Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Hello all
Thanks for taking the time to read this! Basically I live in Spain, am a resident here, have been here 8 years. I want to become self employed and work from home in Spain. My new job would be on-line teaching which means I can work from anywhere, and also means I can return to (and work from) the UK whenever I wish to (which is currently only twice a year as I have a full time job in an English academy). Being autonomo in Spain is incredibly expensive and it has been suggested to me that I become self employed back in the UK, pay the necessary taxes in the UK and continue living in Spain (while popping home to the Uk on and off throughout the year). I realise that I won´t have medical cover if I don´t become autonomo but was told by another source that my NIE / DNI should get me health care here in Spain. I want to know if everything I´m saying is viable? - To reiterate - I won´t be living 6 months in each place , I will be based in Spain but popping back to the UK a handful of times in the year. Thanks so much Amy |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
No, that’s not a possibility. You could incorporate a limited company in the UK and only take dividends but you’d still need to pay income tax in Spain.
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Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Can I check then BritinParis - if I paid income tax in Spain, paid my taxes in the UK and was self employed in the UK (as opposed to Spain), would this not work?
I must admit I do not have a head for these things, if you can explain in layman´s terms that would be great :) Thank you! |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Originally Posted by amyliverpool
(Post 12750204)
Can I check then BritinParis - if I paid income tax in Spain, paid my taxes in the UK and was self employed in the UK (as opposed to Spain), would this not work?
I must admit I do not have a head for these things, if you can explain in layman´s terms that would be great :) Thank you! Presumably there are are also rules about only being allowed to work as self employed in Spain if you are registered there as such (just as there would be in the UK - you can’t work there as self employed without registering as self employed), but those in the know will be along to help with that shortly. HTH. |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Hi oompa, thanks for that! Yes I would of course do everything legitimately and would register as self employed in the UK.
I am still registered as a UK citizen, use my doctor and dentist there when I go back and so on. I had heard somewhere that I would have to live half the time in the UK or at least a considerable time, and move between the UK and Spain for this to work. I wanted to clarify if that is the case and what are the exact time frames, if any? Ideally I would live in Spain and go back to the UK say every couple of months or 3 months even... Thanks again ya´ll :) |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
So you live in Spain but pop back to the UK and use the medical system there? Plus you live in Spain, will work from Spain (even if only using a computer) but don't want to pay your dues in Spain? The phrase 'cake and eat it' spring to mind.
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Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
No, I choose to use my dentist in UK because I have had her since I was a child. I do pay to see her. The same with my doctor. It´s my family doctor. I see him occasionally if anything serious comes up (I had depression for years and he helped me with that so I trust him). He is happy to see me on those occasions which is rare.
I was recommended doing this because I don´t earn a great deal and the autonomo fees here are extortionate. I would love to be self employed because here in Andalucia the majority of academies pay under the table (which I don´t like at all but have no other choice), so there is no fall back if one gets sick or becomes unemployed.. I was told it is by the books and legal to do what I am suggesting. All I wanted to know is if that is the case or not. If it is not, I will not do it. I don´t think you need to judge me for it. I was just asking for advice :( |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Originally Posted by amyliverpool
(Post 12750251)
No, I choose to use my dentist in UK because I have had her since I was a child. I do pay to see her. The same with my doctor. It´s my family doctor. I see him occasionally if anything serious comes up (I had depression for years and he helped me with that so I trust him). He is happy to see me on those occasions which is rare.
I was recommended doing this because I don´t earn a great deal and the autonomo fees here are extortionate. I would love to be self employed because here in Andalucia the majority of academies pay under the table (which I don´t like at all but have no other choice), so there is no fall back if one gets sick or becomes unemployed.. I was told it is by the books and legal to do what I am suggesting. All I wanted to know is if that is the case or not. If it is not, I will not do it. I don´t think you need to judge me for it. I was just asking for advice :( |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Originally Posted by amyliverpool
(Post 12750251)
No, I choose to use my dentist in UK because I have had her since I was a child. I do pay to see her. The same with my doctor. It´s my family doctor. I see him occasionally if anything serious comes up (I had depression for years and he helped me with that so I trust him). He is happy to see me on those occasions which is rare
To be considered tax resident in the UK, it's 183 days a year irrc. |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Thank you. Very kind of you to respond El Collado Kid. Un abrazo :)
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Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
ok, I see oompa.
