How long does the 7% IRPF deduction last? Teachers and academies beware.

[:en]I’ve been asked this week by several teachers about the 7% or 15% deduction in the IRPF for self employed teachers (autónomos). And, by an unfortunate chance, we’ve had, for the second time in the history of our academy, an issue related to it. So, here comes another article about IRPF!

The IRPF deduction.

NB. I’m not an HR specialist. Everything I write here is from experience and many calls to our legal advisors. So take this article as what it is, an opinion and no legal fact. Please check with your advisors too.

We said, in our previous article about IRPF, that self employed workers can deduct (in Madrid) a 7% during the first three years. But this is not exact. The law is a bit confusing as it states autonomos can deduct the 7% during 2+1 years. Is that really three, or two?

Solution: I think it would be more precise to say 1+2 years. What they mean with this is that you have whatever remains of the year you register (alta) plus two whole years more.

So, if someone registers in January 2018, he has 3 full years (1+2), until December 2020.  BUT, if someone does the “alta” in November of 2018, his deduction period will also finish on December 2020 and we will have had 2 months+2 years.

Do not, I repeat, do not change in the middle of a year. They count whole years, and that’s where most problems arise.

What can happen if I’ve done it incorrectly?

Well this is why the title reads academies beware.  Because we’ve had two issues about this now, and Hacienda has fined us, the academy, for 2000€ (two years ago) and 1000€ (last week).

Why the academy? You’d think it would be the self employed worker’s responsibility, wouldn’t you? After all he/she is “a company” on it’s own?

Yes, but, when self employed workers only work for companies, as we mentioned in the previous article, they don’t have to fill in the IRPF form (model 130). It is the companies that deduct the IRPF for them and send it to Hacienda. So the Tax Office’s first point of contact about this tax is the company. And they can’t be bothered to go further than that. They’ll just fine whoever sent them the “false” information, their first of contact, the academy (company) .

They don’t care if the informationan was wrongly sent by the autonomo. For them it’s easier to blame the company and let them solve it from there on. Which many times isn’t easy… as this might have happened 1 or 2 years ago and, in teaching, the autonomo might be on the other side of the world (and no longer self employed).

What can academies do?

We’ve decided not to trust self employed workers to do their deduction correctly, as it’s us who get the fine. And we ask every autonomo for their “alta” and check ourselves if they are doing things correctly and up until when they have the right to deduct the 7%. This serves as a safe guard for us, and an extra help for teachers (who normally make these mistakes out of ignorance, not malice).

 

 

 

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