According to social security (Seguridad Social) data published by the government of Spain, there were 3,386,765 self-employed workers in Spain in December of 2024. An increasingly significant proportion of these workers are conducting business activities online. In fact, the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) reported that e-commerce in Spain had reached an all-time high in the second quarter of 2024, with a turnover of over €23 billion.

Starting your own self-employed business can be challenging, as a minimum turnover must be reached to cover self-employed taxes in Spain without incurring a loss. Fearing that income won’t cover monthly costs, some people choose to sell online without being self-employed. But the question is: can this be done legally?

What’s in this article?

• Can you sell online in Spain without being self-employed?
  
• When can you sell online without being self-employed?
  
• How to sell online without being self-employed
  
• Penalties for selling online without being self-employed
  

Can you sell online in Spain without being self-employed?

As a rule, it’s illegal to sell online in Spain without being self-employed. In most cases, as prescribed under Law 20/2007, Statute of Self-Employment (Ley 20/2007 del Estatuto del trabajo autónomo), registering as self-employed is required before starting to sell online from Spain. However, the sales activity in question must meet the following criteria:

• It is regular: The activity needs to be recurring, regardless of the number of hours devoted to it. For example, offering online training once a month – even if only for a few hours – would be considered a regular activity.
  
• It is for profit: The activity must be carried out with the aim of making financial gains. For example, if you sell craftwork and the sale price is higher than the cost of the materials used to make the items, your activity would be considered profitable.
  
• It is independent: The activity must be carried out independently, such as setting up an online store in Spain and using it to sell products without having an employment contract with the company that runs it.
  

How much can you earn without being self-employed in Spain?

The Statute of Self-Employment does not specify a threshold above which you are required to register as self-employed. In other words, you must register as self-employed even if you’ve just launched your business and haven’t earned any income yet – as long as your activity is regular, for profit, and independent.

In some cases courts have ruled in favour of someone who hadn’t registered as self-employed because their income was below minimum wage (SMI), however these rulings have not led to a change in regulations prohibiting online sales without registering as self-employed.

When can you sell online without being self-employed?

In general, you can’t sell products online without registering as self-employed. That said, it is allowed in some very specific cases:

• When it is occasional economic activity carried out independently
  
• When it is regular economic activity carried out as an employee in a worker cooperative (co-op)
  
• When it is the sale of a second-hand vehicle to a private individual, which is a transaction subject to Transfer Tax and Stamp Duty (ITPAJD)
  

The first exception is the most common. Let’s say you enjoy painting and occasionally sell some of your artwork – you are not required to register as self-employed or to set up an online store for this type of occasional sale. On your social media profiles, you could share a link to a payment page, such as Stripe’s Payment Links. However, if your activity picked up, and you started selling your paintings regularly, you would need to register as self-employed.

How to sell online without being self-employed

If your activity falls under any of the exceptions mentioned above, you can sell online without being self-employed – but you still have to comply with the following requirements:

• Issue invoices: You need to issue invoices with VAT using your Tax Identification Number (NIF) and complete Form 036 to enrol in the register of business owners, professionals, and withholders.
  
• Declare value-added tax (VAT): You need to file your quarterly VAT return using Form 303.
  
• Declare Personal Income Tax (IRPF): You must file your IRPF using Form 100.
  

Penalties for selling online without being self-employed

If you choose to sell online without being self-employed and your economic activity does not fall clearly under the exceptions previously outlined, you could face a range of penalties:

• Paying owed contributions and fees: You will be required to retroactively pay any Seguridad Social contributions that should have been made during the time frame that your sales occurred. In addition, the following late payment interest and corresponding fees under Law 6/2017 (Ley 6/2017) will be applied:
  
  • A fee equal to 20% of your debt: Applied if the required contributions are made by the deadline specified in the debt claim or settlement report.
    
  • A fee equal to 35% of your debt: Applied if the contributions are made after the deadline specified in the debt claim or settlement report.
    
• Possible VAT penalties: If you do not issue invoices for every sale, the Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) will impose corresponding VAT penalties.
  

The above penalties can also result in being banned from applying for future subsidies, such as the flat-rate scheme – which allows you to pay reduced contributions during your first year of self-employment – or grants from the Digital Kit programme.