Does your son work with you in the family business as a self-employed collaborator? The Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) clarifies that, for the purposes of the IRPF module regime, it can be counted as salaried personnel. A relevant precision that can alter the declared net income.
Labor relations within a family business are usually surrounded by a certain interpretative fog when we enter the tax field. One of these grey areas has been cleared up thanks to the Binding Consultation V0518-25, dated March 28, 2025, issued by the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT).
In this consultation, a businessman asks whether he can consider his son – of legal age, who lives with him and is registered as a self-employed collaborator – as a salaried employee for the purpose of calculating the net income in the objective estimation regime of the Personal Income Tax (IRPF). The answer is clear and straightforward: yes, provided that certain requirements are met.
What does the DGT consider?
The key is how the figures of “salaried personnel” and “non-salaried personnel” are defined within the rules of the module system. In this case, the owner of the activity, as is logical, cannot be considered a salaried employee -he is the entrepreneur, the central figure of the business-. But his son, despite being registered as a self-employed collaborator, can be counted as an employee, for a fundamental reason: he does not carry out his own economic activity, but works for the family business.
This interpretation is supported by the instructions contained in Order HFP/1359/2023 (for the fiscal year 2024), and in Order HAC/1347/2024 (for 2025), which regulate the objective estimation. Both coincide in the essential: an employee is any other person working in the activity, without requiring a formalized employment contract when the work is habitual and continuous.
How is it calculated?
It is not enough to have the child registered as a self-employed collaborator: his or her contribution must be correctly quantified according to the hours worked per year. The rule establishes that the person who works the hours established by the collective agreement or, if there is no collective agreement, a total of 1,800 hours per year, will be considered a full employee. If the number is lower, a direct proportion will be applied.
For example, if the child collaborates 900 hours per year, he/she will count as 0.5 salaried people in the modules. The formula is mathematical, but it requires discipline in the time registration and documentary traceability to prove its veracity in the event of a possible verification.
Are there any tax implications for the child?
Yes, the amounts received as a self-employed collaborator are considered as full income from work -they are not considered as income from economic activity-, since the child has no business autonomy or risk of his own. He/she will be taxed as if he/she were an employee, even if he/she is registered as a collaborator in the RETA.
And what changes with this consultation?
More than a change, what the DGT does is to confirm a logical criterion that, however, has often generated doubts. In practice, it allows small family businesses that are taxed in modules to better adjust their net income and avoid penalties for not calculating their net income.
If you have a child of legal age collaborating with you, working regularly in the business and is registered as a self-employed collaborator, you can count on him/her as salaried personnel in the objective estimation of the IRPF. However, document well his or her time commitment and keep traceability of his or her remunerations.
For more information, please consult with Tax consulting
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