Self-employed in Mallorca

Many immigrants want to be self-employed in Mallorca and open their own business, their own boutique, a restaurant on the beach or a small finca hotel in the interior of the island.

First of all, you need a Spanish tax number for foreigners (abbreviated N.I.E.). What is the best legal form for the planned business activity? The easiest way is to register as self-employed („autónomo“) with the tax office and the Spanish social security system. The establishment of a Spanish GmbH (“Sociedad Limitada”) is much more complex and also requires the company to be entered in the Spanish commercial register (“Registro Mercantil”).

The taxes due are calculated and paid quarterly. In Spain taxes are a “bring debt”. If your activity is subject to VAT, you must make a corresponding VAT (IVA – Impuesto de Valor añadido) payment to the tax office at the end of each quarter, as well as a deduction on income tax (IRPF – Impuesto sobre al Renta de Personas Fisicas). The annual tax return is then due no later than June 30 of the following year.

But before you can open your business, you have to have an operating permit from the municipality (licencia de actividad), but in isolated cases a “permiso provisional” (provisional permit), with which you can already start, is sufficient.

To deal with all these formalities for the tax office, social security and community, it is highly recommended to use the support of a Gestoria, a service provider who offers assistance to authorities and institutions.