# Working as autonomo teacher in Spain and living in hotel?



## Gringo2013 (Nov 13, 2013)

Hi there,

My friend is working as an autonomo teacher in Spain - self-employed and teaching English as a foreign language.

They have recently had to leave their rented flat, due to a dispute with the landlord, and are currently living in a budget hotel.

If they continue to do this, would this be a problem with the Hacienda and their autonomo status?

If they didn´t tell the tax office/hacienda, and just carried on like this for a while, would they get away with it, and would the hacienda want or need to write to the person at their registered address? It´s not happened yet, but my friend is due to submit their quarterly account returns soon, and is concerned that the hacienda might write to them at the registered address?

Cheers and all the best


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Gringo2013 said:


> Hi there,
> 
> My friend is working as an autonomo teacher in Spain - self-employed and teaching English as a foreign language.
> 
> ...


My question would be why is your friend doing quarterly tax returns if he's a self employed English teacher? There's no VAT on education, so there's no need to do quarterlies.
Don't know about the rent situation though


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Gringo2013 said:


> Hi there,
> 
> My friend is working as an autonomo teacher in Spain - self-employed and teaching English as a foreign language.
> 
> ...


Hmm, thought I remembered this name. 


> Pesky Wesky - there is no point spending money without good cause. I am an intelligent person, and should have probably researched it more before posting on here, but I do not have the internet at home, am using internet cafes, am very busy and hoped that someone could help me....obviously not here!


I really think it's up to your friend to get his s**t together, stop using his friends and internet cafés and find out once and for all what to do if he wants to work here legally.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Hmm, thought I remembered this name.
> 
> I really think it's up to your friend to get his s**t together, stop using his friends and internet cafés and find out once and for all what to do if he wants to work here legally.



yep - I thought it was familiar too.... & I agree








Gringo2013 said:


> Hi there,
> 
> My friend is working as an autonomo teacher in Spain - self-employed and teaching English as a foreign language.
> 
> ...



I do quarterly returns - but I'm IVA registered for translation work

the next returns aren't due til after the end of March - the quarter is Jan, Feb, March - & then you have a couple of weeks to get the returns in - surely your 'friend' can get sorted out by then?


however - hacienda do like to be kept up to date with addresses - & there might well be issues if they wrote to the last known address & got a 'return to sender'


I thought he had set up a company in the UK, anyway


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## goingtobcn (Sep 9, 2012)

I'm not IVA registered as I only do teaching work, but still have to give all my invoices and expenses to my gestor at the end of every quarter so they can tell me how much income tax I'll have to pay. As xabiachica said, the next one is March though.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

goingtobcn said:


> I'm not IVA registered as I only do teaching work, but still have to give all my invoices and expenses to my gestor at the end of every quarter so they can tell me how much income tax I'll have to pay. As xabiachica said, the next one is March though.


Mine's 21% - every month.
Are you sure you need a gestor?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Mine's 21% - every month.
> Are you sure you need a gestor?


my gestor claims back all the IVA on paper, ink & other supplies including my mobile phone bill- & the higher my expenses every quarter the less net income I have, so the less income tax I pay

my new laptop was set against income - even a repaired puncture on my bicycle - that's my transport!

& he does something with my rent too


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## brocher (Mar 21, 2011)

Gringo2013 said:


> Hi there,
> 
> My friend is working as an autonomo teacher in Spain - self-employed and teaching English as a foreign language.
> 
> ...



I assume you're not planning on taking the students to your bedroom?

I think you'll find yourself having to leave the hotel soon, if you try to carry out a business from your room. You'll need to ask the hotel's permission and come to an agreement, perhaps use their bar/ cafe and you and students have to buy drinks there, similar to Xab's set up.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

brocher said:


> *I assume you're not planning on taking the students to your bedroom?
> *
> I think you'll find yourself having to leave the hotel soon, if you try to carry out a business from your room. You'll need to ask the hotel's permission and come to an agreement, perhaps use their bar/ cafe and you and students have to buy drinks there, similar to Xab's set up.