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Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
This is a technical explanation of how this would be viewed in France. I don't know if Spain sees it the same, but most EU countries do follow similar rules.
If you are self employed then you and your business are one and the same entity. Everything that you earn is yours to spend as you wish. You declare it on your personal tax return and pay income tax on it. As opposed to, if you own a company then the company turnover is kept separate from your own personal income, ie what you draw in salary and dividends. So, it is possible to live in one country and own a company in another country. You as a "natural person" pay income tax on your salary and dividends in the country where you live, and your business as a "legal person" pays corporate tax on its profits in the country where it is established. But if you and the business are one and the same, none of that applies. Income tax is payable where your bum is when you do the work. If you did in fact live in Spain but return to the UK to do a substantial part of the work then you could be classed as a cross border worker. If HMRC approves this arrangement you would pay income tax and NICs in the UK and your healthcare in Spain would be covered by virtue of your NICs. (This will probably no longer apply after Brexit because it's an EU arrangement). But if your bum is in Spain when you do all or most of the work, you have no tax liability to the UK. Why would you have? You can't just randomly decide to pay tax in a country other than the one you live in. If you live in Spain you can't decide you will pay tax in Greece, Italy, France, the UK or wherever, because tax rates are lower. That is basically what you seem to be suggesting but if you could do that, then everyone would choose to pay tax in whichever country has the lowest tax rates. So there has to be firm rules to determine where tax is paid. Those rules are contained first of all in each country's fiscal law, which sets out the criteria for fiscal residency, and then in cases with an international dimension, in tax treaties between different pairs of countries and sometimes by EU directives. Hope that gives you a clearer perspective on the issues involved. |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Thank you EuroTrash for this lengthy explanation. Very good of you to explain. As I said, I don´t have a head for a lot of this stuff, but what I have understood is that I must, by law, be autonomo / self employed in Spain if I live the majority of the year in Spain, right? And what I have suggested in my initial thread is simply not possible. Is that right? Thank you again for your time. I do appreciate it.
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Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Originally Posted by christmasoompa
(Post 12750300)
To be considered tax resident in the UK, it's 183 days a year irrc. It's a very complicated system. See here https://www.gov.uk/government/public...-test-srt-rdr3 |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Originally Posted by amyliverpool
(Post 12750422)
Thank you EuroTrash for this lengthy explanation. Very good of you to explain. As I said, I don´t have a head for a lot of this stuff, but what I have understood is that I must, by law, be autonomo / self employed in Spain if I live the majority of the year in Spain, right? And what I have suggested in my initial thread is simply not possible. Is that right? Thank you again for your time. I do appreciate it.
If you want to be self employed in the UK you would have to actually physically be in the UK when you carry out most of your work. As you say, for a self employed person this is normally, but not necessarily, the same country where you live for the majority of the year. |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Thanks so much for all of your advice folks
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Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Originally Posted by amyliverpool
(Post 12750422)
I don´t have a head for a lot of this stuff
This sort of stuff can tax even the experts so you need to do it right or not do it at all because the potential consequences of getting it wrong don't bear Contemplation. |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Originally Posted by Notdunroamin
(Post 12752211)
Then I respectfully suggest you quit looking for ways to dance around the rules to your own tune and especially looking for answers in amateur public forums such as this.
This sort of stuff can tax even the experts so you need to do it right or not do it at all because the potential consequences of getting it wrong don't bear Contemplation. |
Re: Can I become self employed in UK while living in Spain
Thank you spouse of scouse for being so supportive! :)
& it´s true I do like to dance to my own tune, who doesn´t!? But the negative, mean stuff that´s being said on here is really unnecessary I feel. I literally just wanted a little feedback on this matter. I said I wouldn´t want to do anything illegally and I´m clueless to all this stuff (it´s true I´m a bit daft at times too and I´m the first to admit it!) But this accusatory and judgmental tone that I´m hearing from some of the guys on here is really baffling and bizarre to me! I´d never speak like that to someone who is simply asking for a little advice, however daft they may be. Surely life is hard enough that we needn´t be so unkind to one another? Surely we are here to help, not cut down and accuse... That kind of behaviour speaks volumes I tell you! I wish you all the best on your respective journeys .... |
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