Some 1.5 millon self-employed workers in Spain could benefit from lower contributions under new autonomo scheme

Spain's Minister of Social Security, José Luis Escrivá, has finally put the data on the table that supports the thesis that most self-employed workers, around two thirds, will pay less or the same as now when the new social security contribution system comes into force based on real incomes.

Until now he had refused, at least publicly, to declare the number of self-employed workers who earn less than the Minimum Interprofessional Salary (SMI), the minister released information from the Social Security and the tax agencies that show that more than two million self-employed people, 63 per cent of the total, declare net income below 1,125 euros per month or 13,500 euros per year. According to Escrivá, they will benefit from the new system by paying less in social security contributions.

The savings for these workers will reach close to 1,000 euros per year. This will be the case for those who receive work income of up to 700 euros per month (8,400 euros per year) – a group that is estimated at around one million self-employed workers and who are in the lowest section of the table. Under the new system they will pay 80 euros less each month (960 euros per year).

But more than 1,175,000 self-employed whose net income is in the brackets above the minimum wage, that is, above 13,500 euros per year, will pay a higher fee, since the contribution they will pay will be higher than the 294 euros minimum under the current system. Their new contributions will range between 316 and 991 euros per month.