Your first quarter as an autónomo: a fiscal survival guide

Nobody explains this to you when you register as an autónomo (self-employed worker). They tell you to fill in the modelo 036 or 037, to sign up for the RETA (the self-employed Social Security scheme), to take advantage of the tarifa plana (the flat-rate Social Security contribution for new freelancers) if you can, and little else. Three months later your first quarterly return arrives and the question is always the same: “And now, what exactly do I do?”.

This guide assumes you already have the basics sorted: the census registration with the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria), the registration with Social Security and, if you meet the requirements, the tarifa plana applied. What comes now is the day-to-day fiscal life of your first quarter. Month by month, so nothing slips through.

Before you start: what you should already be clear about

Your census registration (modelo 036 or 037) defines three things that shape your quarterly obligations:

Your IAE heading (the classification under the tax on economic activities). It determines whether you’re a business owner or a professional. If you invoice professional services to companies, they are required to withhold IRPF (personal income tax) on their payments to you.

Your VAT regime. The most common is the general regime, which requires you to file the modelo 303 every quarter.

Your IRPF regime. Most new autónomos are taxed under estimación directa simplificada (simplified direct estimation). This means you pay IRPF on the difference between income and expenses, and you’ll probably have to file the modelo 130 (the quarterly IRPF prepayment) every quarter.

If you don’t know which regime you’re in, check your copy of the 036/037. Don’t assume anything.

Month 1: record absolutely everything

The first month is the most important. Not because anything special happens with the Agencia Tributaria, but because the habits you establish now will determine whether your first quarter is a calm formality or a last-minute scramble.

The rule is simple: record every invoice you issue and every invoice you receive, the same day it happens. No exceptions, no “I’ll note it down later”.

Invoices issued. Each invoice you send to a client is income with output VAT. Note the date, the description, the taxable base, the VAT rate and the VAT amount. If the client is a Spanish company and you’re a professional, the invoice will also carry an IRPF withholding.

Invoices received. Each expense linked to your activity that comes with an invoice in your name is deductible input VAT. Tools, software, office supplies, coworking. You need a complete invoice with your NIF (tax ID number); a till receipt won’t do.

What you should not record: personal purchases, expenses unrelated to your activity, and anything without an invoice.

Keeping the book of issued invoices and the book of received invoices up to date from the first month is not optional: it’s a legal obligation. But it’s also what will let you reach the end of the quarter knowing exactly how much you owe.

Month 2: check that nothing is slipping through

Mid-quarter is a good time to review what you’ve recorded so far. Not because anything has to be filed, but because it’s the last chance to fix things before the work piles up.

Go over these expense categories that new autónomos frequently forget:

The autónomo Social Security contribution. The monthly Social Security contribution doesn’t carry VAT, so you don’t deduct it in the modelo 303. But it is a deductible expense for IRPF, which reduces your net earnings in the modelo 130 and in your annual income tax return. If you don’t record it, you’re paying more IRPF than you should.

Utilities if you work from home. If you’ve notified the Agencia Tributaria that you use part of your home for your activity, you can deduct a percentage of the utilities (electricity, water, internet). It’s a modest percentage, but it’s twelve months a year.

Insurance. Civil liability insurance, health insurance (within limits) and any policy linked to your activity are deductible expenses. You need the insurance invoice, not just the bank receipt.

“Small” digital expenses. Your website hosting, the domain, the subscription to design or project management tools, the cloud storage account. Individually they’re small amounts, but added up over the year they’re a significant deductible expense. And they all carry input VAT you can deduct in the 303.

Also take the opportunity to check that your issued invoices have been paid or at least recorded. If a client pays you late, you declare the VAT on that invoice when you issue it, not when you collect it.

Month 3: prepare your first return

If you’ve been recording from day one, preparing the return is a matter of adding up.

VAT: modelo 303

The calculation is straightforward:

1. Add up all the VAT you’ve charged on your invoices issued during the quarter. That’s the VAT you’ve collected on the Agencia Tributaria’s behalf.
2. Add up all the input VAT on your deductible expense invoices for the quarter. That’s the VAT you’ve paid that you can deduct.
3. The difference is what you have to pay. If the output VAT is greater than the input VAT, you pay. If it’s lower, it’s offset in the following quarters.

If you’ve never filled in the form, the step-by-step guide to the modelo 303 takes you box by box. And if you want to verify the figures before filing, the quarterly VAT calculator gives you the result instantly.

IRPF: modelo 130

The modelo 130 is a fractioned prepayment on account of your annual income tax return. The calculation for the first quarter:

1. Add up all the income for the quarter (without VAT, only the taxable base).
2. Subtract all the deductible expenses for the quarter (without VAT, only the base).
3. Apply 20% to the result.
4. Subtract the IRPF withholdings your clients have applied to you during the quarter.
5. The result is what you have to pay.

There’s an important nuance here for new autónomos: if you’re a professional and at least 70% of your income for the quarter already carries an IRPF withholding, you’re not required to file the modelo 130 (in the common territory). This typically happens when you invoice almost exclusively to Spanish companies, which withhold 15% on each invoice (or 7% if you’re in your first two years of activity). The threshold changes in the regional (foral) regimes (in Gipuzkoa, for example, it drops to 50% for professionals, and in Navarre the exemption goes by net income), as we detail by territory in the guide to the modelo 130; you can estimate how much annual IRPF you’ll pay with the IRPF simulator.

