Sole Traders cannot employ family members under the standard social security rules.
A close relative that works in the business must also be autonomo.
An example of this co-operation is given when the owner of a shop calls for the assistance of a family member.
The “co-operator” does not have to register a business with the Tax office, and therefore, he will not have to submit tax or accounts. Rather, he acts as an employee/assistant of the head of the business.
The monthly standard fee of a “family assistant” (familiar colaborador) is the same as any other Autonomo.
However the reductions for new autonomos are not available for this category.
What about the salary?
The obligation to pay a salary, along with the corresponding tax, depends on the situation. Consider a business that is run by a married couple under the community property regime (i.e all assets belong to both in a 50% share-rate) . In this case, it could be understood that the declared income is joint and there is no obligation to set a separate salary.
Another case may be if the family assistant is a son or daughter. If the business head, his or her parent, pays them a salary this should be declared.
The wage-slip is liable to tax and it should be paid and declared using tax forms “modelo 111” and “modelo 190”. The salary and the social security paid for the assistant is an expense of the main business.
The obligation to pay social security for the family assistant becomes the responsibility of the assistant, not on the business head.
When the main autonomo chooses to pay for it, it is considered a payment in kind that needs to be included along with the salary in the tax declaration.