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BUSINESS

The Spanish villages that want remote workers

With the news that Spain will be introducing a digital nomad visa and tax incentives for startups, several places in Spain are already trying to attract remote workers. Here are some of the villages that want remote workers and what they offer.

Published: 16 August 2021 12:15 CEST
Updated: 21 August 2021 07:33 CEST
The Spanish villages that want remote workers
Tolox in Málaga province is among the villages in Spain that want remote workers. Image: Pxfuel

The rise of remote working means that many jobs can be done from anywhere that has an internet connection, and Spanish regions that have struggled with depopulation due to a lack of job opportunities are seizing upon this trend.

A total of 30 towns and villages across Spain have joined the association of Red Nacional de Pueblos Acogedores or the National Network of Welcoming Villages, aiming to attract digital nomads (people who travel while continuing to work remotely) and remote workers (who settle full time in one place and work remotely for a company or companies in another town or even another country) to their communities.

These towns and villages are spread throughout the regions of Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja, Aragón, Andalusia, Navarra and the Basque Country.

Among other services, most of them offer coworking spaces and high-speed internet. 

READ ALSO: Tax cuts and special visas: Spain’s new law to attract foreign startups and digital nomads

Andalusia

Benarrabá
A tiny village of just 460 inhabitants, Benarrabá is located in the province of Malaga. It’s a charming and picturesque village, where the cost of living is €392 per person per week, according to RNPA. It offers a coworking space, plus a library to work from.

Photo: Albertoac1990/Wikipedia

Tolox
The village of Tolox is a gorgeous white village set in the Sierra de las Nieves, just west of Malaga. It has a total of 2,250 inhabitants and the cost of living is €150 per person per week. It’s ideal for nature lovers, with access to the nearby Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park and Biosphere Reserve. There’s no coworking space, but there is a public library to work from. 

The village of Tolox is welcoming remote workers. Photo: jacqueline macou / Pixabay 

Basque Country

Kuartango
Located in the Basque province of Álava, just west of the capital of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Kuartango has just 430 inhabitants and a cost of living of €310 per person per week. It’s ideal for those who want to explore the nearby Gorbeia Natural Park and all the excellent culinary offerings in Vitoria-Gasteiz. It also offers a library, an education centre and a coworking space. 

Photo: Asier Sarasua Garmendia/Wikipedia

La Rioja

San Vicente de La Sonsierra
The cute town of San Vicente de La Sonsierra sits on a hilltop surrounded by vineyards and topped with a castle and a church. You can even see snow-capped mountains in the distance. It has a population of 1,030 and a cost of living of €205 per person per week. As well as its cultural offerings, it has a coworking space and library.

Photo: Josep Renalias/Wikipedia

Canary Islands

Tejeda 
Tejeda is located on the Canary Island of Gran Canaria, surrounded by mountains and ancient volcanoes on all sides. While it may be located in the interior of the island, it’s just a one-and-half-hour drive from the coast. The village has a population of 1,020 and the cost of living is €205 per person per week. It’s ideal for those who don’t like cold weather, with an average yearly temperature of 19C. It also boasts a public library and is on the island’s bus network. 

Tejeda in Gran Canaria wants remote workers. Photo: Vladimír Ješko / Pixabay 

Aragón

Oliete
The small village of Oliete lies just south of the city of Zaragoza and is just a two and half hour drive from the Catalan coastline and the Natural Park of the Delta del Ebro. With a population of just 343, it’s quiet and compact but offers a coworking centre and a library from which to work. The cost of living is €314 per person per week and there’s plenty of opportunities to explore the nearby natural and gastronomic attractions. 

Photo: B25es/Wikipedia

Castilla y León

Covarrubias
Located in the province of Burgos, along the Arlanza River, Covarrubias is an attractive little town of 541 people. Filled with half-timbered houses, it’s known as the ‘Cradle of Castilla’ because it was once the capital of one of the most important monastic manors. History buffs will love Covarrubias, because of the sheer number of historic sites and buildings in such as small place. The cost of living is €405 per person per week and there’s a public library, as well as several other facilities. 

