Base liquidable: how to reduce IRPF as an autónomo

The base liquidable is the figure the IRPF brackets are applied to in order to calculate how much tax you pay. The lower your base liquidable, the less IRPF you will pay. For an autónomo, there are two ways to reduce it: maximize the deductible expenses of the activity (which lower the base imponible) and apply the legal reductions (which lower the base liquidable).

From base imponible to base liquidable

The calculation is:

General base imponible
 - Reductions in the base imponible
 = General base liquidable (>= 0)

The base imponible includes the net income from your activity (income minus deductible expenses), plus any other income (employment, rent, etc.). The reductions are extra tax benefits that lower that figure before the brackets are applied.

Reductions an autónomo can apply

1. Pension plans and social protection

This is the most important reduction for most taxpayers:

System	Annual limit
Individual systems (PPI, PPA, mutualidad) — joint cap	1,500 € in total
Simplified sector-wide employment plan for autónomos	Up to 4,250 € additional

Global limit: the total reduction for contributions to social-protection systems cannot exceed 30% of net employment income and income from economic activities.

For autónomos without an employer, the simplified sector-wide employment plan (if one exists in your sector) lets you increase the limit beyond the individual 1,500 €.

Spouse's pension plan

If your spouse has income below 8,000 € per year, you can contribute up to 1,000 € to their pension plan and deduct it from your base.

2. Start-of-activity reduction

Autónomos who start an activity can apply a 20% reduction to positive net income during the first 2 tax years with positive net income. Requirement: you must not have carried out another economic activity in the previous year.

3. Reduction for economically dependent autónomos

Economically dependent autónomos (TRADE) or those with a single unrelated client can apply a reduction of up to 6,498 € if they meet all of the following requirements: all goods or services are provided to a single client, they have no employees, deductible expenses do not exceed 30% of gross income, and at least 70% of income is subject to withholding. In addition, non-business income must not exceed 6,500 €.

This reduction decreases progressively as net income rises:

• Net income <= 11,250 €: reduction of 6,498 €
• Between 11,250 € and 14,047.50 €: decreasing reduction

4. Alimony and child-support payments

• Alimony to a former spouse set by court order reduces the general base in full.
• Child-support payments to children (when they are not exempt) also reduce the base.

5. Contributions to protected assets of people with disabilities

Contributions to protected assets of family members with disabilities reduce the contributor's base by up to 10,000 € per year.

Practical example

An autónomo in their first year with 25,000 € in net income, who contributes 1,500 € to a pension plan:

Net income from the activity: 25,000 €
 - Start-of-activity reduction (20%): -5,000 €
 - Pension plan: -1,500 €
 = General base liquidable: 18,500 €

Without these reductions, the base liquidable would be 25,000 €. With them, it falls to 18,500 €, which means being taxed entirely within the first two IRPF brackets (19% and 24%) instead of entering the third bracket (30%). The tax saving is about 1,850 € in this example.

The savings base

Returns from movable capital (dividends, interest) and capital gains (sale of shares, real estate) have their own savings base liquidable. The reductions above (pension plans, etc.) apply only to the general base. The savings rates have their own brackets (19%-30%).

Relationship with other guides

• Deductible expenses reduce your net income (before the base imponible).
• The reductions in this guide reduce your base liquidable (after the base imponible).
• The mínimo personal y familiar reduces the tax bill (after the brackets are applied).

The three tools work together to lower your final IRPF.

Official sources

• Agencia Tributaria - Determining the base liquidable
• AEAT - Practical income-tax manual
• Agencia Tributaria - Reductions for contributions to social-protection systems
• Agencia Tributaria - Contribution limits for social-protection systems
• Agencia Tributaria - Reduction for self-employed workers (requirements)