In short: the IAE epigraph of a freelancer in Spain (autónomo) is the activity code you choose when you register with modelo 036, whether you do consulting, create content or write. The Directorate-General for Taxation (DGT) places in group 869 of section 2 people who create digital content or work as influencers on their own account and personally. People who give tax advice without a university degree go to group 799. Writers have had group 864 since 2023. As an individual you do not pay the IAE tax, but the epigraph decides whether your activity is professional or business, and that changes withholding and modelo 130.
Who it is for. For foreigners living in Spain who register as autónomos to work online: videos and social media, affiliate links, ebooks and PDF guides, courses, consultations and support. Before registering, your permit must allow self-employment: see residence and work as self-employed. The registration step by step is in the card on registering as a foreign autónomo (Valencian Community example).
Which epigraph the DGT has given to each activity
| Activity | Epigraph | Section | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creating digital content, YouTuber, influencer, personally | Group 869, «Otros profesionales relacionados con las actividades artísticas y culturales no clasificadas en la sección tercera» (other arts and culture professionals) | 2 | DGT, V2390-24 (21.11.2024) |
| Commissions on coupons or sales links in videos (affiliate) | Group 869 | 2 | DGT, V0065-25 (03.02.2025) and V2428-25 (11.12.2025). In both the DGT saw the person as a video influencer; a text blog with affiliate links would be by analogy |
| Writer | Group 864, «Escritores y guionistas» (writers and scriptwriters) | 2 | Created by Law 31/2022 from 01.01.2023; the DGT applied it in V1435-24 (14.06.2024) to articles and chapters published by publishers. In that same ruling, what the publishers paid for those articles was treated for IRPF as employment income (rendimientos del trabajo), because there was no economic activity |
| Author who publishes and sells their own books or ebooks | 864 plus heading 476.1, «Edición de libros» (book publishing) | 2 and 1 | By analogy: V2517-22 (07.12.2022) and V0218-23 (13.02.2023) gave the author group 861 plus 476.1 for publishing their own work |
| Online training with your own PDFs and videos (info products) | Heading 355.2, «Edición de soportes grabados de sonido, de vídeo y de informática» (recorded media publishing), plus group 826 (teachers of various subjects, such as languages or exam preparation) | 1 and 2 | DGT, V0717-19 (29.03.2019), sales on the Hotmart platform. Old ruling |
| Tax advice without a university degree | Group 799, «Otros profesionales relacionados con las actividades financieras, jurídicas, de seguros y de alquileres, n.c.o.p.» (other financial, legal, insurance and rental professionals) | 2 | DGT, V0427-16 (03.02.2016). In V1435-24 the DGT also pointed to 799 if the activity is advice on legal matters |
| Other consulting | The closest «n.c.o.p.» heading (rule 8) | Depends on the heading | IAE Instruction, rule 8; if unsure, a binding ruling |
A binding ruling answers the facts of the person who asked. Where the table says «by analogy», the epigraph comes from rulings on similar cases: confirm it with a binding ruling.
If your activity is not in the Tariffs
The IAE Tariffs date from 1990 (Royal Legislative Decree 1175/1990) and many online activities are not listed by name. Rule 8 of the Instruction classifies them provisionally in the «n.c.o.p.» (not classified elsewhere) group or heading they most resemble; if there is none, in the one of the most similar activity. That is how the DGT reached 799 for tax advice (V0427-16) and 861 for a writer in V0218-23 (13.02.2023), when it was not yet applying group 864, in force since 01.01.2023.
If you do several things, you register the epigraph of each activity, all in the same modelo 036 (V1435-24). They can be from different sections: in V2517-22 the DGT gave the same author a section 2 group and a section 1 heading.
As an individual you are exempt from paying the IAE (Local Finance Law, art. 82.1.c). You report the epigraph in the AEAT modelo 036, which replaces the IAE's own return (V2517-22).
Professional (section 2) or business (section 1)
Section 2 covers professional activities and only applies to individuals. According to the DGT (V2390-24), an activity is professional when you carry it out on your own account and personally. If it relies on a business organisation separate from your personal capacity, it is a business activity and goes to section 1.
What changes with the section
- Withholding on your invoices. If you invoice a professional activity to a company or another professional in Spain, they withhold 15% (IRPF regulation, art. 95.1). In the starting year and the two after, the withholding is 7%, if you had no professional activity in the year before you started. Groups 864 and 869 have another 7%: if, the year before, the income from those activities was under €15,000 and more than 75% of your income from economic activities and employment. For the 7% you tell the payer in writing. The 15% withholding is for professional activities, not for section 1 ones.
