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Pluriactividad: work on your own while you have a job
Yes. You can be employed and an autónomo at the same time. Social Security calls this pluriactividad. It works the same way in Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Álava, because Social Security is a State service. Your Hacienda Foral still depends on where you live.
Before you start
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What you still register
A job does not replace either registration.
- You still file the census form with the Hacienda Foral of the territory where you live: modelo 037 in Álava, modelo 036 in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. See Register with your Hacienda Foral.
- You still register in the self-employed scheme (alta en el RETA) in Import@ss, with the same start date. See Register with Social Security.
- You still invoice with TicketBAI from your first invoice. See Set up TicketBAI invoicing.
- Your employer keeps paying the contributions for your job. You pay the autónomo fee as well.
Your fee
Your autónomo fee uses the net income you expect from the self-employed work, not your salary. See Understand your monthly fee.
You can ask for the flat fee (tarifa plana) of €88.64 a month if you qualify. That rule looks at whether you were registered as an autónomo in the last 2 years, or 3 years if you had the flat fee before. Your job does not, by itself, remove the flat fee.
The 2026 refund
In 2026, add up the common-contingency contributions from both activities: what you pay in the RETA, plus what you and your employer pay for your job. If that total is over €17,323.68, Social Security refunds 50% of the excess. The refund cannot be more than 50% of the common-contingency contributions you paid in the RETA.
Social Security pays it within 4 months of the yearly correction of your autónomo fees. It asks you for details only when it cannot work the figure out itself. You do not file a separate form to claim it. This is article 18.8 of Orden PJC/297/2026, which applies article 313 of the General Social Security Law.
The old reduced base
Some guides still say that a new autónomo in pluriactividad can choose 50% of the minimum contribution base for 18 months, then 75% (or 75% then 85% if the job is part-time). That was the old article 313.2. Real Decreto-ley 13/2022 removed it from 1 January 2023. The current article 313 is the refund above, not a reduced base. If someone quotes those percentages, ask them to show the current consolidated article.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the RETA because you already pay Social Security through your job.
- Counting your salary as the income that sets the autónomo fee.
- Following a guide that still offers the reduced base removed in 2023.
Questions
- Can I be autónomo and keep my job in the Basque Country? Yes. Register with your Hacienda Foral and with Social Security, on top of the job you already have.
- Is the fee different in Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Álava? No. The fee and this refund are State rules. Only the tax registration differs by territory.
- Do I get the tarifa plana as well? You do if you were not registered as an autónomo in the last 2 years, or 3 years if you had the flat fee before. See Understand your monthly fee.
Official sources
- Orden PJC/297/2026, article 18.8: the 2026 pluriactividad refund (opens in a new tab)
- Ley General de la Seguridad Social, article 313 (consolidated text) (opens in a new tab)
- Real Decreto-ley 13/2022, which rewrote article 313 from 1 January 2023 (opens in a new tab)
- Import@ss: Alta en trabajo autónomo (opens in a new tab)
- Social Security: guide for autónomos (opens in a new tab)
Free, independent information. Not an official government website or a gestoría. Confirm current requirements with the authority before you act. Your checklist ticks and territory choice stay on this device. Found something out of date? Email a@halawa.io.