Corporate self-employed: how to claim the flat rate

Although many are unaware of it, you can claim the flat rate even if you are listed under a self-employed corporate regime. Until now, it is quite unknown, but there are more and more cases of self-employed workers demanding that Social Security apply the flat rate retroactively.

Nobody wants problems with the law, but in this case, it turns out the law is on the self-employed side. Some judges have already begun to agree with those who wanted to complain and have set a precedent that many others will surely be able to take advantage of.

Bonuses for self-employed people

In principle, all self-employed workers who are initially registered in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) or who have not been registered in the previous five years are entitled to the following bonuses:

• If they contribute the minimum base, during the first six months, they will only pay 50 euros per month.
• During the following six months, they are entitled to a 50% reduction and, in the following six months, to a 30% reduction.
• If you are under 30 years old, an additional reduction of 30% is offered for a further 12 months.

The law says that the reductions will also apply to members of labour societies and worker members of cooperatives. However, because the law does not specify corporate self-employed workers, Social Security has decided to exclude them from the planned bonuses.

Favorable Ruling

Since the beginning of its application, various complaints have arisen from corporate self-employed persons demanding the possibility of taking advantage of the bonuses.

A corporate sole proprietor who went to court achieved a victory that could set an obvious precedent. The court ruled in favour based on two arguments:

• Although the law does not mention partners and directors effectively controlling commercial companies, does not indicate that they are excluded.
• Considering a rule created to avoid unemployment, the court considered that it would be logical for it to include corporate self-employed persons.

This ruling opens the door to other cases to be able to claim. You can claim the flat rate application even if you are over 30 years old.

How to claim?

You should know that Social Security will not apply the bonus to you without filing a claim. That is why you cannot sit back and wait for them to tell you, you must be proactive and claim.

When you complain, there is always a small risk that they will ignore you, so it is important to follow the appropriate steps to achieve your goal:

• Submit a letter to the treasury requesting that they apply the flat rate and return the undue income for the difference.
• If your request is denied, you must file an appeal.
• If Social Security continues to refuse, you will have to go to court and present all the arguments we have discussed.

Remember that the process will not be easy and will probably take time. It is normal; if you have been in this situation for a long time, they would have to compensate you with a lot of money, which makes it difficult for them to recognize it.

Conclusions

If you are a corporate self-employed person, you can, and should, claim what you are entitled to by law. Social Security is not going to make it easy for you, but it is normal since they do not want to have to pay arrears.

Obviously, even if you follow all the steps, they may not prove you right, but you have many options to get them to pay you what they owe you.

You can claim each month that you have been paying more. For example, if you registered in 2015, you could claim up to 3,000 euros.