Tax for the self-employed driver in Spain: registering with the tax agency and the RETA, VAT, income tax, invoicing and obligations when working with a pre-booking platform

What registrations are needed before the first service?

Before charging for the first service there are two registrations that cannot be skipped. The first is the census one, with the Tax Agency, through the census declaration of commencement: in it the driver reports the start of the activity, the heading of the Tax on Economic Activities it falls under, the VAT regime and the income tax assessment method they will apply, and the start date. The form used is the 036; for years there was a simplified version, the 037, and it is worth checking on the Tax Agency's electronic office which one is in force at the time of registration. The heading for passenger transport by road, or the taxi one, is what later determines the flat-rate regime available, so choosing it well is no minor formality.

The second registration is in the Social Security's Special Scheme for Self-Employed Workers, the RETA, which provides cover for healthcare, incapacity, retirement and cessation of activity and requires paying a monthly contribution from the first month. Registration in the RETA must be done before starting or within the period the rules set around the start, and the Social Security offers contribution reductions for those registering for the first time, under the conditions and for the duration it publishes. These two registrations are distinct from the transport authorisation: the VTC card or the taxi licence entitle the holder to carry passengers, but they do not replace the tax or Social Security registration, and working with one without the others is working irregularly. Anyone driving for a company under an employment contract does not make these registrations: the company makes them on their behalf.

How does VAT work for a self-employed driver?

Passenger and luggage transport is taxed in Spain at the reduced VAT rate, under article 91 of Law 37/1992, and that tax sits inside the fixed price the customer pays. A driver under the general regime charges it on each invoice, deducts the VAT borne on the expenses of their activity and settles the difference with the quarterly self-assessment, form 303, plus the annual summary, form 390, within the deadlines the Tax Agency publishes. What is deductible is what is allocated to the activity: fuel or energy, repairs and maintenance, tyres, insurance, the purchase or lease of the vehicle dedicated to transport, the accountant, the business phone and the commission the platform invoices, which carries VAT at the general rate and is one more expense.

There is a nuance that affects many taxi drivers and some VTC holders: anyone taxed for income tax under objective assessment is usually also under the simplified VAT regime, in which the amount due is not calculated invoice by invoice but with indices and modules the rules set each year for the activity, with a quarterly payment on account and a final adjustment. It is simpler to run, but it does not allow deducting VAT on any expense as the general regime does, and the choice between one and the other conditions the income tax choice. Whatever the regime, the driver must not charge for services without VAT or offer different prices with and without an invoice: the fixed price a platform publishes already carries the tax and is the same for whoever asks for a full invoice and whoever keeps the simplified one.

Direct or objective assessment for income tax, and what about instalments and withholdings?

For income tax, governed by Law 35/2006, the self-employed driver pays on the profit of their economic activity and can calculate it in two ways. Under direct assessment, normal or simplified depending on turnover, the profit is the real difference between what was invoiced and the justified deductible expenses, including depreciation of the vehicle. Under objective assessment, the flat-rate modules, the profit is calculated with the signs and indices the annual Order sets for the activity — vehicles, staff, distance driven —, regardless of what was really earned, and it is only available for the headings the Order includes and as long as the turnover limits it sets are not exceeded. Taxis and passenger transport by road are among those activities; the adviser confirms whether it suits and whether the conditions are met.

In both cases the tax is paid in advance during the year through quarterly instalments: form 130 under direct assessment and form 131 under objective assessment, which are then credited in the annual income tax return. On withholdings it is worth being clear about a point that confuses many drivers: passenger transport is a business activity, not a professional one, and as a general rule its invoices carry no income tax withholding even when the customer is a company, unlike a lawyer or a designer. The rules provide for a withholding for certain activities under objective assessment when they invoice businesses, and it is the adviser who confirms whether the driver's specific activity is on that list; if it is, the invoice to a company or to the platform must show it at the percentage the rules in force set.

How is invoicing done and who invoices whom when there is a platform?

Royal Decree 1619/2012, the invoicing regulation, requires an invoice for every service and allows the simplified invoice, the receipt, in passenger transport unless the customer asks for a full one with their tax details, as the piece on VAT and invoicing explains. Invoices are numbered in consecutive series, carry the date, the issuer's identification, the description of the service, the taxable base, the rate and the VAT amount, and are kept. To that are added the new obligations Law 11/2021 and Law 18/2022 have been introducing: invoicing software with verifiable records and electronic invoicing between businesses, which will become enforceable according to the calendar the rules and their implementing regulations set. The driver should check with their adviser when they are reached and which invoicing software meets the requirements.

With a platform there are two models and the agreement the driver signs says which one applies. In the first, the driver provides the transport to the end customer and invoices them the service at the reduced rate; the platform invoices the driver its intermediation commission at the general rate, which the driver deducts as an expense. In the second, the driver invoices their service to the platform, which is the party contracting with the customer and invoices them in turn; for the driver the customer is the platform. The regulation also allows the driver's invoices to be physically issued by the recipient or a third party, for instance the platform itself with its software, always under a prior agreement and under the responsibility of the driver, who remains the obliged party. In any of the three cases, the driver must receive a per-service breakdown that lets them match each payment to its invoice and declare what they have really invoiced.

What books must be kept, how long are documents kept and how are contributions based on real income?

The books depend on the regime. Under simplified direct assessment the driver keeps the sales and income record book, the purchases and expenses book and the capital goods book, where the vehicle and its depreciation are recorded; under general VAT, the books of invoices issued, invoices received and capital goods. Under objective assessment the burden is lighter: invoices issued and received and the supporting documents for the modules are kept, and the capital goods book is kept if depreciation is applied. Invoices and books are kept, on paper or electronically, for the limitation period the General Tax Act sets and the one commercial law requires, which is longer; the route sheet or record of each pre-booked service that transport law requires is kept, in addition, for the time it sets.

Social Security contributions changed their logic with the real-income contribution system: the self-employed worker no longer freely chooses a base but reports a forecast of their annual net profit, contributes in the bracket that matches it under the table the rules publish each year and can adjust that forecast several times during the year if their income changes. The following year, the Social Security Treasury cross-checks what was contributed against the profit the tax agency received in the income tax return and regularises: it refunds if too much was paid or claims the difference if too little was. For a driver with irregular income over the year this means reviewing the forecast fairly often and keeping a margin, and it is one more reason to keep the accounts up to date. The official information is at the Social Security and the Tax Agency; the specific decisions, with an adviser.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Ley 37/1992 del Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido: artículo 91, tipo reducido para el transporte de viajeros y sus equipajes, y régimen simplificado (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Ley 35/2006 del Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas: rendimientos de actividades económicas, estimación directa y objetiva, pagos fraccionados y retenciones (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Real Decreto 1619/2012, Reglamento por el que se regulan las obligaciones de facturación: factura completa y simplificada, emisión por el destinatario o por un tercero, conservación (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Seguridad Social · Régimen Especial de Trabajadores Autónomos: alta, cotización por rendimientos netos reales y regularización anual (consulted on 27 October 2026)