Photo: Ecelan/Wikipedia

El Burgo de Osma
One of the largest towns on the list with a population of 5,035, El Burgo de Osma is located in the province of Soria and was declared a Town of Touristic Interest and of Historic and Artistic Importance. Filled with honey-coloured architecture and a plethora of historic sites, there’s plenty to do here. Sitting somewhere in the middle of Valladolid, Zaragoza and Madrid, it’s also ideally situated to reach various transport hubs. The town offers a coworking space and a library and has a cost of living of just €169 per person per week.  

El Burgo de Osma is welcoming remote workers. Photo: Andrés Corredor / Pixabay 

Santa Colomba de Somoza 
A 20-minute drive from the city of Astorga, Santa Colomba de Somoza lies in prime position for travel to nearby León and Ponferrada too. It has a population of 520 inhabitants and is known for tourism and gastronomy. You’ll always find foreigners travelling through here, as it’s located along the famed Camino de Santiago route. It’s home to a coworking space, as well as lots of other facilities, including bus service. The cost of living here is €310 per person per week.

Photo: Jim Anzalone/Flickr

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TAXES

Self-employed in Spain: What are the tax rules if you do two or more jobs?

When you sign up to be self-employed or autónomo in Spain you have to state what sector or industry you’ll be working in, depending on your career or business. But what happens when you cross over industries and want to work in more than one?

Published: 30 May 2023 12:31 CEST
Updated: 30 May 2023 13:43 CEST
Self-employed in Spain: What are the tax rules if you do two or more jobs?

It is increasingly common to carry out several self-employed activities at the same time to be able to make ends meet and adapt to the demands of the market. It could supplement your income and open up new opportunities.

When you sign up to be an autónomo (self-employed) you will need to be registered for IAE (Tax on Economic Activities) also called registration epígrafe. Essentially it’s a numerical code that identifies the activity you carry out.

READ ALSO – Do I have to register and pay tax if I earn below minimum wage?

Take for example an autónomo who works in marketing. They will have registered for one IAE, but if they want to supplement their marketing income and work as a tour guide or a language teacher at the same (also in a self-employed capacity), they will have to register for another IAE.

Your epígrafe or IAE will determine several factors:

  • If your activity is business or professional – If you are going to carry out a professional activity, you must apply withholding tax to your invoices within Spain. The general rate is 15 percent, but if you are a newly self-employed person, the rate is reduced to seven percent during the first year of registration and the following two.
  • The Value Added Tax (VAT) regime: The type of VAT you pay, whether it’s general, simplified or equivalent surcharge (mandatory for retailers).
  • Personal Income Tax (IRPF) – This can be an objective estimation or a direct estimation. 

If you want to sign up for more than one, you must inform both the Treasury and Social Security, since it can affect the way you pay your taxes as seen above.

To do this, you must make a declaration of census modification and fill out forms (modelos) 036 or 037. This means you will avoid having to present form 840 on the Tax on Economic Activities.

The good news though is that you can sign up for two different activities at the same time without having to pay two lots of social security fees.

READ ALSO: How self-employed workers in Spain should invoice clients abroad 

It’s important to remember that when it comes to accounting, you have to manage income and expenses separately for each of the two or more activities.  

When you present your income statements each trimester, you will have to fill in your income and expenses for each different activity. If the two activities belong to different sectors, you must also apply the VAT deduction regime separately for each sector.

It’s useful to keep in mind that as of January 2023, self-employed people have had to pay social security based on their net income, rather than a flat fee.  

READ ALSO: Will you pay more under Spain’s new social security rates for self-employed?

What to do about IVA or VAT?

The most important thing to remember is that method used to settle personal income tax and VAT must be the same for both activities. The simplified VAT regime is exclusively for taxpayers who declare personal income tax by modules.

Sometimes it may happen that you will have to charge VAT for one activity and not for the other. For example, selling bread in a bakery (with VAT) and giving cooking classes (without VAT). 

Taking this example, the VAT incurred in the acquisition of goods and services that are related to the cooking classes cannot be deducted.

However, the VAT paid on the acquisition of goods and services related to the activity in the bakery is fully deductible. 

The VAT paid for expenses common to both activities is partially deductible by applying the percentage related to the general pro rata.

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