What income an autónomo must declare to Hacienda

Last updated: 2026-06-12

As an autónomo, you are required to declare all your income to the Agencia Tributaria, not just income from your professional activity. The Declaración de la Renta (Modelo 100) covers the different sources of income and applies IRPF to the total.

Am I required to file?

Yes, always. Since 2023, all self-employed workers registered in the RETA (Régimen Especial de Trabajadores Autónomos) or in the Régimen Especial del Mar are required to file the Declaración de la Renta regardless of their income.

It does not matter if:

  • You have had a bad year and have not invoiced anything
  • Your result has been zero or a loss
  • You are on tarifa plana and have only been registered for a few months
  • You have only been registered for part of the year

As long as you have been registered as an autónomo during the tax year, you must file Modelo 100.

Types of income an autónomo must declare

1. Rendimientos de actividades económicas

These are the income from your activity as an autónomo, minus gastos deducibles. They include:

  • Invoices to clients: all invoices issued, with IVA shown separately
  • Sales of products or services: including those made online
  • Subsidies: those connected to the activity (operating subsidies)
  • Cese de actividad indemnifications: taxed as activity income
  • Self-consumption: goods or services from the activity used for personal purposes (valued at market price)

2. Rendimientos del trabajo

If you also work as an employee in addition to being an autónomo (pluriactividad), you declare your pay as rendimientos del trabajo. Also included:

  • Pensions (retirement, widowhood, disability)
  • Unemployment benefits
  • Remunerated training courses

3. Rendimientos del capital inmobiliario

If you rent out an apartment, commercial premises, or any property that is not tied to your activity, the income is declared as rendimientos del capital inmobiliario. These include:

  • Rental of residential properties (with a reduction of 50% to 90% depending on contract type and area: 50% for new contracts from 2023, 60% for earlier contracts or refurbished properties, 70%-90% in tensioned housing markets)
  • Rental of commercial premises or parking spaces
  • Imputación de renta for vacant or personally-used properties (1.1% or 2% of the catastral value)

If the property is tied to your activity (your business premises), its income falls under rendimientos de actividades económicas.

4. Rendimientos del capital mobiliario

  • Interest from bank accounts and deposits
  • Dividends from shares
  • Returns from investment funds, bonds, and insurance policies
  • Treasury bills

These returns go to the savings base and are taxed according to the savings tax rate (19%-30%).

5. Ganancias and pérdidas patrimoniales

  • Sale of shares, investment funds, or cryptocurrencies
  • Sale of real estate (second home, commercial premises)
  • Prizes (taxable lotteries, competitions)
  • Non-exempt indemnifications

Ganancias patrimoniales also go to the savings base. Losses can be offset against gains in the same year or over the following 4 years.

Exempt income: what you do NOT declare

Some income is fully or partially exempt:

  • Maternity/paternity benefits from Seguridad Social
  • Public scholarships for studies
  • Redundancy indemnifications up to the exempt limit (when applicable to pluriactividad situations)
  • Loterías y Apuestas del Estado prizes: exempt up to 40,000 € (prizes above that amount are taxed at 20%)
  • Activity health insurance: deductible expense up to 500 €/person - for the autónomo, spouse, and dependent children under 25 living in the household (up to 1,500 € if there is a disability). This is not exempt income but a deductible IRPF expense (Art. 30.2.5 LIRPF)

Pluriactividad: autónomo and employee at the same time

If you combine self-employed activity with employment, you must declare both types of income. In the Renta, each type is declared in its own section:

  • Rendimientos del trabajo: boxes for payroll and withholdings
  • Rendimientos de actividades económicas: boxes for income, expenses, and pagos fraccionados

Withholdings applied by your employer are deducted from the final tax bill, as are the pagos fraccionados from Modelo 130.

How the AEAT cross-checks data

The AEAT has multiple sources for verifying your income:

  • SII (Suministro Inmediato de Información): mandatory reporting system for large companies (billing > 6 million €) - the AEAT cross-checks their data against autónomo declarations
  • Banks: required to report balances, transactions, and account holders
  • Clients: companies declare the withholdings they apply to your invoices (Modelo 190)
  • Modelo 347: your clients or suppliers declare transactions exceeding 3,005.06 € per year
  • Digital platforms: since 2024, required to report their users' income (DAC7)

For all these reasons, it is essential to declare all income correctly: the chances of a discrepancy going unnoticed are low.

Income in foreign accounts and neobanks: worldwide income

If you are a tax resident in Spain, you pay tax on your worldwide income. This means you must declare all your income, regardless of:

  • In which country you received it
  • What currency it is denominated in
  • Which account it landed in (Spanish, Revolut, Wise, a bank account in your home country)

The obligation is not "what enters my Spanish bank account." It is the totality of what you have earned during the year.

