Payroll Services in Spain
Advisors in Spain handles monthly payroll, Social Security registration, Modelo 111 and 190 withholding filings, and EOR guidance for employers in Spain.
Most employers reach this page after forming a Spanish company and hiring their first person, or after an in-house payroll process has fallen behind on its filing calendar. Every case starts with the form below: describe your situation, and a payroll specialist who runs cases like yours takes it directly.
Your specialist registers the company and each employee with the Tesoreria General de la Seguridad Social, files Modelo 111 and 190 with the Agencia Tributaria on schedule, and flags the EOR-versus-entity question where it applies.
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Who Needs Payroll Help in Spain
- You need payroll help in Spain once you hire your first employee, when Social Security registration and Modelo 111/190 filings become monthly obligations, or when you are weighing an EOR against forming your own Spanish entity.
- A foreign company that has just formed a Spanish SL or branch and is about to make its first hire needs Social Security registration and a payroll process running before day one.
- An existing employer whose in-house payroll has fallen behind on Modelo 111 or Modelo 190 filings needs the calendar caught up before a missed deadline compounds.
- A company still deciding between using an Employer of Record and setting up its own entity needs the legal question answered before it commits to either route.
A solo freelancer working as autonomo, with no employees, does not need payroll services; that is a different registration, covered in our autonomo vs SL guide.
What's Included When You Work With a Payroll Specialist
Your payroll specialist runs every step below directly, on a recurring monthly cycle, not as a one-off project.
- Monthly payroll runs and payslips. Gross-to-net calculation, IRPF withholding and Social Security deductions, and payslip issuance for every employee, every month. Have your specialist run your first payroll.
- Social Security company and employee registration. The company is registered with the Tesoreria General de la Seguridad Social, and each employee is affiliated and given an alta, a start-of-employment registration, under the Regimen General, the standard employee scheme (RETA is the separate self-employed regime and does not apply to hired staff). Have your specialist register your company.
- Modelo 111 withholding filing. The IRPF income tax withheld from salaries gets filed with the Agencia Tributaria on the quarterly or monthly schedule set out below. Have your specialist handle your filings.
- Modelo 190 annual summary filing. The yearly reconciliation of everything withheld under Modelo 111 gets filed once a year, in the January window set out below.
- Employment contract registration with SEPE. Each contract gets registered with the Servicio Publico de Empleo Estatal; contract-law detail beyond registration lives on our employment law guide.
- EOR guidance on the entity question. Where you are still deciding how to employ in Spain, we can also assess whether an Employer of Record or your own entity fits your case better, covered in the next section. That assessment is guidance on the choice; the four services above are the work the specialist performs.
Entity or EOR
Do You Need Your Own Spanish Entity, or Is an EOR Legal in Spain?
- Your own SL or branch
- Payroll can only run through a registered Spanish employer. Forming your own SL (limited company) or branch makes your company that employer directly, with no third party standing between you and your staff. See company formation in Spain if you have not yet formed one.
- An Employer of Record
- An EOR acts as the legal employer of record while you direct the day-to-day work. Article 43.1 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores restricts hiring workers to supply them temporarily to another company to duly authorized temporary work agencies; an arrangement outside that license carries real legal exposure.
- Is an EOR legal in Spain?
- Yes, if the arrangement stays clear of cesion ilegal (illegal worker supply). Article 43.2 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores names four circumstances that make the supply illegal: the contract between the two companies amounts to no more than putting workers at the client's disposal, the supplying company has no activity or stable organization of its own, it lacks the means to carry out that activity, or it does not exercise the functions of an employer. A Spanish SL plus a payroll provider is the alternative most firms choose once headcount justifies the setup cost.
Setting Up Payroll: How the Process Works
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You submit the qualification form
The form asks about the business, your timeline and whether a Spanish entity already exists. The company name is optional, and nothing is filed with Seguridad Social yet.
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A specialist takes your case
A payroll specialist who handles cases like yours takes it directly and works with you from there.
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Social Security company and employee registration
The specialist registers the company with the Tesoreria General de la Seguridad Social and affiliates each employee under the Regimen General before that employee's first day.
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First payroll run and payslip issuance
Gross-to-net pay is calculated, IRPF and Social Security are withheld, and the first payslip is issued on the company's chosen pay date.
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Ongoing monthly filing calendar
Modelo 111 gets filed on its quarterly or monthly cycle and Modelo 190 once a year, alongside every recurring payroll run, so the calendar does not slip after the first month.
Payroll Timing: Deadlines and What Causes Delays
Modelo 111 quarterly for most employers, Modelo 190 each January
The fixed filing calendar once payroll is running, per Agencia Tributaria.
What delays it
Most employers file Modelo 111 quarterly, in the first 20 calendar days of April, July, October and January. An employer whose turnover passed 6,010,121.04 euros in the previous calendar year files it in the first 20 days of every month, under Article 108 of the IRPF Regulation. Modelo 190, the annual summary, is filed once a year in January; the Agencia Tributaria's published filing window for the current campaign runs from 1 January to 2 February 2026, because a deadline that lands on a non-working day rolls to the next working one. Registering the company and affiliating each employee with Social Security must both happen before the employee's first day, under Real Decreto 84/1996. What actually causes delay is a missing NIF for a newly foreign-owned company, an employment contract not yet registered with SEPE, or incomplete employee documentation.
What to prepare now
Have your company NIF, a Spanish bank account for payroll and Social Security direct debits, and each new hire's passport or NIE and signed contract ready before the qualification form goes in.
Tax and legal
Tax and Legal Considerations for Employers in Spain
IRPF withholding brackets and Social Security contribution rates are both set annually, IRPF by the Agencia Tributaria and contribution rates by Seguridad Social. Corporate tax in Spain and employment law in Spain carry the current figures.
A foreign-owned company running Spanish payroll will usually also need to register for VAT, covered on VAT registration in Spain, and to have a corporate bank account open before the first payroll run, since salary payments and the Social Security direct debit both move through it. Neither obligation is optional once a company has employees on a Spanish payroll, and both are worth arranging before the qualification form goes in.
Filing deadlines, registration rules and the sourced timing figures on this page are current as of August 20, 2026, and are reviewed every six months against Agencia Tributaria, Seguridad Social and BOE guidance.
A missed Modelo 111 filing carries a penalty
Get your payroll running before your next deadline. Tell us about the business and timeline, and a payroll specialist takes it on directly.
Common questions
How much does it cost to hire a payroll service?
How does payroll work in Spain?
Do I need a Spanish company before I can run payroll here?
Is an Employer of Record (EOR) legal in Spain?
What Social Security contributions does an employer pay in Spain?
How long does Social Security company registration take?
When must an employee be registered with Social Security?
What's the difference between a gestor and a payroll specialist?
Why Work With Advisors in Spain
We confirm the scope and responsible professional before payroll work begins, from registration to filing.
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Every specialist meets the same standard before taking a case.
We do not take on a case we cannot handle well. Every specialist meets the same standard before taking a case, and we tell you plainly when your case is not something we handle.
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Every specialist works in English or Spanish.
You explain the business and timeline once, in English or Spanish, to the specialist who ends up running your payroll.
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Coordinated support for related matters.
Payroll, the tax filings it triggers, and whatever follows: we coordinate related requirements, with responsibility and scope agreed for each service.
Contact us
Your request is in
We read every request ourselves, assess the requirements and reply by email with the appropriate next steps.
We review your enquiry today. If you have not heard back within two working days, write to us and we chase it the same day.