Self-employed or SL: the comparison
The 60,000-euro question with numbers instead of myths: your total burden as a freelancer versus an SL paying you a salary, counting the 2026 corporate-partner floor, corporate tax, and the accountant nobody puts in the math.
Result
The SL saves you€7,226per year
Retained profit already paid corporate tax but is not yours yet: distributing it as dividends adds savings-scale income tax. If your plan is to take everything out every year, the SL almost always loses.
Estimate
workingfigures.com/spain/autonomo-o-sl
The formula
Freelancer: bracket quota + income tax (19-47% scale) on profit minus quota. SL: corporate-partner quota (1,424.40 base floor in 2026) + income tax on your salary + corporate tax (25% general, 15% new, 21% micro) on what remains after salary and costs. Savings compare total burdens.
What this assumes
Undistributed profit stays in the company (no dividend tax), salary within profit, the state reference scale, no in-kind pay or pension plans. Verified 2026-08. For the real decision: an advisor, always.
FAQ
- At what profit does the SL win?
- With 2026 numbers and everything drawn as salary, almost never: the 448-euro monthly corporate floor plus accounting eat the differential. The SL starts winning when you can LEAVE profit inside at 15-25% to reinvest. Move the salary slider and watch it live.
- Can I set any salary I want?
- No: Hacienda requires market pay for your actual work, and owner-company dealings are monitored related-party transactions. An artificially low salary to inflate 25%-taxed profit is the easiest audit Hacienda ever wins.
- What about dividends?
- They pay savings-scale income tax when drawn (19-28% by bracket), ON TOP of the corporate tax already paid. That is why this calculator leaves them out: the SL shines when you reinvest, not when you distribute. Take everything out yearly and the freelancer column wins.