Seguridad Social Spain: Self Employed vs Employee Compared

The two regimes in one minute

The Seguridad Social runs under several special regimes (regímenes), but the two that matter for most newcomers are the Régimen General (general regime, for employees) and the RETA (Régimen Especial de Trabajadores Autónomos, for self employed). Employees fall automatically into the Régimen General when their employer registers them. Self employed workers register themselves into RETA when they declare their activity. Both regimes give access to the same public healthcare system, the same pension fund, and the same general framework of social protections. The difference is in who pays, how much, and what benefits you can actually claim when you need them.

Quick comparison

Contributions: where the money goes

Employee contributions in the Régimen General

If you are an employee, the contribution math looks easier than it is. Your gross salary is taxed in two layers: the employee social security contribution (approximately 6,35% in 2026, withheld from your gross salary) and the employer contribution (approximately 29,9%, paid by your employer on top of your gross salary). The total cost to the employer is roughly 30% above your gross. What you see on your payslip is your gross minus the 6,35% employee share, minus IRPF withholding (which depends on your tax band).

The 36,25% combined contribution covers: common contingencies (28,3%), unemployment (7,05%), professional training (0,7%), salary guarantee fund FOGASA (0,2%). The exact split varies slightly by contract type (indefinido, temporal, fijo discontinuo) and by sector. Your contribution base (base de cotización) is your gross salary, capped at approximately 4.909,50 euro per month in 2026 (maximum base) and floored at the SMI (1.184 euro per month).

Self employed contributions under RETA

If you are self employed (autónomo), you pay the entire contribution yourself. Since 2023, the contribution is based on your real net income, not a base you choose freely. The 2026 scale has 15 brackets running from approximately 200 euro per month (for net income under 670 euro per month) up to approximately 590 euro per month (for net income above 6.000 euro per month). The Tarifa Plana (a reduced rate of 87 euro per month) is available in the first year for new autónomos, with possible extension into year 2 if your net income stays below the SMI.

These numbers are the contribution itself, separate from IRPF (income tax). The contribution covers the same protections as the Régimen General: healthcare, pension, maternity/paternity, work injury, sick leave, and unemployment (cese de actividad). Coverage is identical; what differs is the cost and the practical details of claiming.

Benefits: where the regimes diverge in practice

Healthcare

Both regimes give you the same access to public healthcare. Once registered with Seguridad Social and your local centro de salud, you get a Tarjeta Sanitaria, an assigned family doctor, and free access to specialists, hospitals, and pharmacy subsidies. There is no difference in quality, speed, or access between employee and autónomo patients. Your spouse and children are covered as beneficiarios under either regime, with no extra cost.

Sick leave (incapacidad temporal)

Here the two regimes diverge sharply. As an employee, sick leave is paid from day 4 (in many sectors, the first 3 days are unpaid and the employer often covers day 4 to 15, with Seguridad Social taking over from day 16). The payment is a percentage of your contribution base (60% from day 4 to 20, 75% from day 21). Total income loss during a typical 2 week illness is small.

As an autónomo, sick leave coverage is technically the same (60% from day 4, 75% from day 21), but two factors make it worse in practice. First, the first three days are unpaid (no employer to cover the gap). Second, your invoicing also stops during illness; if you do not work, you do not bill, so a 2 week illness can mean a meaningful income drop. Many autónomos take out private income protection insurance to cover this gap, which adds 20 to 50 euro per month to costs.

Unemployment benefit

Employees with at least 360 days contributed in the past 6 years can claim paro (unemployment). The base benefit is 70% of your contribution base for the first 6 months, dropping to 60% thereafter, with a duration of 4 to 24 months depending on how long you contributed. Employees who lose their job through dismissal also receive severance pay (indemnización por despido) under Spanish labour law.

Autónomos can claim cese de actividad if they close their business involuntarily (loss of clients, economic insolvency, force majeure). The benefit is similar in calculation (70% then 60%) but with stricter conditions for proving the involuntary closure. In practice, paro is easier to claim than cese de actividad.

Pension

Pension accrual works the same in both regimes: you accumulate contributed years and your pension is calculated based on your contribution base in the last 25 years. The difference is what your contribution base looks like. Employees usually have a higher base (often closer to their actual gross salary), giving a higher future pension. Autónomos historically chose the lowest possible base to save on monthly contributions, leaving them with lower pensions at retirement. The post 2023 real income system has changed this dynamic somewhat, but many autónomos still end up with pensions 30 to 40% lower than equivalent employees.

Maternity and paternity leave

Since the 2019 reform, both regimes offer 16 weeks of fully paid leave at 100% of the contribution base for each parent. This is one area where Spain has true equality between regimes. Autónomas claim the same 16 weeks at 100% of their declared base, with the option to spread the leave across 12 months in some cases.

Tax filing: the hidden cost

As an employee, your IRPF (income tax) is withheld monthly by your employer. Your only annual obligation is the Modelo 100 (Renta) declaration in April to June, and even that is largely pre filled by Hacienda. Your real time tax compliance is essentially zero.

As an autónomo, you owe Modelo 130 (quarterly IRPF advance) by 20 January, 20 April, 20 July, 20 October. Modelo 303 (quarterly VAT) on the same dates. Modelo 390 (annual VAT summary) by 30 January. Modelo 347 (annual third party report) by 28 February if you have any client or supplier above 3.005 euro. Then the Modelo 100 in spring like everyone else. The realistic cost of a gestor for full autónomo accounting is 50 to 80 euro per month, or 600 to 960 euro per year.

Which path is right for you?

Choose employee if...

You value predictability, you want full sick leave and unemployment protection, you prefer to focus on the work itself rather than administration, you have an offer for a stable role at a Spanish company, or you are starting your career and want to build a clean employment record. Most expats with corporate backgrounds find employee work in Spain a smoother path even if the gross salary is lower than what they could invoice as autónomo.

Choose autónomo if...

You have foreign clients (especially outside Spain), you want flexibility, your income is high enough that the contribution cap helps (income above approximately 4.000 euro per month net makes the maximum 590 euro monthly contribution proportionally smaller than what you would pay as an employee), you want to deduct legitimate business expenses (home office, software, travel), or your work pattern is project based. Our autónomo module walks you through the full registration process via Modelo 036 Censos WEB.

The hybrid case: pluriactividad

Spain allows you to be employee and autónomo simultaneously, called pluriactividad. This is common for people who have a stable employee job and a side business invoicing additional clients. You pay both contributions (employee share withheld by employer, autónomo share paid by you), but with a 50% reduction on the autónomo base in the first 18 months of pluriactividad. Spanish tax law treats both incomes together for IRPF purposes.