I potentially had this situation and spoke to lawyers about this.

It is possible, but there needs to be a physical "office" as a place of work, where the company will be registered in Spain - and then they need to take out insurances etc and hier an administer that pays your wages each month. This adds something like 500 euros purely in admin fees each month

We got around this by signing an autonomo TRADE contract

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

I have lived in Spain for seven years. I work for UK employers but am registered self-employed in Spain. I pay tax in Spain and SS in Spain. I have to bill my UK "employers" in Euros. They haven't had any problems from HMRC and I haven't had any problems within Spain. I use a gestor to help with my returns as the "rules" change regularly and it's difficult for a non-Spaniard to keep up with, but all good

Hello,

I am also trying to figure out how to legally work remotely for a UK company while living in Spain. Did anyone find out any further information or is anybody doing this and can offer me some advice?

Thanks,

catalicante

If you recieve your payments in sterling I really would not worry about it.

Depends what you do. Keep yourself to yourself.

As this thread was started over 6 months ago I was wondering if anybody had updates on there situation or been been given any professional advice on this.

I'm in this situation and still looking what to do....

Thanks

Actually, it was August 2013 so nearer 18 months ago!

Sorry I meant last comment!

In a similar situation. UK tax office just told me to rock up to Spain as they have a dual taxation policy or something. I don't earn a huge amount so would prefer to remain a UK tax payer. So is I keep myself to myself...all cool then...just like not registering your car after six months...right???

You could do that if you want

But it would be illegal and if social security and/or the tax office catch you then there could be a very big fine

Thanks for the reply. I really thought that it would be okay, as the UK tax said it would be. What do I need I do to make it all legal? I'll be paid into a UK account, paying ni contributions, I have private health care. Thanks of you van point me in the right direction.

The UK tax office cannot give advice about what is legal in Spain, only on what is legal in the UK

It is very complicated. Either you need your company to set up a Spanish subsidiary and get you onto a legal Spanish contract (very expensive and time consuming) or you can set yourself up as self-employed in Spain and bill your employer each month

The important thing is that if you are resident and working from Spain, you must pay monthly social security contributions to the Spanish system, and declare all income to the tax office in Spain

Minimum social security contributions are 265 euros per month

You will need to go to the social security offices to set yourself up. And if you are not fluent in Spanish, get yourself a good gestor, and maybe even an employment lawyer

HMRC is quite correct. Any income arising in the UK will be taxed in the UK, irrespective of whether you are resident in the UK. The tax treaty allows for that.

What they did not point out is that if you are resident in Spain, your UK income will also be taxed in Spain, but under the tax treaty, you can deduct any UK tax paid from your Spanish tax bill.

They also did not point out the requirement for social security payments in Spain if you are working. This is what will make the biggest difference to how much somebody has to pay out each month

Thanks for the info. I see that to be a resident you have to be living in Spain for roughly six months of the year. Do I have this time to set it all up, and for arguments sake, would it b possible to work in Spain upto the cut off point and then relocate to Portugal?