RETA

How RETA works

Unlike the Régimen General (the main regime for employees, where contributions are split between employee and employer), RETA contributions are paid entirely by the self employed worker themselves. You are both the worker and the employer in one. The contribution is debited monthly from your Spanish bank account by direct debit (domiciliacion), set up when you register at the Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS) through the IMPORTASS portal.

Since the 2023 reform, RETA contributions are based on your real net income (yields after deductible business expenses), distributed across 15 income brackets. In 2026 the brackets run from approximately 200 euro per month at the lowest income level (under 670 euro per month net) to approximately 590 euro per month at the highest level (above 6.000 euro per month net). Before 2023 autónomos could freely choose a contribution base; that flexibility no longer exists in the same way.

What RETA covers

Registration under RETA gives you access to the same protections as employees in the Régimen General: public healthcare (free at the point of use), pension accrual toward the future Spanish state pension, maternity and paternity leave at 16 weeks fully paid, sick leave coverage (incapacidad temporal) from day 4 of illness, work injury coverage, and since 2019 unemployment benefit for involuntary cessation (cese de actividad). The Tarifa Plana, a flat 87 euro per month rate, is available to new autónomos for the first 12 months regardless of income, with possible extension in year 2 if net income stays below the SMI.

Related terms

Autónomo (the worker registered under RETA), Seguridad Social (the umbrella social security system), TGSS (Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social, the administering body), IMPORTASS (the online portal for self managing RETA), Tarifa Plana (the reduced first year rate), SMI (the minimum wage that anchors the lower contribution brackets).