Freelancers in Spain must learn how to calculate IRPF trimestral, because these quarterly payments decide how much money is really theirs and how much goes to Hacienda, the Spanish tax agency. IRPF trimestral are advance payments of your personal income tax on business profits, similar to what companies do through payroll withholding for employees. As an autónomo (self-employed worker) you usually pay this quarterly income tax through modelo 130 or modelo 131, depending on your regime. This guide explains how the system works in simple steps, so you can tie each IRPF payment to your real net salary as a freelancer.
FAQ
What is IRPF trimestral for freelancers in Spain?
IRPF trimestral are quarterly payments on account of your annual personal income tax. You pay a percentage of your business profit every quarter, then adjust everything in your yearly tax return.
Who must file modelo 130 IRPF trimestral?
Most freelancers in estimación directa (a regime where you declare real income and real expenses) file modelo 130 IRPF trimestral. You do not file it if more than 70% of your income has IRPF withheld on your invoices, because those retentions already act as IRPF payments on account.
Who uses modelo 131 IRPF trimestral?
Freelancers in módulos, or estimación objetiva (a regime where tax is based on standard tables like shop size or number of employees, not on real invoices), use modelo 131 IRPF trimestral.
How much is IRPF trimestral usually?
In estimación directa, IRPF trimestral is usually 20% of your cumulative net profit for the year, minus retentions and previous quarterly payments. This is the IRPF 20 percent net profit calculation that most autónomos follow.
What happens if I do not pay IRPF trimestral on time?
If you miss the deadline, Hacienda applies surcharges and interest that grow with the delay. You still need to file the modelo and pay, but it becomes more expensive.
IRPF trimestral for freelancers in Spain: what it is and who pays
IRPF trimestral is a quarterly prepayment of your yearly income tax based on your freelance profit.
IRPF is the Spanish personal income tax. IRPF trimestral are the quarterly income tax Spain self-employed payments that freelancers make on their business activity. Employees see IRPF withheld directly on their payslips. Autónomos must move that money themselves through pagos fraccionados, which is the official name for these quarterly IRPF payments.
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Two regimes, two main forms: modelo 130 and modelo 131
- If you are in estimación directa, normal or simplified, you use modelo 130 IRPF trimestral. You declare real income and real expenses for your freelance activity.
- If you are in estimación objetiva, also called módulos, you use modelo 131 IRPF trimestral. In módulos you do not work with real invoices for the calculation. You work with Tax Agency modules and coefficients based on fixed data like surface, electricity, or employees.
Who is obliged to file these quarterly forms
Most IRPF trimestral freelancers in Spain are in estimación directa and must file modelo 130 each quarter. This also includes many autónomos societarios (self-employed who pay Social Security as autónomos even though they have a limited company), because the company pays corporate tax and the person still has IRPF on professional income. You are in this group unless Hacienda has placed your activity in módulos and you accepted that regime.
The 70% exemption rule for modelo 130
If more than 70% of your income has IRPF withheld on your invoices, you are usually exempt from modelo 130. This happens when you bill many Spanish companies or agencies that withhold 15% or 7% IRPF on your invoices. In that case, the IRPF payments on account autónomos happen through invoice retentions, not through quarterly modelo 130.
IRPF trimestral is not an extra tax
IRPF trimestral is only an advance. At the end of the year you file your annual income tax return and apply the IRPF tramos autónomos 2025 (the progressive tax brackets for that year). There you compare what you should pay for the year with what you already advanced through retentions and modelos 130 or 131. If you paid too much, you get a refund. If you paid too little, you pay the difference.
Deadlines and periods: when to calculate and pay IRPF trimestral
You calculate per quarter, but pay in the month after each quarter closes.
The tax period is the quarter where your income and expenses happen. The filing period is the window in which you present and pay the modelo. Many fines start because freelancers mix these two concepts.
The four fiscal quarters for autónomos
- Q1: 1 January to 31 March
- Q2: 1 April to 30 June
- Q3: 1 July to 30 September
- Q4: 1 October to 31 December
Standard IRPF trimestral deadlines for modelo 130
You usually file and pay as follows:
- Q1: from 1 to 20 April
- Q2: from 1 to 20 July
- Q3: from 1 to 20 October
- Q4: from 1 to 30 January of the next year
If the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day. The Tax Agency sometimes extends deadlines, so you should check the official tax calendar on the AEAT site.
Consequences of missing IRPF trimestral deadlines
If you file late without a prior request from Hacienda, they add a surcharge that depends on how many months you are late. If they notify you first, penalties can be higher. In both cases it hurts your cash flow. Understanding how to calculate IRPF trimestral early in the quarter reduces stress and last minute errors.
Requirements and data you need before calculating IRPF trimestral
You cannot calculate IRPF trimestral well with messy records.
Updated books: income and expenses
To get the right number on modelo 130, you need updated books. That means:
- A libro de ingresos (list of all your sales invoices).
- A libro de gastos (list of all your deductible business expenses).
