Deductible expenses for autónomos: complete guide

Deductible expenses are the most direct tool an autónomo has to reduce their tax bill. The more legitimate business expenses you can justify, the lower your net income will be and, therefore, the less you will pay in the quarterly Modelo 130 and in the annual Declaración de la Renta.

This guide covers deductible expenses for autónomos in estimación directa (normal and simplificada), which is the regime most autónomos in Spain use.

What does it mean for an expense to be deductible?

A deductible expense is one that you can subtract from your gross income to calculate the net income of your economic activity. The basic formula is:

Income from the activity
 - Deductible expenses
 = Net income

That net income is what the installment payment in Modelo 130 is calculated on - the accumulated 20% - and, at the end of the year, the final IRPF in Modelo 100.

General requirements

For an expense to be deductible, the AEAT requires three conditions:

1. Connection to the activity: the expense must be directly related to your economic activity.
2. Documentary proof: you need a full invoice (not just a receipt) in the name of your activity, or the corresponding bank proof.
3. Bookkeeping record: the expense must be recorded in your income and expense books.

Table of deductible expenses for autónomos

Item	Deductible	Notes
Cuota de autónomos (RETA)	100%	Your monthly cuota de Seguridad Social is fully deductible
Rent of the business premises	Business-use proportion	If the premises are exclusively for business, 100%
Utilities of the business premises (electricity, water, internet, gas)	Business-use proportion	If the premises are exclusive, 100% of the utilities for the premises
Purchases of goods and raw materials	100%	Those actually used during the year
Employee salaries and Seguridad Social	100%	Includes employer contributions
Professional services (bookkeeping, tax advice, lawyers)	100%	With an invoice in the name of the activity
Depreciation of equipment and installations	According to tables	AEAT simplified depreciation tables
Business insurance	100%	Liability insurance, premises insurance, etc.
Training expenses	100%	Courses, conferences, and books directly related to the activity
Meals and travel expenses	With limits	Within the regulatory IRPF limits
Office supplies and consumables	100%	Paper, toner, miscellaneous supplies
Advertising and marketing	100%	Website, social media, cards, flyers
Financial expenses	100%	Interest on business loans
Taxes and fees	100%	IAE, IBI for business premises, municipal fees
Repairs and maintenance	100%	Maintenance of the premises and equipment; not improvements
Third-party services	100%	Subcontracting, freelancers, platforms

Working from home: deductible home-office expenses

If you run your activity from your main home, you can deduct two types of expenses:

Proportion of rent or mortgage

You can deduct the proportional part of the rent (or mortgage interest) that corresponds to the area of your home used for the activity. That proportion is declared when you register with Modelo 036.

30% of the proportional utilities

For home utilities (electricity, water, gas, internet, landline), you can deduct 30% of the amount corresponding to the business-use space.

Practical example: if you use 20% of your home as an office and pay 150 €/month in utilities:

150 € × 20% (business-use proportion) = 30 €
30 € × 30% (deductible percentage) = 9 €/month deductible
→ 108 €/year in deductible utilities

Hard-to-justify expenses (5% provision)

In estimación directa simplificada (billing <= 600,000 €, which is the regime most autónomos use), you can deduct 5% of prior net income as a provision for hard-to-justify expenses, with a maximum of 2,000 € per year.

This provision replaces the individual bookkeeping of provisions and smaller expenses that are difficult to document. It is applied automatically in the calculation of Modelo 130.

Meals and travel expenses: limits

Meals and travel expenses are deductible within the regulatory limits:

Item	Spain	Abroad
Meals (with overnight stay)	53.34 €/day	91.35 €/day
Meals (without overnight stay)	26.67 €/day	48.08 €/day
Lodging	Amount justified	Amount justified
Travel in your own vehicle	0.26 €/km	0.26 €/km

For meals to be deductible, the trip must be connected to the activity and take place outside the municipality where you normally work.

Depreciation: how to deduct equipment and furniture

Investment assets (computers, furniture, vehicles, machinery) are not deducted all at once: they are depreciated over their useful life. The AEAT simplified tables set the maximum coefficients:

Type of asset	Maximum annual coefficient	Maximum period (years)
Computers and IT equipment	26%	10
Office furniture	10%	20
Vehicles	16%	14
Machinery	12%	18
Tools and utensils	30%	8

Expenses that are NOT deductible

There are expenses that, even if they may look related to the activity, are not deductible or have important limits:

• Fines and penalties: never deductible.
• Donations and gifts: except those that give the right to a tax deduction in the cuota.
• Gambling losses: not deductible.
• Deductible input IVA: the IVA you already deduct in Modelo 303 cannot also be deducted as an expense in IRPF.
• Personal expenses: everyday clothing, meals not linked to travel, leisure.

How it affects Modelo 130 and Declaración de la Renta

Deductible expenses matter at two points:

1. Each quarter: when you calculate the installment payment in Modelo 130, you subtract accumulated expenses from accumulated income and apply 20%.
2. In the annual Declaración de la Renta: Modelo 100 recalculates the final IRPF on the year's net income. The quarterly installment payments are subtracted from the result.

The more legitimate expenses you can justify, the lower your base imponible will be and the less IRPF you will pay. But remember: every expense must be justified and connected to the activity.

Official sources

• Agencia Tributaria - Economic activities in IRPF
• AEAT - Practical income-tax manual
• Agencia Tributaria - Estimación directa simplificada
• Agencia Tributaria - Simplified depreciation table