Englishgirlinspain

As the title says, I am resident in Spain but have opportunity to work for a UK company. As I understand it there are two options available to me:
1. I go autonomo and pay my own SS and tax. Would I need to pay IVA if I am an employee of a UK company?
2. The UK company pay tax and SS through the Spanish system. This sounds costly for the company and one they probably won't be interested in doing.

I am looking for recent / current advice from those who have a similar experience.

Many thanks

spainrico

Straight away I will tell you I have never been in this situation - but as no one else has commented I will make these comments to see if it starts the ball rolling.

I do not think you are confined to your 2 options and to be honest, I am not sure they make sense.....

Paying autonomo in Spain is extremely expensive (highest in Europe I think I read) so why not - as you are resident in Spain pay tax here on your UK income, (like I do on my pension) but pay National Insurance in the UK system (to build a state pension) and pay health insurance here or if you have a good health record pay as you go (OK carries a risk of a large bill if you have an issue or fly back to UK for treatment)

I have been here for years and recently back paid UK NI top up my UK state pension (very cost-effective, if I live long enough!)

Anyway as I said I am not an expert in your situation but I hope this helps the thought process...

mikelincs

Not a good idea on the health front, unless you are a resident of the UK then you do NOT qualify for free NHS treatment, and given the way Brexit is going it's likely to be more enforced. Just paying NI in the UK will NOT qualify him. he need to be physically living in the UK.

EuroTrash

Whilst the UK is an EU member, there are very clear rules governing social security for people who live and work within the EU. The OP will find the answers here
https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp...=849&langId=en

The four main principles

1. You are covered by the legislation of one country at a time so you only pay contributions in one country. The decision on which country's legislation applies to you will be made by the social security institutions. You cannot choose.
   Find out which rules apply to you

so basically, no you can't just choose to pay your social contributions in whichever country is cheapest.

If you follow the link it says

"As a basic rule, you are subject to the legislation of the country where you actually work as an employed or a self-employed person. It doesn't matter where you live or where your employer is based."

That would appear to be your answer.
Presumably these rules will no longer apply to the UK after the end of transition so what will happen then is anybody's guess.

mikelincs

Or when we leave without a deal, which is what Johnson seems to be working towards.