In estimación directa normal you may have extra books, but the logic is the same.
You work with income since the start of the year
Modelo 130 asks for cumulative income and expenses from 1 January to the end of the quarter. You include all business invoices in that period, with and without IRPF withholding, and also income from abroad that belongs to the same professional activity.
Only real, justified business expenses reduce your IRPF
Deductible expenses include:
- Rent for your office or coworking
- Software and online tools
- Phone and internet used for work
- Electricity used for work
- Hardware (computer, screen, etc.)
- Insurance
- Gestoría (accounting support)
- Part of car or home office costs when they are linked to your activity
For IRPF you usually use the amounts without recoverable VAT. VAT has its own logic and models, separate from this quarterly income tax Spain self-employed process.
Your Social Security quota is a core deductible expense
The monthly autónomo contribution to Social Security is always a deductible expense for IRPF. It reduces your profit and therefore your IRPF trimestral. Good net salary calculator freelancer Spain tools subtract this quota before they estimate your IRPF, because it changes the net result a lot.
Extra data you need for the modelo
Have ready:
- Your NIF (Spanish tax ID)
- The fiscal year
- The quarter you are filing
- The cumulative net profit
- IRPF retentions on your invoices
- Previous modelo 130 payments
- Any special reductions (new autónomo reductions, Ceuta and Melilla coefficients, etc.)
Without these numbers, any IRPF trimestral calculator will be wrong.
How to calculate IRPF trimestral with modelo 130
The core calculation is simple: 20% of net profit minus what you already advanced.
You can see modelo 130 as a structured version of one simple formula.
Step 1 - Add all income since 1 January
Add all your business income since 1 January, without VAT.
Step 2 - Subtract deductible expenses
Subtract all deductible expenses, including the full year autónomo quota. The result is your cumulative net profit, called rendimiento neto.
Step 3 - Apply the IRPF percentage
Apply the IRPF 20 percent net profit calculation, except in special cases (agriculture, Ceuta and Melilla, etc.).
Step 4 - Subtract retentions and previous payments
Subtract:
- IRPF retentions on your invoices
- Previous pagos fraccionados (modelo 130 payments from earlier quarters in the same year)
The result is the IRPF trimestral to pay for that quarter.
How this appears in the boxes of modelo 130
In modelo 130 you fill boxes for:
- Gross income
- Deductible expenses
- Net profit
Other boxes hold:
- IRPF retentions suffered
- Previous quarterly payments in the same year
The AEAT online form then applies the percentage and does the rest of the math. Understanding how to calculate IRPF trimestral helps you see that the form is just doing this formula for you.
Special percentages for certain activities and regions
Some agricultural, livestock, and fishing activities use 2% over gross income instead of 20% over net profit. Activities in Ceuta and Melilla often use reduced percentages, like 8% or 0.8%, because of regional tax rules. These special cases are explained in the official instructions. If they apply to you, the IRPF trimestral calculation follows those lower rates.
What happens when the result is negative
Sometimes the formula gives a negative result. That happens when the sum of your IRPF retentions and previous quarterly payments is higher than 20% of your cumulative net profit. In that case, modelo 130 shows a negative amount. You do not pay in that quarter. Instead, you carry the negative balance to offset future quarters in the same year.
Numeric examples: IRPF trimestral calculation in practice
Examples matter because IRPF trimestral uses cumulative data, not just this quarter.
Many freelancers think in isolated quarters and get confused. The law looks at your profit from 1 January to the end of each quarter. It then adjusts for what you already paid. These examples show how the same freelancer can pay very different amounts each quarter.
Example 1 - no retentions, only modelo 130
Imagine a solo graphic designer in estimación directa simplificada (a simplified version of the real income and expenses regime).
- Q1 income: 15,000 euros
- Q1 deductible expenses plus Social Security: 5,000 euros
- Net profit year to date: 10,000 euros
IRPF trimestral is 20% of 10,000, so 2,000 euros. She has no retentions and no prior pagos fraccionados, so she pays 2,000 euros for Q1.
Out of the 15,000 euros billed:
- 5,000 euros went to costs
- 2,000 euros to IRPF
- 8,000 euros is real money she keeps before her personal spending
Example 2 - same freelancer with retentions and previous quarters
By the end of Q2, the same freelancer has:
- Total income year to date: 30,000 euros
- Cumulative deductible expenses and Social Security: 10,000 euros
- Net profit year to date: 20,000 euros
The IRPF 20 percent net profit calculation gives 4,000 euros.
She has:
- 1,500 euros in IRPF retentions on invoices
- 2,000 euros already paid in modelo 130 for Q1
Together that is 3,500 euros advanced.
Q2 IRPF trimestral is 4,000 - 3,500 = 500 euros. Even if her quarter was strong, the quarterly bill now drops sharply because much was already paid.
Example 3 - negative result and carry forward
By Q3, suppose her total net profit is 4,000 euros only, maybe because she had heavy expenses.