What if it does not go through a Spanish bank - will Hacienda find out?

This myth circulates widely in expat and digital-autónomo communities. It is false, and acting on it carries real risks.

Spain participates in the CRS (Common Reporting Standard), the international automatic exchange of financial information standard promoted by the OECD, and in the DAC Directives of the European Union. In practice, this means:

  • Banks and financial institutions in more than 100 countries are required to automatically report to their tax authorities the balances and holders of non-resident accounts
  • That information reaches the Spanish Agencia Tributaria without any individual request being needed
  • Revolut and Wise, operating under a European banking license (Revolut Bank UAB, a bank licensed in Lithuania; Wise Europe SA, an authorized payment institution in Belgium), are subject to these reporting obligations
  • N26, Bunq, and other neobanks based in the EU are in the same position

The exchange does not require Hacienda to suspect you: it is automatic, annual, and systematic.

For digital work platforms (Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal, etc.), the DAC7 directive has required them since 2024 to report their sellers' and service providers' income to European tax authorities. See the guide Invoicing from Upwork, Deel, or Stripe as an autónomo for how to handle this income correctly.

Foreign accounts: reporting obligation

If you hold bank accounts, securities, or assets abroad exceeding 50,000 € per category (accounts, securities/insurance, and real estate - the threshold applies independently to each category), there is an additional reporting obligation: Modelo 720. This is an informational return, not a tax. Failing to file it when required carries its own specific penalties.

How to correctly declare income in foreign currencies or neobanks

The procedure is the same as for any other activity income:

  1. Issue the invoice in the agreed currency with the client (USD, GBP, EUR, etc.)
  2. Convert to euros using the European Central Bank exchange rate on the accrual date (generally the invoice date, not the collection date)
  3. Include the income in the quarter in which it accrued, regardless of when and where you physically received it
  4. If you paid tax on that income in another country, double taxation treaties may allow you to deduct that amount from your Spanish Renta

For exchange rate details and the practicalities of international payments, see Invoicing from Upwork, Deel, or Stripe as an autónomo.

What happens if I do not declare?

Omitting income - whether from domestic clients or foreign accounts - is a tax infringement. The usual consequences are:

  • Late filing surcharge: between 1% and 15% of the outstanding tax if you regularize voluntarily before Hacienda acts (1% plus an additional 1% for each full month of delay; 15% if the delay exceeds 12 months, plus late-payment interest from that point)
  • Penalty for minor or serious infringement: 50% to 150% of the underpaid tax when detected by the AEAT
  • Late-payment interest on the unpaid amount

The cost of regularizing voluntarily before any formal request is significantly lower than that of an inspection. If you have undeclared income from previous years, the most prudent course is to consult a gestor or tax advisor to regularize the situation.

Official sources

FAQ

Is an autónomo always required to file the Renta?

Yes. Since 2023, all self-employed workers registered in the RETA are required to file the Declaración de la Renta, regardless of their income. Even if your activity has generated no profit, you must file.

What income falls under actividades económicas?

All income derived from your professional or business activity: invoices to clients, sales, services rendered, subsidies connected to the activity, and any other consideration for your self-employed work.

If I am an autónomo and also work as an employee, what do I declare?

Both types of income: the rendimientos from your economic activity as an autónomo and the rendimientos del trabajo as an employee. Each type of income is declared in its corresponding section of Modelo 100.

Do I need to declare rental income from an apartment?

Yes. Rendimientos del capital inmobiliario (rent from apartments, premises, etc.) are declared in the general IRPF base. They are independent of your activity as an autónomo, unless the property is tied to your activity.

What happens if I do not declare all my income?

The AEAT cross-checks data with banks, clients, the SII, and other authorities. If it detects undeclared income, it can open a verification procedure resulting in surcharges, late-payment interest, and penalties ranging from 50% to 150% of the underpaid tax.

Do I need to declare income received in Revolut, Wise, or a foreign account?

Yes. If you are a tax resident in Spain you pay tax on your worldwide income: all your income regardless of which account or which country it lands in. The bank where you receive the money does not change your obligation to declare it.

Does Hacienda know what I have in my foreign accounts or neobanks?

Yes. Spain participates in the CRS (Common Reporting Standard) and the EU's DAC directives. European banks and neobanks (including Revolut and Wise) automatically exchange balance and holder information with the AEAT. Hacienda does not need to look for it: it arrives automatically every year.

What if I have already paid tax in another country on that income?

Double taxation treaties prevent you from paying twice. You can apply a deduction in your Renta for the tax already paid abroad, within the limits of the applicable treaty.