Self-employed workers will be able to change their social security contributions 6 times a year starting in January 2023.

Royal Decree 504/2022, of June 27, has been approved, adopting a new contribution system for self-employed workers, based on the income obtained from their economic or professional activity, effective from January 2, 2023, and which contemplates, among other points, extending from four to six the number of times a year they can modify their contributions.

We inform you that Royal Decree 504/2022, of June 27, was approved in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on June 28, which modifies the General Regulation on the registration of companies and affiliation, registration, deregistration and changes of data of workers in the Social Security, approved by Royal Decree 84/1996, of January 26, and the General Regulation on Contribution and Settlement of other Social Security Rights, approved by Royal Decree 2064/1995, of December 22, to update its regulation regarding self-employed workers.

This regulation establishes a new contribution system for the self-employed, based on the income obtained from their economic or professional activity, effective from January 2, 2023, and includes, among other points, extending from four to six the number of times per year they can modify their contributions.

Attention. The new system will come into effect on January 2, 2023, and the contribution rates and bases will be established in the General State Budget Law. To this end, the Ministry of Inclusion is currently in discussions with social partners and self-employed workers' associations to determine the contribution rates and bases for 2023.

Main modifications

In order to facilitate the establishment of a new contribution system for workers or the self-employed based on the income obtained from their economic or professional activity, the reforms carried out are framed within:

• The gradual implementation of a new contribution system for self-employed workers, based on their actual income, as provided for in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
• Adapt the regulation of the cited regulatory texts in order to reinforce the priority nature of the electronic processing of the procedures for registration, deregistration and modification of data of workers, in particular with respect to those who carry out their activity on their own account, as well as to update it in terms of the specialities on coverage and contribution with respect to certain contingencies, both in the RETA and in the Special Social Security Scheme for Sea Workers, adapting it to the current regulation on that matter.

1. Regarding the General Regulation on the registration of companies and affiliation, registration, deregistration and changes of data of workers in the Social Security

• Registration and deregistration applications: In addition to reinforcing their processing by electronic means, a series of data are specified that must be provided when requesting their registration by those workers who have some speciality regarding their inclusion in the Special Social Security Scheme for Self-Employed Workers or Freelancers, in accordance with the provisions of the different letters of article 305.2 of the consolidated text of the General Social Security Law, and which will allow for a more adequate identification of each group, also introducing, in general, the data relating to the declaration of the income that they expect to obtain from their economic or professional activity (except in the case of members of institutes of consecrated life of the Catholic Church included in said scheme).

• Multiple employment in various schemes: it is limited to updating the reference made therein to other articles of the regulation when such multiple employment occurs in the Special Scheme for Self-Employed Workers or Freelancers.

• Peculiarities regarding affiliation, registrations, cancellations and changes of data in the RETA: in addition to reinforcing the processing of such acts by electronic means, 46.3 is rewritten, in order to contemplate in it the obligation to communicate the activity that determines the inclusion of self-employed workers in that regime and the other data referred to in article 30.2.b) of the regulation when requesting their registration in the same, as well as any subsequent change that occurs in such data, through the corresponding data variation; in situations of multiple activity, this communication obligation will reach all the activities carried out and their corresponding data, regardless of whether the registration in said special regime is only one.

The list of documents to be provided by self-employed workers electronically and when required by the General Treasury of Social Security is also expanded to include those that prove their participation in companies or joint ownership communities or their incorporation into professional associations, which determines their inclusion in this special scheme under the provisions of letters b), c), d), e), g) and l) of article 305.2 of the consolidated text of the General Social Security Law.

• Peculiarities relating to the coverage of certain contingencies in the Special Scheme for Self-Employed Workers or Freelancers: it is updated in order to adapt its development regulation to the one currently in force on this matter in the consolidated text of the General Social Security Law.

2. Regarding the General Regulation on contributions and settlement of other Social Security rights

• The contribution rates for work accidents and occupational diseases: are adapted to the current legislation on the matter, noting that in the case of self-employed workers, said contribution will be made by applying the contribution rate that is determined annually in the General State Budget Law, except for those included in the Special System for Self-Employed Agricultural Workers, in which said contribution will be made according to the current premium rate.

• Contribution bases in the RETA : When applying for registration in this scheme, workers must make a declaration of the economic income they expect to obtain from their economic or professional activity, in accordance with the reform made in the same sense in article 30.2 of the General Regulation on registration of companies and affiliation, registrations, cancellations and changes of data of workers in the Social Security. 

• Changesthe contribution base in the RETA: the number of times that workers included in this system can request the aforementioned change of base during the year is increased from four to six, in order to allow them to adjust the contribution more appropriately - every two months - according to their forecast of economic returns.

Thus, the self-employed will be able to change the base on which they are required to pay contributions up to six times a year, choosing another within the minimum and maximum limits applicable to them in each year, provided that they request it from the General Treasury of the Social Security, with the following effects:

• March 1, if the application is made between January 1 and the last calendar day of February.
• May 1, if the application is made between March 1 and April 30.
• July 1, if the application is made between May 1 and June 30.
• September 1, if the application is made between July 1 and August 31.
• November 1, if the application is made between September 1 and October 31.
• January 1 of the following year, if the application is made between November 1 and December 31.

In each application for a change of contribution base, workers must declare the economic income they expect to obtain from their economic or professional activity, with the exception of members of institutes of consecrated life of the Catholic Church, as it is a variation of data and in accordance with the reform made in the same sense in article 30.2 of the General Regulation on registration of companies and affiliation, registrations, cancellations and variations of data of workers in the Social Security.

• The contribution for temporary incapacity and occupational contingencies: is updated to the corresponding references to the cessation of activity, as is the case with sections 4 and 5 of article 45, in which its regulation on the content of the obligation to contribute is adapted to the current legal regulation on contributions for common and occupational contingencies and for cessation of activity in the Special Social Security Scheme for Self-Employed Workers or the Self-Employed.

And what about those who are already self-employed?

Well, Royal Decree 504/2022 establishes an express obligation for self-employed workers already registered under a Social Security scheme to provide data.

Workers who, on the date of entry into force of this Royal Decree (i.e., January 2, 2023), are registered in the RETA or in the Special Social Security Scheme for
Seafarers, as self-employed workers included in the first contribution group, and who, due to the peculiarities of their inclusion in both, must provide any of the data related in paragraphs 1 to 10 of article 30.2.b) of the General Regulation on registration of companies and affiliation, registrations, cancellations and changes of data of workers in the Social Security, must communicate them by electronic means to the General Treasury of the Social Security, within a period that will end on October 31, 2023.

You can contact this professional office for any questions or clarifications you may have.

Warm regards,

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A Àmbit Assessor, SL has 40 years dedicated to the tax, comptable and labor consultancy of the Pime.

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