How much of my income should an autónomo set aside for taxes?

It depends on your income and deductions, but a common working rule is to treat roughly 30 to 40% of what you invoice (excluding IVA) as not yours: it covers IRPF beyond any withholding, plus the monthly cuota de autónomos. Setting aside too much and releasing it later beats a quarterly scramble.

What is the cuota de autónomos and how much is it?

It is the monthly Seguridad Social contribution every autónomo pays, and since 2023 it is based on your real net income, in brackets that ranged from roughly €200 to €590 a month in 2025. The brackets are updated each year, so check the current table on the Seguridad Social site.

What is IRPF withholding on invoices?

When you invoice a Spanish business, you typically apply a 15% IRPF retención, which the client pays to the tax agency on your behalf; new autónomos can apply 7% in the registration year and the two following. It is a prepayment of your income tax, not the whole bill, so many autónomos still owe more.

Do I keep the IVA I charge on invoices?

No. The 21% standard IVA you add to invoices is collected on behalf of Hacienda and settled quarterly. The safest habit is to move it to a separate account the day an invoice is paid, because spending it accidentally is the classic autónomo budgeting mistake.

How do I budget with income that changes every month?

Anchor your baseline to your worst realistic month, sweep good-month surpluses into a buffer, and pay yourself the same amount every month from the buffer. Your personal budget then behaves like a salary even when your invoicing does not.

Which expenses can autónomos deduct?

Expenses that are genuinely tied to the activity: materials, software, professional services, a share of home-office costs if you work from home, and so on, backed by invoices and receipts. The rules on what counts and what proof you need are specific, so keep every receipt and confirm details with a gestor.

How to Budget as an Autónomo in Spain (Without Tax-Bill Surprises)

Being an autónomo means your "salary" arrives gross, lumpy, and with three different claims on it before it is really yours. Most budgeting advice ignores all of that. Here is a system built for how self-employment in Spain actually works.

Step 1: Understand what is not yours

The money that lands when an invoice is paid is not your income. Three slices come off first:

IVA. The 21% (standard rate) you added to the invoice belongs to Hacienda. You are just holding it until the quarterly settlement.
IRPF. Income tax. If you invoice Spanish businesses, they usually withhold 15% for you (7% if you are newly registered, for that year and the two following), but withholding is a prepayment, not the full bill.
The cuota de autónomos. Your monthly Seguridad Social contribution, which since 2023 is based on your real net income; the brackets ranged from roughly €200 to €590 a month in 2025 and are updated each year.

The single most important budgeting habit for an autónomo is this: the day an invoice is paid, move the IVA and a tax share into a separate account and pretend that account does not exist. A working rule of thumb is to treat 30 to 40% of the pre-IVA amount as spoken for; your gestor can tighten that number for your case. Over-reserving and releasing the surplus at year-end is a pleasant surprise. The reverse is a crisis in January.

Step 2: Pay yourself a salary

Freelance income is lumpy; your rent is not. The fix is the same one we describe in how to budget on an irregular income: find your lowest realistic month, make that your baseline, and pay yourself a fixed amount from your business income every month. Good months build a buffer; lean months draw from it. Aim for one month of expenses in the buffer first, then keep going.

Once you are paying yourself a steady salary, your personal budget becomes boringly normal, and a framework like the 50/30/20 rule applies as if you were employed.

Step 3: Budget around the quarterly rhythm

Spain's self-employment calendar beats quarterly: filings and settlements land in January, April, July, and October. If you have been moving IVA and IRPF money aside on every payment, these are non-events, since the money is already sitting in the set-aside account. Put the dates in your calendar anyway; the quarter ends quietly and the deadlines do not announce themselves.

Step 4: Keep every receipt (they are money)

Deductible expenses reduce your IRPF, but only if you can prove them. That means keeping invoices and receipts for materials, software, professional services, the deductible share of home-office costs, and everything else tied to your activity. Paper receipts fade and vanish, which is where kvar. earns its place in this system: photograph a receipt when you get it and the merchant, date, total, and category are captured and stored, so your deductions are documented the moment they happen instead of reconstructed at filing time. It also tracks the spending side of your personal budget the same way, including cash. For how long records need to be kept, see how long to keep receipts for taxes.

The one-page version

On every paid invoice: IVA and a tax share (30 to 40% of the pre-IVA amount as a starting rule) go straight to a set-aside account.
Pay yourself the same salary every month, sized to your worst realistic month.
Surpluses build a buffer of one month of expenses or more.
Quarterly deadlines: January, April, July, October, funded from the set-aside account.
Every business receipt gets captured on the spot.

This is general information, not tax advice. Rates, brackets, and rules change, and your situation may differ; confirm the specifics with the official guidance or a gestor.