harm12

I work for a UK company planning to live in spain (but have no actual work in spain, for now).

My research so far :

Getting paid in UK is fine, but one needs to file taxes in spain as you are resident there for more than 183 days(not a big issue).

But, you will need to pay NI contributions in spain - both by yourself and by your employer - or you have to setup yourself as self employed(autonomo) and bill as consultant to your UK employer.

Not paying NI in spain means no free healthcare/pensions (NHS scrapped dual agreement recently), so you need private medical insurance for spanish residency card (after 3 months).

If you are willing to Pay NI in spain by setting yourself up an autonomo - I still can't see a simple way to ensure you employer is not breaking the law by not registering themselves in spain
- Also don'tthink many employers would be keen to change your from employee as consultant either - due to 2 year limit rule for consultants in UK.

(Healthcare, pensions, etc are issues that need consideration too as all those UK years built up for statutory pension go out of the window if you stop paying in UK, but paying in both places, doing taxes in both places, etc all adds up pretty quickly)


So, how does one continue to work and get a salary in UK - but set themselves up to live in spain without running foul of spanish rules for both yourself and your employer?

harm12

I found this - How To Guides - Working For A Uk Employer In Spain | Tumbit How To Guide

But if you work for your employer remotely (and all the work is for uk and nothing in spain) - would you still be considered obliged as working IN SPAIN?

chopera

I'm pretty sure that if you spend more than half the year in Spain you will almost certainly be considered a Spanish resident and, by law, have to pay NI contributions. It's not a question of opting out and not being eligible for healthcare/pensions/etc, but rather you have to pay them if you are working. If your employer is not registered in Spain, and therefore unable to give you a contract that enables them to pay contributions, then the only way to make yourself legal is to register as an autonomo as you suggested. AFAIK it doesn't matter that you are working remotely, if you are physically in Spain then you are resident in Spain, your economic interests are in Spain, and you need to pay tax in Spain.

harm12

Thank you for your input.
I am happy to register as autonomo and pay the necessary contributions, etc.

Guess one thing i need to figure out is if my employer has to do anything - can they just continue to pay me as usual in UK (NI,etc to UK authorities). Are they are still obliged to pay Employer share of NI contributions even if they are not registered or doing any business in spain?!

snikpoh

... but they'd be paying that in UK - it's nothing to do with Spain.


So, is there a way for them NOT to pay this at all?

harm12

Which is what is confusing - Can i earn a salary in one country (as a full time employee and do the NI in UK)
And then just declare that income as autonomo in spain (pay NI again to spain as autonomo)
Taxes - as there is double taxation agreement between UK and Spain, i just pay once.

Would the above be acceptable to Spanish tax authorities?

cricketman

I used to be in the same situation as you are looking into

A went to an employment lawyer and their advice in the following

1. If you are working from Spain and are resident in Spain then you must pay social security and income tax in Spain
2. If your employer is in the UK and you are employed by them then they must either setup a Spanish company and pay you through this, or set up a Spanish "secursal" and pay you through that. Both options will be a pain for an employer and cost them a few thousand euros per year in admin
3. The other option is you register as autonomo and then invoice your employer for the work you do each month. I was told I would need to sign a TRADE contract but for this then your employer would need a CIF (and therefore have done option 2) so this is a catch 22. However, the contractural issue is only for your own protection. As long as you have registered as autonomo and are paying all social security and income tax, then your personal legal obligations have been covered

I hope this helps!

Tadd1966

due to 2 year limit rule for consultants in UK
Not sure what you are thinking here the only rule in relation to the 2 year rule is in or outside of IR35 and consultants claiming tax relief for travel and subsistence (accommodation, meals, mileage etc.)

In summary any contract for a consultant that is known to be over 2 years or extensions that have you at the same place of work for more than 2 years the inland revenue consider this as your permanent place of work and you cannot claim T&S as an expense
As an example a contract for 18 months you can claim T&S but if you were to get a 6 month plus extension from the minute you sign the extension you will not be allowed to claim T&S

If you are considering this path then contact an accountant who will keep your right plenty of info online just search netAll other advice on working in Spain is true unless you can prove your employer is sending you on a short term secondment such as another division or at a clients premises etc. working from home will not count