It's his "friend"!


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## brocher (Mar 21, 2011)

elenetxu said:


> It's his "friend"!


Yeah,the hypothetical friend you had when you were about fourteen and wanted to know what the repercussions would be before you admitted your wrongdoing!!!!!:nono:

I'm beginning to suspect a troll enjoying the windup.....cos otherwise the round and round questions make no sense.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

I have suspected quite a few trolls lately. Either someone is bored or... erm.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

In the end, no one likes it when someone works illegally - I certainly dont like folk coming to the UK to do it - so its not going to be encouraged anywhere else. 

Jo xxx


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## goingtobcn (Sep 9, 2012)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Mine's 21% - every month.
> Are you sure you need a gestor?


Like xabiachica, mine also claims back the IVA on my expenses. This was my first year and I don't think it was 21% every month... I should apparently get quite a bit back later in the year.

To be honest, for the amount I pay them, they are completely worth it: they helped me set everything up when I first arrived here. Back then, my Spanish wasn't good enough to sort out filling in all the forms etc! It also saves me time having to go through all my invoices and expenses every quarter


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

goingtobcn said:


> Like xabiachica, mine also claims back the IVA on my expenses. This was my first year and I don't think it was 21% every month... I should apparently get quite a bit back later in the year.
> 
> To be honest, for the amount I pay them, they are completely worth it: they helped me set everything up when I first arrived here. Back then, my Spanish wasn't good enough to sort out filling in all the forms etc! It also saves me time having to go through all my invoices and expenses every quarter


I don't understand why it varies. I thought it was a set amount every month. I get most of mine back as well.


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## Gringo2013 (Nov 13, 2013)

Hi there,

Right, I'm not a troll, I'm just trying to help a friend out.

My friend registered as autonomo in Spain in November, so was thinking that a quartely report would be due at the Hacienda this month. Realising that there is no IVA reporting requirement - thanks to the person that posted that as well, though I did since sort of figure that out from other reason.

However, to be clear on when a tax return _is_ due, shall I take it that my friend should report at the end of March, as has been suggested? Is that when everyone reports, like in the UK? (i.e. in April in the UK).

My friend abandoned the idea of starting a UK business in the end, because they don't have a UK address at the moment (which the HMRC would verify as them living at). Therefore they will report the pre-registered autonomo work to the Hacienda as a mistake, and hope that they don't get punished by them too much.

About the living situation, it's obviously better that this situation changes soon, and no lessons are being held there...it is just for sleeping - all lessons are done in-company or at private houses.

Everything is legal and above board, and staying in a hotel for a couple of weeks while looking for a new residence is surely acceptable with the Hacienda, in the short term at least...for how long I'm not sure..

The problem with getting a new flat is that the minimum period is 6 months and the teaching work stops at the end of June, for 3 months, so if a new tenancy agreement was started now, it would finish in August and it would probably be necessary to give a months' notice on top of the 6 months, meaning the soonest it could be possible to leave would be September. That with 2 months of no work, and the likelihood that the landlord won't return the deposit, or at least most of it, at the end of the tenancy, as is often the case (according to a lot of forum posts I've read, particularly against Spanish landlords with foreign tenants - e.g. 'cleaning' charges of 800 euros out of a 1500 euro deposit bond, for a woman who made sure she left the property spotless, etc...). So that would mean a cost of 7-8 months rent for the next 5 months! (My friend can't afford this either).

Moving into shared accommodation wouldn't result in a contract with a name on it, that could be shown to the Hacienda as proof of residency either.

Therefore, catch 22 and the budget hotel is the same price as a flat, so no loss of money so to speak, but my friend wants to be legal with the Hacienda, there's still 4-5 months before the work stops, and obviously a solution to this situation is needed sooner rather than later.

Cheers


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

I don't understand why your friend can't use the hotel's address as his/her temp address. As long as he/she changes it now and then as soon as he/she moves out, I can't understand how it would be a problem.


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