does not apply to you if your tax address (domicilio fiscal) is in Euskadi. The AEAT's own questions and answers say that a business taxed by the Basque Haciendas Forales is outside the VeriFactu regulation, and that the three territories use TicketBAI instead.

TicketBAI is not a future date. It already applies to every autónomo in Euskadi, from the first invoice: since 1 January 2026 in Bizkaia, 1 June 2023 in Gipuzkoa and 1 December 2022 in Álava. Each territory has a free official app. See Set up TicketBAI invoicing.

Record books

In the rest of Spain, and in Gipuzkoa and Álava, you keep your own record books (libros registro) of income, expenses and investment goods.

In Bizkaia you keep them online instead, in the record book called the LROE, as part of Batuz. Your TicketBAI invoices go into it automatically, and Hacienda prepares draft VAT returns from it. An AEAT guide to record books does not tell you how to do this. See Record your income and expenses.

The simplified method

Both systems have a simplified method for working out your business income (estimación directa simplificada), with the same turnover limit of €600,000 in the year before. Two things differ.

How you get it. In the AEAT system, the simplified method applies if you meet its conditions and have not given it up (renunciado). In Euskadi it is not automatic: you choose it on your census registration. See Which method you use.

The flat deduction. In both systems you subtract a flat percentage for depreciation and hard-to-prove expenses (gastos de difícil justificación). The amounts are different:

Rest of Spain: 5% of your net income, at most €2,000 a year.
Euskadi: 20%, 15% or 10%, with bands at €35,000 and €85,000. Bizkaia applies one percentage to the whole amount, chosen by your income in the year before. Gipuzkoa and Álava apply the percentages in bands, like tax brackets. See The flat deduction.

Income tax (Renta)

Each of the three territories has its own income tax law (Norma Foral), with its own rates, deductions, forms and filing dates. The AEAT's Renta manual describes the State law. It does not apply to you.

Forms: modelo 100 in Álava and Bizkaia, modelo 109 in Gipuzkoa.
Dates: the AEAT campaign for 2025 income ran from 8 April to 30 June 2026. The Basque campaigns had their own dates: about 7 April to 25 June 2026 in Álava, 15 April to 30 June 2026 in Bizkaia and 7 April to 2 July 2026 in Gipuzkoa.
Start-up reduction: the AEAT reduces the net income of a new activity by 20% in the first year with a profit and the year after. In Euskadi the reduction is 10%, or 15% for women, with different conditions.

See File your annual returns.

Social Security is the same in Euskadi as in the rest of Spain. It is run by the State, and the 2026 rules come from one State order for all of Spain (Orden PJC/297/2026). Spanish guides to the monthly fee (cuota de autónomos) apply to you:

You register in the self-employed scheme (RETA) in Import@ss, like any autónomo in Spain. See Register with Social Security.
New autónomos who qualify pay the flat fee of €88.64 a month for 12 months.
After that, your fee depends on your expected net income, with the same brackets everywhere. See Understand your monthly fee.

Two details are Basque. Use the same start date as on your Hacienda Foral registration. And when Import@ss asks for the tax office where you registered your IAE, choose your Hacienda Foral, not the AEAT.

Residence and work permits

Residence permits are a State matter, with the same rules in all of Spain (Real Decreto 1155/2024). One part changed for Euskadi: since 1 July 2025, the Basque Government decides the work part of first-time work permits (autorizaciones iniciales de trabajo) for people who will work in Euskadi, including self-employment (Real Decreto 511/2025). The State decides the residence part at the same time. Renewals, the TIE card and arraigo stay with the State offices. See Check your right to work.

Start-up grants

Guides for other regions describe those regions' grants. In Euskadi the start-up grants for new autónomos come from Lanbide, the Basque employment service: APES (€3,500) and APEC (€2,500). Your business must be based in Euskadi, and you must register as a job seeker before you register with Hacienda. See Check the Lanbide start-up grants first.

The flat fee is not a grant. It is a Social Security reduction, and it is the same in all of Spain.

Common mistakes

Filing with the AEAT, or on its forms, because your clients are in Madrid or Barcelona. Where you live decides.
Filing a fourth-quarter VAT return in January. In Euskadi the modelo 390 settles the fourth quarter.
Paying the modelo 130 at the AEAT rate in Gipuzkoa or Álava, or from your third year in Bizkaia. Each territory has its own rule.
Buying VeriFactu software, or waiting for the VeriFactu dates. You need TicketBAI now, and each territory has a free official app.
Assuming you are in the simplified method because an AEAT guide says it applies by default. In Euskadi you must choose it.
Using the AEAT's flat deduction, its cap or its start-up reduction in your Renta.
Registering through a business set-up point (PAE) or an online gestoría that only works with the AEAT. See Find a gestoría.
In Bizkaia, following an AEAT guide to record books and forgetting the LROE.

Questions

Are taxes in the Basque Country different from the rest of Spain? Partly. Income tax has its own law in each territory, and you file everything with your Hacienda Foral. VAT follows the same rules as in the rest of Spain, but with Basque forms and deadlines.
Does VeriFactu apply to me in Euskadi? No, if your tax address is in Euskadi. The AEAT says businesses taxed by the Basque Haciendas Forales are outside VeriFactu. You use TicketBAI, which is already compulsory.
Is the cuota de autónomos different in the Basque Country? No. Social Security is the same in all of Spain: the same flat fee of €88.64 and the same brackets.
Can I follow the AEAT's quarterly calendar? No. Your Hacienda Foral has its own dates, and in Euskadi there is no fourth-quarter VAT return. See Check your 2026 tax deadlines.

Euskadi or the rest of Spain: what changes for autónomos