The 7% withholding for new autónomos

As a professional just starting out, you can apply a reduced withholding of 7% on your invoices to companies, instead of the usual 15%. This reduced rate applies during the year of registration and the two following calendar years.

The advantage: less is withheld on each invoice, so you collect more upfront. The drawback: in the annual return the IRPF amount will be the same, and having prepaid less, you’ll probably end up owing money.

But there’s an additional benefit: if with that 7% withholding you exceed the 70% threshold of income with withholding, you can avoid the obligation to file the modelo 130. One less formality.

D-day: between the 1st and the 20th of the following month

In the common territory, the filing period for the modelo 303 and 130 is from the 1st to the 20th of the month following the quarter. For the first quarter (January-March), from the 1st to the 20th of April. For the second, from the 1st to the 20th of July. For the third, from the 1st to the 20th of October. For the fourth, from the 1st to the 30th of January of the following year.

If you pay tax under a regional (foral) regime, the dates (and some forms) change: in the Basque Country the deadline is the 25th, and the Q4 VAT goes in the annual summary (modelo 390); in Navarre VAT is filed on the modelo F-69 with its own deadlines. The tax calendar has a selector with the exact deadlines for each territory.

Both forms are filed on the Agencia Tributaria’s electronic portal, with a digital certificate or Cl@ve PIN. You can file both on the same day, in fifteen minutes if you have your data ready.

Don’t wait until the 19th. The Agencia Tributaria’s servers get overloaded on the last days of the deadline, and a technical glitch at the last minute can turn into a late filing with a surcharge.

The three most common mistakes of the first quarter

Not separating personal VAT from professional VAT. The VAT on the supermarket shop isn’t deductible. The VAT on dinner with friends isn’t either. Only the VAT on expenses directly linked to your activity, with an invoice in your name and NIF. Mixing the two worlds isn’t just incorrect: in an inspection, it can invalidate legitimate deductions.

Not recording the “small” expenses. The domain that costs 12 euros a year. The hosting at 5 euros a month. The subscription to Canva or a task manager. Each of these expenses carries input VAT you can deduct, and it’s taxable base that reduces your IRPF. Over the course of a year, the total matters.

Leaving everything for the 19th. You spend three months without noting anything down, you hunt for invoices in your email, you reconstruct expenses from memory, and you file the return with the feeling that you’ve forgotten something. You’re probably right. And you’re probably paying more than you should, because the expenses you can’t find are expenses you don’t deduct.

How does Cuéntamo help with this?

The first quarter is daunting because it’s the first time you have to be the one keeping the books. Cuéntamo is built for exactly that: each time you record an issued invoice or an expense, you note its VAT and its IRPF withholding, and the self-employed module keeps the official record books that the tax office requires up to date. When filing day comes, you don’t reconstruct anything from memory: the quarter’s settlement is already calculated from what you logged.

And because you record the small expenses as they happen (the domain, the hosting, that subscription), they don’t slip away at the end of the quarter. Each one carries input VAT you deduct and base that reduces your IRPF.

For that first payment, the cash-flow forecast also shows you how much you’ll need to set aside and when, so the deadline doesn’t catch you short. We cover it in detail in cash-flow forecasting for the self-employed. And if you want the VAT mechanics clear, they’re in how to calculate quarterly VAT without a gestoría.

Frequently asked questions

I’ve just registered as an autónomo, which taxes do I have to file in the first quarter?

The most common are the modelo 303 for VAT and, if you’re under direct assessment, the modelo 130 for IRPF. In the common territory both are filed from the 1st to the 20th of the month following the close of the quarter, on the Agencia Tributaria’s electronic portal; under the regional (foral) regimes (Navarre, Basque Country) the forms and deadlines are their own.

Am I required to file the modelo 130 as a new autónomo?

Not always. If you’re a professional and at least 70% of your income for the quarter already carries IRPF withholding on the invoice, you’re not required to file the 130. This usually happens when you invoice almost everything to Spanish companies.

What is the reduced 7% withholding for new autónomos?

As a professional you can apply a 7% withholding on your invoices to companies during the year of registration and the two following calendar years, instead of the usual 15%. Less is withheld on each invoice, but the annual IRPF amount will be the same.

Which expenses do new autónomos most often forget to deduct?

The autónomo Social Security contribution (deductible for IRPF even though it carries no VAT), utilities if you work from home, insurance linked to your activity and small digital expenses such as hosting, domain or software subscriptions.

Can I deduct the VAT on any purchase?

No. Only the VAT on expenses directly linked to your activity, with a complete invoice in your name and NIF. A till receipt won’t do, and mixing personal and professional expenses can invalidate legitimate deductions in an inspection.

The difference between an autónomo who suffers every quarter and one who takes it calmly isn’t that one knows more about taxation than the other. It’s that one keeps their accounts up to date and the other doesn’t.

If you start using Cuéntamo from day one, when your first quarter arrives you’ll only have to copy the totals. No surprises, no last-minute scrambles. The freelancer module records each invoice with its VAT and its IRPF, keeps the official record books up to date and shows you in real time what will come out in your next return. And with the cash-flow forecast you’ll know in advance whether you’ll have the balance to cover that first payment.

Figures for 2026. The IRPF withholding for professionals (15% general, 7% reduced for new autónomos) has been in force since 2015.

This article is checked against official sources and reviewed periodically. If you spot anything out of date, email us at [email protected].