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Refund of Social Security contributions for company director self-employed workers:
You are entitled to the flat-rate Social Security contribution (tarifa plana) if you are or have been a newly registered self-employed director of a company within the last 2 years.
The Supreme Court, in three consecutive rulings (ruling no. 315/2020 of 04/03/2020, ruling no. 286/2020 of 27/02/2020 and ruling no. 1,669/2019 of 03/12/2019) establishes the right of self-employed company directors (those registered under the Self-Employed Scheme by virtue of their role as director of a company) to benefit from the provisions of Article 31 of Law 20/2007, the Self-Employed Workers' Statute.
REFUND OF UNDULY PAID CONTRIBUTIONS:
This means that a claim may be submitted for a refund of unduly paid contributions, and that in any case any director of any commercial company who meets the requirements set out in the aforementioned Article 31 is entitled to the following benefits provided for by law:
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AMOUNTS PAID AND AMOUNTS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAID AS A SELF-EMPLOYED WORKER:
in accordance with the flat-rate Social Security contribution (tarifa plana) that the Supreme Court has extended to company directors, the self-employed contributions that should have been paid are as follows:
- Contribution payment under the flat-rate Social Security contribution (tarifa plana) for the first year (months 1–12). €60 per month (€50/month prior to 2020)
- Contribution payment under the flat-rate Social Security contribution (tarifa plana) for the third half-year of activity (months 13–18). €141.65 per month.
- Contribution payment under the flat-rate Social Security contribution (tarifa plana) for the fourth half-year of activity (months 19–24). €198.31 per month.
Men under 30 and women under 35 may benefit from an additional 30% discount for a further 12 months, once the third and final tier of the flat-rate Social Security contribution (tarifa plana) discount period has concluded.
TOTAL AMOUNT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAID IN SELF-EMPLOYED CONTRIBUTIONS OVER THE LAST 3 YEARS:
€2,759.70
TOTAL AMOUNT PAID OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS AT MINIMUM CONTRIBUTION BASES:
€13,212
DIFFERENCE TO BE CLAIMED FROM Social Security:
€10,452.30
In response to this case law, the Social Security General Treasury has issued Criterion 252/2020 on the application of the contribution benefits set out in Article 31 of Law 20/2007 (the Self-Employed Workers' Statute) to self-employed workers who hold the status of shareholders in capital companies. The text, which marks a change in the Treasury's position, is reproduced below:
TO ALL APPEALS UNITS
With regard to the above matter, the Supreme Court issued its first ruling on this issue in ruling no. 1669/19 of 3 December 2019, holding that the contribution benefits provided for under Article 31 of Law 20/2007 (the Self-Employed Workers' Statute) cannot be denied to self-employed workers who hold the status of shareholders in capital companies, contrary to the position previously maintained by this General Treasury. That ruling has been followed by further rulings to the same effect, including those issued on 27 February 2020 (ruling no. 286/2020) and 4 March 2020 (ruling no. 315/2020).
Furthermore, the Supreme Court has issued orders declaring inadmissible the cassation appeals lodged by the General Social Security Treasury on this matter, on the grounds that the matter had lost its cassation interest, as the Supreme Court considered that the issue had already been resolved by the aforementioned ruling of 3 December.
Accordingly, given that established case law now exists on the application of the aforementioned provision, the General Social Security Treasury's previous position must be revised so as to allow self-employed workers who are members of capital companies, whether limited liability or public limited companies, to access the contribution incentives provided for under Article 31 of Law 20/2007, the Self-Employed Workers' Statute. Consequently, any pending administrative appeals lodged on this matter shall be resolved in favour of the applicant.
With regard to decisions that have already become final in administrative proceedings, either because they were not challenged at the time or because an appeal was dismissed, which prevented the application of these incentives, a review may only be initiated if expressly requested by the parties concerned. Such requests shall be processed and resolved, where applicable, by the body that issued the original decision.
THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL
REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY FOR THE flat-rate Social Security contribution (tarifa plana) FOR COMPANY DIRECTORS WHO ARE SELF-EMPLOYED:
- Self-employed workers who:
- are registering for the first time
- have not been registered in the 2 years immediately preceding registration
INITIAL REDUCTION FOR THE FIRST 12 MONTHS AFTER REGISTRATION:
- Reduced contribution of €50/month for the first 12 months (24 months for municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants), where the minimum contribution base is selected;
- An 80% reduction (on the minimum base contribution) for the first 12 months (24 months for municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants), where a contribution base above the minimum is selected.
- Further reductions/bonuses applied to the contribution calculated on the minimum base at the applicable rate:
- a) 50% reduction during the following 6 months, up to 24 months.
- b) 30% reduction during the following 3 months, up to 24 months.
- c) 30% bonus during the following 3 months, up to 24 months.
Reduction for men and women under 30 and 35 years of age:
A 30% bonus for the following 12 months, applied to the contribution calculated on the minimum base at the applicable rate, up to 36 months.
Social Security CLASSIFICATION OF DIRECTORS IN CAPITAL COMPANIES:
We have provided the classification table below to help you better understand your situation as a director.
