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GastosGlossary

Deductible expenses: what you can actually subtract

Gastos deducibles are the expenses of your activity you can subtract from your income to pay less IRPF and IVA. To deduct them they must be tied to your work, backed by an invoice, and recorded in your bookkeeping.

Gastos deducibles (deductible expenses) are the expenses of your activity you can subtract from your income to pay less IRPF and recover their IVA. They lower your profit for tax purposes, and with it, what you pay.

What does an expense need to be deductible?

Three conditions, all at once: it must be tied to your activity (you need it to work), backed by a full invoice in your name, and recorded in your bookkeeping. A loose receipt with no invoice usually isn't enough.

What can you deduct, and how much?

  • 100% of what you use only for work: software and tools, training in your field, materials, the cuota de autónomos and your advisory.
  • Utilities if you work from home (electricity, water, internet): 30% of the share proportional to the floor space you use for your activity.
  • Work meals: up to €26.67 a day in Spain (double abroad), paid by card and on a working day.
  • Car and phone: the work-use portion. The car only counts for IRPF if you use it exclusively for work (its IVA is usually allowed at 50%); the phone, by actual use.
How Cece sees it

It's not about spending more to pay less — that never adds up. It's about not losing the expenses you already have by failing to ask for an invoice or keep it. That's your own money left on the table.

Frequently asked questions

What can a freelancer deduct?

What's tied to their activity and backed by an invoice. At 100%: software, tools, sector training, materials, the cuota de autónomos and advisory. Home utilities, 30% of the proportional share of the floor space used; work meals, up to €26.67/day paid by card. The car only if used exclusively for the activity.

Can I deduct an expense without an invoice?

As a general rule, no: to deduct an expense you need a full invoice in your name, not just a receipt. Under simplified estimación directa there's also a 5% of "hard-to-justify expenses" applied automatically on the net result, capped at €2,000 a year.

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