She already has:
- 1,000 euros in retentions
- Quarterly pagos from earlier months adding up to 1,000 euros
The theoretical IRPF is 20% of 4,000, which is 800 euros. She already advanced 1,000 euros, so the model shows minus 200 euros.
She does not pay in Q3. Instead, that negative 200 euros is carried to Q4 and lowers any future payment. In the annual return, it also reduces what she may still owe.
How IRPF trimestral impacts your net salary as a freelancer
Your real net salary is income minus costs, Social Security, and all IRPF payments.
Think of your freelance year as one big net salary calculation:
- Start with your projected gross income without VAT.
- Subtract your Social Security contributions.
- Subtract fixed and variable expenses.
- Subtract all IRPF trimestral payments and retentions for the year.
What remains is your real net salary as a freelancer in Spain.
Quarterly IRPF is a rough prepayment, the annual tramos decide the final rate
The IRPF tramos autónomos 2025 set the progressive bands applied in the annual return. The 20% you pay each quarter is only an approximate prepayment for most professional activities. Your final effective rate may be higher if you earn more, or lower if your income is modest or you have many deductions. The annual income tax return uses those tramos and your personal situation to close the year.
Cash flow planning is impossible if you ignore quarterly income tax
If you spend everything that enters your bank account, you will be surprised every quarter. A simple rule is to set aside a percentage of each invoice for taxes. Many freelancers reserve around 20% to 25% of their net profit for IRPF trimestral and the final annual adjustment. Planning tools and dashboards that track IRPF trimestral freelancers Spain numbers in real time make this much easier.
Tools and calculators to estimate IRPF trimestral (and reduce manual work)
Manual spreadsheets work, but small errors become big tax problems.
Manual spreadsheets
You can calculate everything with Excel and Tax Agency instructions. You enter income, expenses, autónomo quota, retentions, and previous payments. You apply the formula and then fill modelo 130 online. This works, but one missed invoice or deductible cost means you pay more IRPF trimestral than needed.
Online IRPF trimestral calculator and net salary tools
Several sites offer an IRPF trimestral calculator or net salary calculator freelancer Spain style tools. They ask for your annual gross income, Social Security contributions, and estimated expenses. They try to estimate your net salary and IRPF using current tramos and basic deductions. They are useful for a quick view, but they do not always capture all personal details or the exact structure of your activity.
Platforms like renn automate calculations based on real data
When your invoicing, bank accounts, and expense receipts are in one place, the platform can estimate IRPF trimestral in real time.
renn:
- Connects to your bank and Gmail
- Captures WhatsApp receipts
- Offers Verifactu-ready invoicing
- Calculates your VAT and IRPF projections quarter by quarter
It does this based on actual income and expenses, not guesses. This automation cuts most admin work and helps you reserve the right amounts for taxes.
Complex setups still benefit from a human review
If you have many different activities, change regimes, or mix Spanish and foreign income, a human advisor still adds value. Software can handle the day to day IRPF payments on account autónomos, but edge cases and strategic decisions about regimes and deductions should still be checked by a professional.
Common mistakes when calculating IRPF trimestral (and how to avoid them)
Mixing VAT and IRPF in the same mental bucket
Modelo 130 ignores VAT. It works with amounts without recoverable VAT. Many freelancers wrongly add or subtract VAT balances when working out how to calculate IRPF trimestral. That leads to wrong numbers and confusion between quarterly VAT and quarterly IRPF.
Forgetting that the calculation is cumulative from January
IRPF trimestral is not based only on what happened in the current quarter. The model uses data from the start of the yearto that quarter. If you only look at these three months, the amount in modelo 130 will never match your expectations. Always work with year to date figures.
Not subtracting retentions and previous pagos fraccionados
Some freelancers calculate 20% of net profit and pay that, ignoring IRPF retentions and earlier quarterly payments. That overpays the tax and locks your cash until the annual return. Always subtract retentions and previous modelos before deciding what to pay now.
Leaving out legitimate deductible expenses
Another mistake is the opposite. People forget to include costs like autónomo quota, business insurance, part of rent, or home office and car expenses when allowed. This inflates net profit and pushes up the IRPF trimestral bill. A system that reads bank transactions and invoices for you, like renn, helps to capture more deductible items with less effort and less manual work.
Missing quarterly deadlines and paying surcharges
Many autónomos think they have the whole month after quarter end. They then discover the deadline is usually the 20th. Late filing adds surcharges and interest. Use reminders or tools that flag upcoming IRPF trimestral and VAT dates instead of relying on memory.
Bottom line: make IRPF trimestral part of your real net salary plan
IRPF trimestral is a 20% prepayment on your net profit, adjusted by previous advances.
For most freelancers, IRPF trimestral is about paying 20% of cumulative net profit, with exceptions for some sectors and regions. You then subtract IRPF retentions and earlier quarterly payments. The result is what you pay now, or carry forward if it is negative. It is not a separate tax. It is part of your annual IRPF, which is later closed using the progressive tramos and your personal situation.
Treat quarterly IRPF as a regular cost of doing business, not a surprise.
