la mancha

If your bank account has been embargoed and there are insufficient funds in the account there will be no bank charges. They will take what is in there and leave it at that, until the next time which could be the next day, week, month, or every day for a week and then nothing for a month before starting the procedure again. There are no rules for timing.

I would like to make some suggestions which may be a little out of date, I don’t know, but I am sure some on here will enlighten me! I take it your partner was not self-employed as a SL company? If so then he may still be able to work around this. If your partner now wants to work as self-employed he may be able to start as a SL company. He will have to pay the fees for this which includes a 3000 euro payment into the new SL bank account, your partner’s bank account in the name of your SL company, which you can take out the day after your company has been inaugurated. You do not need to let this 3000 euros remain in your account. It is a fairly easy process. I have been told that the hacienda cannot touch your SL bank account or interfere with you running a SL company. But, and there is always a but, if your partner’s past cannot be cleared then I advise him not to buy a car; he can hire long-term or buy in your name or the company’s name.

You need to see a gestor. Do not go to the biggest in town and don’t ask the expats where you live (no disrespect here). I advise your partner to ask some Spanish people what to do. Don’t feel awkward about telling them what position you are in. Believe me, many of them are in an even worse position and are still trading. I know this for a fact. If you do see a gestor and he asks for money up front because he has to go to the hacienda or wherever, go elsewhere. There are plenty of gestors and local Spanish people will usually give good advice. Just don’t pay over the odds because the gestor thinks you are in trouble and only he can help you. He may ask for something at the outset but make sure what it is he is going to do. And don't keep apologising! When talking to a gestor do not show a sign of weakness!

There are also schemes for those who wish to start as self-employed. I don’t know if this includes SL start-ups but if so it is worth thinking about. A gestor will know.

I hope this is of some help. In Castilla-La Mancha a very learned man told me that he personally knows of many Spanish who go into business and do not pay a euro for anything. After 6 months, or for however long they can get away with it for, they closed down and start up again the whole process. While I do not advise this way of life, - too stressful! - it is possible to start up again after a problem.

The rules change so quick now so please take professional advice bearing in mind what I have said.

trackwa

No not sl company. He was self employed hairdresser. Thank you for your advice. It seems strange to me ( but i know how strange things can be in spain) that they only took 261 euros which is the payment for 1 month autonomo, i would have thought if it was he owed for the yrs he was in the uk they would have took more or all of what was in his account?? X

la mancha

Odd, I know, but what isn’t in Spain. If your partner starts using the account again possibly it will wake them up and they will start taking money out. Ask some Spanish for advice. It costs nothing, and then make a decision. Without walking into the social offices yourself and possibly wakening them after all this time, a gestor is the only one who can check up on your partner’s problem. You can ask a couple of gestors. Get some different people’s views because Spanish people with similar problems to your partners are still working. If it was me and I had a good chance of earning money i.e. one that outweighed the costs of a SL company, I would see if it is possible to open as a self-employed hairdresser and registering myself as a SL company. You do not need premises to be SL. I know of many self-employed working from home as a SL.

Take my advice as just that; advice. If you want to know what is workable you must see a gestor. Maybe your partner is worrying for nothing. Until a gestor checks it out, he will never know.

nyosito

Hi , here is my advice and i learn the hard way how the spanish system works
I am romanian born and lived for 24 years in USA, basically my adult life when you start planning for the future, i have owned a business there , but decided to move back to Europe , to be closer to my parents(Romania).So i choose Spain because weather , lifestyle etc.What a nightmare!!!!!!

I opened a business back in 2014 in Marbella , Spain , and after i went to the gestor and spend about 1500 euros just to open the SL i was told that a have to pay 261 autonomo monthly and i have 10 days from when i receive a confirmation from the tax office to register my bank account with them so the can freely take the money out.My business did not make any revenue i closed it at a loss not even an euro cent , yet the tax office took the 261 monthly out of my account.On top of that i hired an employee and the gestor told me that they have a great incentive from government on hiring new workers, like giving a contract for 3 years you only pay half of his contributions which would be 261 a month ,yes folks i stand correct because because full contribution will be 522 a month on top of his salary which would be a whopping %52.2 employee contribution monthly.
So i decided to close the SL after 3 months and 0 revenue just i lost what i put on the business:
Here is what i paid at closing the SL

1.1600 TO THE GESTOR TO CLOSE THE COMPANY
2. 360 IRPF this is income tax to individuals , i have no clue how in the world can you tax somebody that has made 0 profit!!!!!!!!!!
3. The remaining 262x 3 months for my employee hired contribution because he was not kept the entire 3 year contract

So bottom line is if you don"t dissolve the company you will owe the tax office for every month your autonomo contribution even if you not working, and if your name is tied to a bank account number they will take out at will what you owe up to date, and no a gestor can"t help you because the tax office dont give a damn about it!!!!!!

