If you are self-employed, you will agree that bureaucracy is one of the main problems that you find yourself in your day to day; in fact, it can become a serious impediment in the exercise of your activity. And it is that according to the first Report on the Declaration of Income and Spanish Fiscal Policy, prepared by TaxScouts, 92% of self-employed workers believe that the public administration should simplify the amount of bureaucratic procedures and thus facilitate and encourage entrepreneurship.
The problems derived from a confused and not very agile bureaucracy are many, but among them is included the possibility of making mistakes, either due to carelessness or lack of understanding, and in the long term, these errors can have more important consequences, such as sanctions or the impossibility of carrying out the work activity. In this context, TaxScouts, breaks down the main errors and sanctions that the self-employed can incur and how to avoid them:
Late registration
Self-employed workers who do not register within the indicated period will have a 20% surcharge, as well as the loss of the right to bonuses and other reductions on the quota, such as the flat rate of €60, which will go to be €80 from January 2023.
An example is when the date of registration in the Social Security and the date of registration in the Tax Agency are differentthe possibility of taking advantage of the flat rate is lost, so the self-employed person would have to pay the minimum self-employed fee of €294, which would translate into a difference of more than €2,800 during the first year of activity, in accordance with the current fees.
Having debts with Social Security
Not paying social contributions in a timely manner to Social Security has different sanction levelsdepending on the infraction, ranging from economic fines to jail sentences in the most extreme cases.
In the case of self-employed contributions, for example, paying a fee late within the following month would have a surcharge of 10% and from the second month of 20% and, in addition, if the flat rate is being applied, we will lose the bonus of the flat rate during the months in which it has not been paid on time, plus the surcharge, so that a delay in the payment of €60 means having to pay more than €300 at current rates.
In the case of having dependent employees, violations related to contributions or labor relations give rise to higher sanctions and fines can range between 626 euros and 6,250 euros, in the most serious cases.
Presentation of documentation after the deadline
In the case of having submitted model 303 out of time, the self-employed face a surcharge, not a penalty, although this can come in the event that the self-employed person allows so much time to pass that the Treasury sends a request. This surcharge will be 1% for each month of delay and, in case of reaching 12 months, a surcharge of 15% plus interest on late payment will be applied. In the event that the declaration is negative or informative, the penalty for late delivery may be €200, which would be reduced to €100 due to reductions in paying on time.
Not making the payment correctly
Quarterly models, due to their very nature and the usual haste of the self-employed, are usually subject to a greater number of errors, which cause a payment greater or less than required and which will be considered as an infraction by the Tax Agency.
Faced with these possible situations, the process of the Tax Agency is to regularization of the tax model, removing the non-deductible expense and entering the misplaced sales invoice, and then recalculating the actual tax result. If it demonstrates bad faith, such as the inclusion of false documentation, there may be proportional sanctions between 50 and 150%, and can reach up to €3,000.
“Taxation for the Spanish self-employed can be complicated and cumbersome, especially if we compare ourselves with other neighboring countries such as Denmark, where the registration process is free, online and fees are not paid, but based on billing. Professionals in our country have to dedicate a lot of time to the procedures of the Treasury and Social Security: the different registrations, the quarterly taxes… And all this, in addition, facing confusing and long procedures, which can cause a lack of understanding and errors. at the time of presenting them that, ultimately, result in sanctions of various kinds. Professional and accessible help such as the one offered by TaxScouts can be of enormous help to them, facilitate their activity and, above all, guarantee and protect their interests and rights.”, says Jaume Suñol, General Manager of TaxScouts Spain