- Who withholds. Companies, entities and autónomos who pay you within their business (IRPF regulation, art. 76.1). A private buyer of your ebook or a foreign platform with no establishment in Spain does not withhold.
- Modelo 130. Someone with a professional activity does not file it if, in the previous year, at least 70% of the income from that activity had withholding (IRPF regulation, art. 109.2). If you are starting the activity, the 70% is checked on the income of the instalment period itself (art. 109.5). That exception is only for professional activities. With private clients or foreign platforms it is hard to reach 70%, and then you file modelo 130.
- Author selling their own editions. If you publish your work yourself, what you earn from that sale is a business activity for IRPF (IRPF regulation, art. 95.2.b.1; V2517-22 and V0218-23). It carries no 15% withholding and you file modelo 130.
- Record books. Professionals also keep the book of provisions of funds and supplied items (IRPF regulation, art. 68.5).
What does not depend on the epigraph
- RETA and contribution. You enter the RETA if you work habitually, personally and directly on your own account (General Social Security Law, art. 305.1). The contribution goes by net income brackets: table in autónomo taxes and contribution.
- Flat rate (tarifa plana). You must not have been registered in the RETA in the previous 2 years (3 if you already had it). You ask for it when you register and must be up to date with Social Security and the tax office (flat rate 2026).
- VAT. It goes by what you sell and to whom: the rate for an ebook, a course or a consultation is in the card on VAT on ebooks, PDF guides, courses and consultations. One exception: for the private lessons exemption, one of the conditions the DGT checks is that the activity is in a section 2 epigraph (V1435-24).
The epigraph is not a professional qualification
Rule 4, paragraph 4 of the IAE Instruction, which the DGT recalls in V0427-16, says that being on the register or paying the tax does not allow you to carry out an activity that requires other conditions. Group 799 is where the DGT classified tax advice given without a degree; registering does not make you a lawyer or a gestor administrativo, who have their own groups (731 and 722) and entry requirements. The Organic Law of the Judiciary, art. 542.1 reserves the title and role of abogado (lawyer) exclusively to law graduates who professionally conduct the direction and defence of parties in any proceedings, or legal advice and counsel. If your service touches a regulated profession, ask the relevant professional body (colegio profesional).
If you picked the wrong epigraph
You change it with a modification return in modelo 036: you remove the wrong epigraph and add the right one. Census returns are used to report the start, the changes and the end of the activity (General Tax Law, additional provision 5, quoted in V2517-22). An inaccurate census return can be fined a fixed €250 (General Tax Law, art. 199.3). For a census return filed late, the fine is €400, or €200 if you file it without a prior request from the tax office (art. 198). Sometimes a return filed on time was inaccurate and you later file another one that corrects it, late and without a prior request. In that case the art. 199 infringement does not apply, only the art. 198.2 penalty on what was declared late.
When this does not work or is not confirmed
- Self-publishing after 2023. The pair 864 plus 476.1 comes by analogy from rulings that still used 861.
- Text blog with affiliate links. Group 869 comes from rulings on video creators.
- Advertising or sponsorship income. V2390-24 gives 869 for creating and publishing photos and videos. Before group 869 existed, the DGT gave a YouTuber paid for advertising heading 961.1 and group 844 of section 1 (V0992-16). It gave an influencer publishing videos and photos on a platform, with no advertising income, headings 961.1 and 973.1 (V0773-22). The 2024 and 2025 rulings use 869. If you are paid for advertising, ask the DGT whether you need another epigraph.
- Advice with a university degree. V0427-16 covers a person without a degree; if you hold one, the heading may be different.
- Info products. The 355.2 plus 826 ruling is from 2019.
- Company (SL). A company cannot use section 2: it goes to the similar activity in section 1 (rule 3 of the Instruction, quoted in V2390-24). This card is for individuals.
What you can do
- Write in one sentence what you sell and to whom, and find your case in the table.
- If it fits, use that epigraph in modelo 036; if you do several things, register one epigraph per activity.
- If your case is missing or the table says «by analogy», look for similar rulings in the DGT database or ask your own: how to request a binding ruling.
- For the filing calendar without a gestoría: what to file and when.
- If your activity changes, update modelo 036.
Official source: BOE, IAE Tariffs and Instruction, DGT binding rulings V2390-24 and V0427-16, IRPF regulation.
Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.