I tried Spain adventure but i said no mas!!!! Moving to UK where they have sense about opening a business like opening my LTD in one day compare to Spain 30 plus days.

Good luck with your case.

Maybe1day

I think you got heavily ripped off by your accountant, start up was quite expensive in my case mainly because there had been alterations in the premises. Close down 3 yrs ago cost me nothing, As for the contributions, I paid 274 Euros pm, Don't forget the retention on the rent, they will be after you for that too. Last year I went to the Tax office because of an embargo on my account for 13.90 euros, it was for late payment ( 1 day) of the fine on a previously unpaid retention. I now pay 60 Euros pa for my tax declarations etc.

nyosito

How can i get ripped of by my accountant for my autonomo contributions , employee contributions, IRPF? These are set by the tax office not the accountant.
I just wanted to obey the law and tax system that"s way i paid so much because i did it by the book like not many people in Spain! I don"t blame them with this tax system in place.

And i stated that i paid 262 my autonomo and %54 for my employee that i hired so if you didn"t hired anyone how can you say its wrong?

nyosito

I"m not crying about my gestor fees, i know i got ripped off big time , but i choose to go thru a gestor because i tried online to open my SL and was a nightmare , after 1 day filling the online app. i gave up.Compared with a LTD i opened online in UK thru an online company , filling with companies house, etc i had everything done in 3 hours.
Talking about this is how is done!!!!!
The tax system is a problem in Spain.How are businesses supposed to hire with such a high tax rate?

angiescarr

Hi I can back up what you say. The gestor states their fees upfront and the rest would have been for the government. (possibly not easily understood). I can certainly confirm what happens next when your business isn't earning much (or no) money. People who have never run an Autonomo here can't really comment. Those who have successfuly have either had a very high turnover...or have done it illegally. It's not possible to continue a business legally in Spain as an autonomo with a low turnover. Your finances drain month by month. And yes... You pay extra for being unable to pay. but they don't give you anything back for having taken a retention that they pay you back much later because your income is so low. That's just the simple truth. I tried it. I kept trying it until my children's patience ran out (Help and support) Now I'm trying the Regimen general way and my husband is trying to run a business until it has a high enough turnover, taking advantage of the lower Autonomo payments. We'll see. I rather suspect that as the Autonomo payments rise...his business too will be squeezed out of existence.

nyosito

Yes but it doesnt matter how your company gets set up autonomo or SL (societad limitada) they still take the same out monthly.What i dont understand how a tax system is set up to take out every month even if you didnt pay yourself yet because your business didnt make any profit.To me thats highway robbery!!!!!

amideislas

There are a lot of things in Spain that cost you money even if you never consumed anything, received anything in return, or made any profit.

That doesn't make it right. It's just a different mindset.

nyosito

Thats why im moving to the UK= better mindset , and common sense

amideislas

Well, there you go. Everybody finds comfort in what they're used to.

And also, as Maybe1Day suggests, the prices vary depending on who you're dealing with. It's true in shops as well as professional services.

One shop will have a price of €19.99 for something, whilst another will sell exactly the same brand and model for €89.99. That's not unusual.

One Gestor may tell you that you have to pay - €xxx - whilst another will tell you €yyy. The only way to know "for sure" how much you actually need to pay is to do the work yourself. And even then, the Hacienda or the local Ajuntamento may give you wildly varying different answers depending on whom you speak to, on what day.

I reckon most expats here would tell you it took some time to get used to living in Spain. But you do.

Maybe1day

Hey I only meant re the set up fees, There was nothing wrong with the contributions on the part of the accountant. I paid more than you, there was no licence and mainly because the building had been altered (Total 3300 Euros), I was paying 548 a month for 2 of us and we paid everything by the book for 5 years. At the end of the day we lost over 150,000 Euros. The place only ever ticked over, the only profit was our food. We were luckier than our neighbors, their locales changed hands 3 and 4 times respectively in the 5 years usually with the new lessees leaving unpaid rent, electricity bills and whatever. We were the bigger fools, We had the money to continue, If we had have packed it in after the first year we would have lost a lot less.
Without the Taxes etc we had
Initial price 70K
Modifications 30K
5 Yrs Rent 60K
Selling Price 9K
Add in taxes, Retention, fines, Because of Duff Accountants, Accountants, contributions, Running costs, Lack of sleep, Agro, etc etc etc.