- 10-minute read
Which Expenses Can I Deduct as a Self-Employed Professional in Spain?
- Published by Yaiza Rodríguez
- 13 July 2026
Every year, thousands of self-employed individuals pay more Personal Income Tax (IRPF) than they should. Not because they are careless, but because they do not know exactly which expenses the Spanish Tax Agency accepts as tax-deductible and under what conditions. The Direct Assessment regime—both in its standard and simplified forms—allows you to deduct from your income all the expenses you have incurred in carrying out your business activity. The challenge lies in the details: there are limits, requirements, and categories that you should understand well to avoid leaving money on the table or exposing yourself to a tax audit.
This guide explains, category by category, what you can deduct, under what conditions, and which expenses are expressly prohibited by law.
01. The Three Requirements Every Expense Must Meet
Before discussing specific categories, it is important to understand the golden rule: an expense is only tax-deductible if it simultaneously meets these three conditions.
- Connection to the business activity: The expense must be related to the business and directly connected to the generation of income. A self-employed web designer cannot deduct construction materials; likewise, a plumber would find it difficult to justify graphic design software.
- Correct timing: Only expenses incurred after you have registered as self-employed and officially started your business activity are tax-deductible. Expenses incurred before registration, except in very limited cases, are not accepted.
- Documentary evidence: The primary proof is an invoice issued by the supplier. A receipt, bank statement, or till receipt may not be sufficient for the Spanish Tax Agency.
02. Which Expenses Can You Deduct: Category by Category
2.1. Purchases and Operating Expenses
This category includes the purchase of goods and raw materials that form part of your business activity. The acquisition cost includes transport costs, insurance, customs duties, and taxes levied on the purchase—except for input VAT when it is deductible in your quarterly VAT returns. You may also include other operating supplies used during the tax year, such as fuel, spare parts, packaging materials, and office supplies.
*Example: fabric and thread for a tailoring workshop, paper and toner for an office, spare parts for a delivery van, or boxes and packing tape used to ship orders.
2.2. Staff Expenses
Salaries and wages, employer Social Security contributions, severance payments, and staff training expenses are tax-deductible.
Employed family members: If your spouse or minor children work in the business as employees and you can prove the employment relationship, their salaries and Social Security contributions are deductible. The deductible amount is limited to the market value for their qualifications; any excess is not deductible.
Employee benefits: Gifts or Christmas hampers provided in accordance with the company’s customary practices are not considered gifts or donations and are therefore tax-deductible. This is one of the areas that causes the most confusion: the law distinguishes between benefits provided to employees (deductible) and gifts or donations made to third parties (not deductible).
*Example: an employee’s salary and the employer’s Social Security contributions, a training course paid for the team, or Christmas hampers given to employees.
2.3. Expenses of the Self-Employed Individual
Self-employed Social Security contributions (RETA): Contributions to the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) or to alternative mutual insurance schemes are deductible, up to the maximum contribution for common contingencies.
Meal expenses (daily allowances): Your own meal expenses are deductible if they are incurred in the course of your business activity, at restaurants or catering establishments, and paid using electronic payment methods. Cash payments are not deductible. The limits are:
• €26.67/day in Spain without an overnight stay · €48.08/day abroad without an overnight stay.
• €53.34/day in Spain with an overnight stay in a municipality other than your place of residence and work · €91.35/day abroad with an overnight stay.
Regularly eating at a restaurant near your home or usual place of work is unlikely to meet the requirement of being connected to your business activity in the event of a tax inspection.
*Example: your monthly self-employed Social Security contribution, or a meal with a client at a restaurant, paid by card and within the established daily limits.
2.4. Utilities and Home Office Use
Primary residence used for business purposes: If you use part of your home for your business activity, expenses are calculated differently depending on their nature, and this is where most mistakes occur:
•Utilities (water, gas, electricity, telephone and Internet): 30% is applied to the proportion of the property’s floor area used for business purposes. In other words, two calculations apply: the proportion of the floor area and the 30% percentage.
•Ownership expenses (property tax, homeowners’ association fees, depreciation): these are deducted directly in proportion to the floor area used for business purposes, without applying the 30% rule.
Mobile phone: The cost of the phone line and the depreciation of the device are deductible to the extent that they are used exclusively for business purposes. If the phone is used for both personal and business purposes, the Spanish Tax Agency may challenge the full deduction.
*Example: if you work from home, a percentage of your electricity or Internet bill based on the square metres of your office, or a mobile phone line contracted exclusively for the business.
2.5. External Services
This category covers a wide range of common business expenses, including rent and royalties, repairs and maintenance of fixed assets (provided they do not constitute an improvement that must be depreciated), fees paid to independent professionals (lawyers, notaries, auditors, tax advisers), insurance premiums, advertising expenses, and transport costs.
Client and supplier hospitality: These expenses are deductible, but the law imposes a maximum limit of 1% of the net turnover for the tax period. Entertainment expenses or gifts exceeding this threshold are not tax-deductible.
*Example: the rent for business premises, fees paid to an accounting firm or tax adviser, public liability insurance, or a social media advertising campaign.
2.6. Taxes and Financial Expenses
You may deduct non-state taxes and surcharges, charges such as local property tax (IBI) or waste collection tax, as well as interest and financing costs related to your business activity.
Input VAT: As a general rule, if you can deduct input VAT in your quarterly VAT returns, you should not include it as an expense for Personal Income Tax purposes. You may only do so if your business activity is subject to a special VAT regime that does not allow VAT deductions (for example, the Equivalence Surcharge Regime or the Special Regime for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries).
*Example: local property tax (IBI) on business premises, waste collection tax, or interest on a loan taken out to purchase machinery.
2.7. Depreciation
The depreciation of your tangible or intangible fixed assets—machinery, vehicles, computer equipment, or software licences—is a deductible expense, provided it reflects the actual depreciation resulting from use, wear and tear, or obsolescence. The Spanish Tax Agency establishes depreciation tables that set the maximum percentages applicable to each type of asset.
*Example: the annual depreciation of a computer, a delivery van, or a software design licence.
2.8. Flat-Rate Deduction for Hard-to-Substantiate Expenses (Simplified Direct Assessment Only)
If you operate under the Simplified Direct Assessment regime, you may apply an automatic deduction of 5% of your positive net income to cover deductible provisions and hard-to-substantiate expenses. This deduction is capped at €2,000 per year, regardless of your net income.
*Example: small day-to-day expenses without an invoice, such as an individual parking ticket or minor supplies, already covered by this automatic 5% deduction.
03. Expenses You can Never Deduct
The Spanish Personal Income Tax (IRPF) regulations expressly list certain expenses that are never tax-deductible under any circumstances:
• Fines, criminal penalties, and administrative sanctions.
• Surcharges for the enforcement period and for late tax filings.
• Gambling losses.
• Donations and gifts.
• Expenses arising from activities contrary to the legal system.
• Expenses from transactions with individuals or entities resident in tax havens, unless the taxpayer can prove that they relate to a genuine transaction.
The logic is straightforward: no tax system allows non-compliance with the law to reduce your tax liability. Attempting to deduct a traffic fine as a vehicle expense is not only incorrect but may also worsen the consequences if you are subject to a tax inspection.
The key is not to memorise every category, but to ask yourself the same question before recording any invoice in your accounts: Is it related to my business activity, was it incurred after I registered as self-employed, and do I have the supporting documentation to prove it? If the answer to all three questions is yes, the expense is tax-deductible. If you are unsure about any of them, it is better to seek advice before claiming the deduction.
