It's the first whole business week of 2026. If you have a gestor — tax and admin agent — handling your Spanish tax affairs, you should have received an email by now.

Not a generic Feliz Año — Happy New Year — with a stock photo of champagne. An actual email about your situation. What's coming, what they need from you, what changed on January 1st.

If you got one, good, you have a good gestor. If you didn't, keep reading.

A gestor who's actually managing your affairs (not just processing your paperwork) sends something like this in the first week of January:

Your Q1 deadlines: For autónomos — self-employed workers — modelo 130 (quarterly income tax) and modelo 303 (VAT) are due by January 20th. If you have employees or pay contractors, Modelo 111 (withholding tax) is also due. Your gestor should list exactly which forms apply to you and when.

What they need from you: Bank statements. Invoices. Expense receipts. A good gestor tells you what format, what date range to use, and gives you a deadline that leaves them enough time to file without panic.

What changed: Every January brings regulatory tweaks. Contribution bases. Deduction limits. Reporting thresholds. You don't need to understand everything, but your gestor should explicitly flag anything that affects your situation.

Your annual picture: A quick reminder of your structure. What you're paying. What you're optimizing for. Any decisions coming up this year (switching to SL — Sociedad Limitada, a limited company — adjusting contribution base, quarterly payment schedules).

That's it. Four things. Takes them 20 minutes to write if they know their job and actually know your file.

If your gestor hasn't been in touch, one of three things is true:

They're overwhelmed. January is brutal for gestorías — tax agencies. But a good one plans for this and communicates anyway, even if it's just "here's what's coming, I'll send details by Friday."

They're reactive. They wait for you to ask, then scramble. This works until it doesn't. Missed deadlines. Late filings. Surcharges you didn't need to pay.

They've forgotten you exist. You're a line item in their software, not a client. Your file gets touched four times a year, fifteen minutes before each deadline.

None of these are what you're paying for.

If your inbox is empty, send this:

Subject: Q1 2026 - My filing overview

Hola [name],

Quick question as the year starts: can you send me a summary of my Q1 deadlines, what documents you need from me, and anything that changed for 2026 that affects my situation?

Gracias, [Your name]

If you get a detailed response within 48 hours, you're fine. If you get nothing, or a vague "don't worry, we'll handle it," that's data showing you what you are worth to them.

A solid gestor for a straightforward autónomo setup runs €50-80/month. For more complex situations (SL, property, multiple income sources), €100-150/month. Below that, you're probably getting the reactive version. Above that, make sure you're getting more than just compliance. (Verified January 2026.)

The right gestor saves you more than they cost. Not through magic deductions, but through deadlines met, penalties avoided, and decisions made with actual information.

You could file everything yourself at the Agencia Tributaria office in Málaga (Calle Héroe de Sostoa 11-13, Edificio GAYBO, near María Zambrano station). The forms are online. The funcionarios — civil servants — are surprisingly helpful if you catch them at the right moment. But you're not saving money if you're spending your billable hours decoding Modelo 303 instructions in Spanish.

For your next gestor meeting or call:

¿Qué necesita de mí para este trimestre? — What do you need from me for this quarter?

Puts the ball in their court. Makes them specify. Works every quarter, not just this one.

Your gestor should be ahead of you, not behind you. The first week of January is when that shows. If they reached out proactively, you've got the right one. If they didn't, you now have a test email to send and a benchmark for what a good response looks like.

See you on the paseo — A. and the legally blonde Waypoint Sur team

With Waypoint Sur, you can always expect plain-English guidance to land, settle, and thrive on the Costa del Sol—work, schools, healthcare, visas, taxes, home, and daily life.  
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