Self-employed professionals and Ceuta-based businesses can now apply for the direct grants approved by the government after the city’s invasion last July. The application form has been available on the Tax Agency’s online portal since Monday, September 14, and the deadline to submit it is November 30, 2026. For self-employed workers, the aid is 5,000 euros and will be paid by bank transfer, with no documentation required.
These aids form part of the package of measures laid out in Royal Decree-Law 22/2026 of September 1, which also includes tax relief in Personal Income Tax (IRPF) and Corporate Tax, bonuses on Social Security contributions and facilities to defer payments. The aim is to alleviate the economic impact that the situation in the city has had on a productive fabric made largely of small businesses and self-employed workers.
Who can apply for the aid?
According to TaxDown, applicants can include self-employed workers, corporate entities and entities without personality that, between July 30 and September 3, 2026, had Ceuta as their tax domicile, their operating establishment or assets used for the activity, and were registered in the Tax Agency’s census of entrepreneurs, professionals and withholders.
In addition, self-employed individuals must have filed their 2025 income tax return reporting income from economic activities. Those who registered in 2026 can also apply, provided they filed Form 036 before September 3.
How much is paid?
Self-employed professionals will receive a single payment of 5,000 euros, regardless of their turnover. For companies and other entities, the amount depends on their 2025 revenue: from 10,000 euros for those not exceeding 1 million euros in turnover, up to 150,000 euros for those with turnover over ten million euros.
The payment is made by bank transfer to the account provided by the applicant in the form, and the Royal Decree-Law provides that the first installments will begin on October 6.
A tax-exempt and unseizable grant
One key aspect for beneficiaries is that these grants are not taxed: they are exempt from both Personal Income Tax and Corporate Tax, so the self-employed person will not have to include those 5,000 euros as income on their next tax return. The Tax Agency has also declared them unseizable.
The direct grant is not the only novelty. The decree includes other measures specifically designed for the city’s self-employed workers:
- Difficult-to-justify expenses: self-employed individuals using simplified direct estimation may deduct 10% for provisions and difficult-to-justify expenses during 2026, compared with the usual percentage.
- Modules: those taxed under objective estimation may apply a 10% reduction on the net income from their Ceuta activities this year.
- Social Security contributions: the subsidy in several sectors rises from 50% to 75%, and for the self-employed, it will apply to contributions due from October 1.
- Cessation of activity and deferrals: until the end of the year you can request an extraordinary cessation-of-activity benefit at 70% and defer certain contributions with a reduced interest rate of 0.5%.
- In Corporate Tax, the credit for income earned in Ceuta and Melilla rises from 50% to 60%, indefinitely and also for Melilla.
How to apply
The application must be submitted exclusively online, through the Tax Agency’s online portal, and you must identify yourself with Cl@ve, electronic DNI, electronic certificate or eIDAS (Cl@ve and DNIe are only for individuals). A third party can also submit it on your behalf via power of attorney or social collaboration, the route by which TaxDown, a social collaborator of the Tax Agency, is helping Ceuta’s self-employed and businesses: they check eligibility, prepare the responsible declaration and submit the application in the portal.
“It’s a straightforward grant to apply for, but the deadline is ticking and many self-employed people still don’t know they’re entitled. The most important thing is that it is not taxed: those 5,000 euros won’t need to be included in the next income tax return. And beyond the direct aid, there are other relief measures already in place this year that are worth considering when making quarterly payments,” says Enrique García, CEO of TaxDown.
Photo: Iván Zambrano, Europa Press
