On January 1, 2023, Royal Decree-Law 13/2022, of July 26, will come into force, establishing a new contribution system for self-employed workers, and enhancing their protection due to cessation of activity.
This new regulation, applicable to both self-employed individuals and the corporate self-employed, is intended to link the amount of the monthly Social Security contributions of this group with the monthly net income actually received in their professional activity. In other words, it will no longer be possible to opt for the minimum quota regardless of the net income actually received, as has been the usual practice until now.
Consequently, the monthly quotas will be determined based on the annual net income obtained by the self-employed person in the exercise of their economic, business or professional activity.
To this end, a new system with 15 tranches has been planned, which will be modified over the next 3 years, and which will regulate minimum and maximum fees for each tranche, which will be delimited based on the actual net income received.
This 3-year period is a transitory regime that will be developed over the years until the final model arrives, which must be published within 9 years at the latest. To this end, before January 1, 2026, the Government must determine the new contribution brackets for the following period until the end of the transitional regime.
The tranches that will come into force on January 1, 2023 will do so with a minimum fee of €230 and a maximum of €500 per month. In 2024 the minimum fee will be €225 and the maximum will be €530 per month and, finally, in 2025 the minimum will be €200 and the maximum will be €590 per month.
Below we detail the tranches applicable in 2023:
In order to contribute correctly, the self-employed will be able to change their quota 6 times a year based on the estimated income forecasts. However, these quotas will be considered provisional until the end of the year, when the self-employed person, once the tax year is over and the annual net income is known, must communicate them to Social Security to regularize the contributions.
Said regularization may involve a refund of the differences in the event of having contributed more or a claim by the Social Security to pay the pending amounts in the event of having contributed less than the corresponding amount.
For this purpose, it must be taken into account that these net returns will be calculated by deducting from the annual income all the expenses incurred in carrying out the activity and necessary to obtain it. On that amount, an additional deduction for generic expenses of 7% (3% for corporate self-employed) will be applied, the resulting amount being what determines the contribution bracket.
Likewise, the well-known “flat rate” is also modified. From 2023 to 2025, this subsidized fee will be €80/month and will last for 12 months, extendable for another 12 months only if the net income continues to be less than the minimum interprofessional salary.
Finally, the reform also provides for improvements in compatibility with retirement and bonuses for the self-employed aged 65 or over, as well as improvements in protection for cessation of activity (“unemployment” for the self-employed).
