Autónomo or SL in Spain: Which One Is Right for You

What each structure actually means

An autónomo is a self employed individual. You register with the Agencia Tributaria (Hacienda) through Modelo 036 and with the TGSS for your social security. You pay progressive IRPF on your income (up to 47% at the highest bracket) and a monthly cuota to the Seguridad Social. You are personally liable for everything. If your business runs up debts, your personal savings, your car, and in theory your home are on the line.

A Sociedad Limitada is a private limited company, similar to a BV in the Netherlands or a GmbH in Germany. It is a separate legal entity with its own CIF (tax number), its own bank account, and limited liability. The company pays corporate tax (Impuesto de Sociedades) at 25%, or 15% for the first two profitable years. You pay yourself a salary, which is deductible as a company expense. For a deeper look at the SL specifically, see our Sociedad Limitada dictionary page.

The tax comparison

This is where most people start, and it matters. As an autónomo, your net income is taxed progressively under IRPF. The first 12,450 euro is taxed at approximately 19%. From there it climbs: 24% up to 20,200 euro, 30% up to 35,200 euro, 37% up to 60,000 euro, 45% up to 300,000 euro, and 47% above that. These rates combine the state and regional components and vary slightly by autonomous community.

An SL pays a flat 25% on its profits (15% for new companies in their first two profitable years). But the money does not stop there. To get money out of the SL and into your pocket, you either pay yourself a salary (which triggers IRPF and employer social security contributions) or distribute dividends (taxed at 19% to 28% on the savings base). The combined effective rate is often higher than it looks on paper.

The crossover point where an SL typically starts making fiscal sense is around 40,000 to 50,000 euro in annual net income. Below that, the autónomo structure is almost always cheaper. Above that, an SL lets you optimise by choosing how much to take as salary versus retaining profits in the company at 25%.

Liability: the elephant in the room

This is the factor that many people underestimate until something goes wrong. As an autónomo, there is no legal separation between you and your business. If a client sues you, if a supplier takes you to court, or if you cannot pay your quarterly IVA, the Agencia Tributaria comes after your personal assets. Your home, your savings, your car.

With an SL, your liability is limited to the capital you invested in the company (minimum 1 euro since 2023, traditionally 3,000 euro). Your personal assets are protected. This does not mean you are untouchable. If you act negligently as an administrator, courts can pierce the corporate veil. But for normal business operations, the SL provides a meaningful layer of protection.

When Tjitske was working as a solo autónomo, the liability question felt theoretical. She was invoicing clients for consulting work, and the risk of a major claim was low. When we started building Easy to Spain as a product with paying customers, the calculation changed. A product company has more exposure: customer disputes, regulatory compliance, payment processing liability. The SL structure gave us the protection that felt necessary for that kind of operation.

What it costs to run each structure

The autónomo is cheaper in almost every way. Your monthly cuota starts at approximately 80 euro with the Tarifa Plana and rises to between 225 and 530 euro based on your actual income after the flat rate period ends. A basic gestor or bookkeeping service (like Xolo, which Tjitske used) costs roughly 100 to 200 euro per month including quarterly filings and annual returns. Total overhead: 300 to 700 euro per month.

An SL is more expensive to maintain. The minimum annual costs include: a gestor or asesor fiscal (150 to 300 euro per month, because the accounting is more complex), the annual accounts filing at the Registro Mercantil (approximately 100 euro), a notary for any corporate changes, and the administrator's social security contribution (the administrador who is also a socio with 25%+ ownership pays the autónomo cuota, not the employee contribution). Total overhead: 500 to 1,200 euro per month before you even consider salaries.

There is also the setup cost. Forming an SL through a notary costs 400 to 800 euro in notary and registry fees. The SL Express (1 euro capital) speeds up the process but does not eliminate the costs. And closing an SL is significantly more expensive and complex than simply filing a baja as an autónomo.

Administration: one is simpler, and it is not the SL

As an autónomo, your quarterly obligations are Modelo 303 (IVA), Modelo 130 (IRPF advance), and optionally Modelo 349 if you invoice EU clients. Your annual obligations are Modelo 100 (income tax return) and Modelo 390 (IVA summary). That is it. A tool like Xolo or a basic gestor handles this comfortably.

An SL adds: full double entry bookkeeping (Plan General Contable), annual accounts (balance sheet, profit and loss, annual report), filing at the Registro Mercantil, corporate tax return (Modelo 200), payroll processing if you have employees, and board minutes for any significant decisions. You cannot realistically manage an SL without professional help.

When to switch from autónomo to SL

Our experience suggests looking at the switch when at least two of these conditions are true: your annual net income consistently exceeds 40,000 to 50,000 euro, you want to reinvest profits in the business at a lower tax rate, you have meaningful liability exposure (a product, employees, significant contracts), or you have partners and need a formal governance structure.

The most common mistake is switching too early. An SL with 20,000 euro in annual revenue spends a disproportionate share of that revenue on administration. The second most common mistake is never switching. An autónomo with 80,000 euro in annual income is paying thousands more in taxes than necessary and carrying personal liability for no good reason.

What about the autónomo societario

There is a middle ground that confuses people: the autónomo societario. This is what you become when you are a socio (shareholder) of an SL with 25% or more ownership and also serve as the administrator. You are registered as autónomo at the TGSS (paying the autónomo cuota) but your economic activity runs through the SL. Your AEAT registration is tied to the SL's CIF, not your personal NIE. This is how our team operates. It is not a separate category, it is a consequence of how SL ownership and the social security system interact.

Our recommendation

Start as autónomo. Use the Tarifa Plana. Get a good bookkeeping tool or gestor. Focus on building your income. When you consistently earn above the threshold and your business carries real liability exposure, talk to an asesor fiscal about whether and when to form an SL. Do not form an SL because it sounds more professional. Form one because the numbers and the risk profile justify it.