Renting a flat when self-employed
Without a payslip, what shows your income is last year's tax return. Many agencies also ask for this year's quarterly returns, to see that your business is still going. What counts is what you earn, not what you invoice.
What they ask for
- Who you are
- Your DNI or NIE, or your passport if you have just arrived.
- Your tax return
- Your latest tax return. It's the paper that matters most: it sums up what you earned over a whole year.
- Your quarterly returns
- This year's, if you file them: the payment on account (Form 130, or 131 if you're taxed under the módulos scheme) and, if you charge VAT, Form 303. They show your business is still going.
- Sometimes, your registration
- The census status certificate from the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria), or your self-employed registration with Social Security.
Which income counts
What you earn, not what you invoice: what your business leaves you after expenses and tax. As a rule of thumb, rent shouldn't be more than a third of what you earn each month.
If you've only recently registered as self-employed
If you don't yet have a tax return covering a whole year as self-employed, what you do have still counts:
- Your quarterly returns
- The ones you've already filed, even if it's just one.
- Your savings
- A recent certificate or statement of your accounts.
- A guarantor
- The same papers, from your guarantor, and their written commitment.
Your tax return, checked just once.
You get verified once and your profile reaches the agencies in your area, without having to explain how you earn your money on every listing.
Building your profile and getting verified is free.
- You upload your papers only once.
- Agencies see your verified badge, not your papers.
- Your papers are only seen by the agency you give permission to, and you can withdraw it.
What people ask most when they're self-employed.
Does what I invoice count, or what I earn?
What you earn: what your business leaves you after expenses and tax. That's the figure the person renting to you looks at.
Does my tax return count if I got a refund?
Yes. What matters is what you earned, and the return shows that whether you paid or got money back.
Will they also ask for my quarterly returns?
Many agencies do, to see that your business is still going this year. Keep them handy.
Sources
- Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria): Form 100 (income tax return), Forms 130 and 131 (income tax payments on account) and Form 303 (VAT).