Deductible expenses for a self-employed online store owner in Spain

«Just write it off» is one of the things self-employed people hear most, and one that causes the most trouble. An expense can count against income tax (IRPF), against VAT (IVA), against both or against neither, and each tax has its own rules. Here is what Spanish law says for an online store, without magic lists of percentages.

This article is about self-employed people (autónomos) under the direct assessment method (estimación directa), the most common method for online sellers.

Two taxes, two questions

When you pay a business expense, you are asking two separate questions:

• Does it reduce my income tax? If it is a deductible expense, it lowers your profit (net income from the activity) and, with it, what you pay on Form 130 and in your annual return.
• Can I deduct its VAT? If so, the VAT you paid on that invoice is subtracted from the VAT you charge your customers on Form 303.

The same expense can pass one test and fail the other. That is why it pays to look at them separately.

What income tax requires

The Income Tax Act says the profit of a business activity is worked out under the Corporate Tax rules, plus some special rules for the self-employed (article 28). In practice, for an expense to count it has to meet at least two conditions:

1. It is linked to your activity. The law treats as business assets those that are «necesarios para la obtención de los respectivos rendimientos» (needed to earn the income) and excludes those for «uso particular» (private use, article 29). If you use something only partly for the business, only that part counts, and some assets cannot be split this way.
2. You can back it up. The General Tax Act says expenses must be justified «de forma prioritaria, mediante la factura» (primarily with the invoice) from the business or professional who sold you the goods or service (article 106.4).

For an online store, expenses that can meet these conditions include the stock you sell, the shipping you pay, packaging, store platform and payment gateway fees, ads, the software you use for the business or your accountant's (gestor's) fees. Always provided they are linked to the activity and you have the invoice.

Watch out for platform invoices that reach you from another EU country without VAT: they are an expense, but they also need to be reported in a special way for VAT. We explain it in platform invoices that arrive without VAT.

Hard-to-justify expenses: 5% without an invoice

If you are on the simplified direct assessment method (estimación directa simplificada), the law lets you deduct a flat amount for expenses that are hard to document. The simplified method is for those whose turnover did not exceed €600,000 the previous year (article 30.1 of the Income Tax Act).

The Income Tax Regulation sets the amount: «el 5 por ciento sobre el rendimiento neto, excluido este concepto, sin que la cuantía resultante pueda superar 2.000 euros anuales» (5% of net income before this item, capped at €2,000 a year, article 30, rule 2). The €2,000 cap is also in the Act itself (article 30.2, rule 4). It does not apply if you have opted for the reduction in article 26.1 of the Regulation, and there are exceptions: for example, for activities in Ceuta with the deduction in article 68.4, the 2026 percentage is 10% (sixty-fourth additional provision of the Income Tax Act).

Two cases with example figures:

Item	Store A	Store B
Income for the year, excluding VAT	€40,000.00	€90,000.00
Deductible expenses with invoices	− €22,000.00	− €40,000.00
Net income before this item	€18,000.00	€50,000.00
5% of net income	€900.00	€2,500.00
Hard-to-justify expenses (cap €2,000.00)	− €900.00	− €2,000.00
Net income	€17,100.00	€48,000.00

In store B, 5% would be €2,500.00, but the maximum is €2,000.00. From €40,000.00 of net income upwards, 5% already hits the cap.

Working from home: household bills

If you use part of your main home for the business, the Income Tax Act lets you deduct part of the household utilities, «tales como agua, gas, electricidad, telefonía e Internet» (such as water, gas, electricity, phone and internet). The share is 30% of the ratio between the square metres you use for the business and the total, «salvo que se pruebe un porcentaje superior o inferior» (unless a higher or lower percentage is proven, article 30.2, rule 5, letter b).

An example with example figures: a 90 m² home, of which 18 m² are your storeroom and office. The ratio is 20% (18 ÷ 90). 30% of that 20% is 6%. If the year's utility bills add up to €1,200.00, the deductible expense for income tax is €72.00.

This rule is for income tax. Whether you can also deduct the VAT on those bills is a separate question with different rules: check with your accountant.

What VAT requires for a deduction

The VAT Act lets you subtract the VAT you pay on purchases from the VAT you charge on sales (article 92), under these conditions:

• Direct and exclusive business use. You cannot deduct VAT on anything not used «directa y exclusivamente» (directly and exclusively) for the activity, and the law gives as an example things used both for the business and for private needs (article 95). There is a specific rule for capital goods: for cars and motorbikes, the law presumes 50% business use (article 95.Tres).
• Things that are never deductible, with some exceptions: jewellery, food, drink and tobacco, shows and entertainment, gifts and hospitality for customers, and travel, hotels and restaurants that are not a deductible expense for income tax (article 96).
• Having the invoice. Only someone holding the «documento justificativo de su derecho» (the document proving the right to deduct), which is the original invoice, can deduct (article 97). A till receipt is not enough: a simplified invoice only works for a deduction if it shows your tax ID (NIF), your address and the VAT separately, and you have to ask for that (article 7.2 of the Invoicing Regulation). The safest course is always to ask for a full invoice with your details.

The payment gateway fee

The fee your payment gateway charges you (Stripe, for example) is a business expense for income tax if you have its invoice. What is less clear is its VAT: whether that fee carries VAT or is exempt depends on exactly how the service works. Spain's Directorate General for Taxation (DGT) has looked at the VAT exemption for virtual card terminal payment services in rulings such as V2828-15 and V4121-15. Check with your accountant how to treat yours.

Summary

1. Ask separately: does it reduce income tax? Can I deduct the VAT?
2. The expense must be linked to your activity and backed by an invoice.
3. On the simplified direct method, add 5% for hard-to-justify expenses, up to €2,000.00 a year.
4. If you work from home, utilities count for income tax under the 30%-of-floor-area rule.
5. For VAT, always ask for a full invoice and leave out anything for private use.
6. When in doubt, ask your accountant before recording it.

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Sources

• BOE · Law 35/2006 on Personal Income Tax (articles 28, 29 and 30, and sixty-fourth additional provision) · checked on 26/09/2026
• BOE · Royal Decree 439/2007, Income Tax Regulation (article 30) · checked on 26/09/2026
• BOE · Law 58/2003, General Tax Act (article 106) · checked on 26/09/2026
• BOE · Law 37/1992 on Value Added Tax (articles 92, 95, 96 and 97) · checked on 26/09/2026
• BOE · Royal Decree 1619/2012, Invoicing Regulation (article 7) · checked on 26/09/2026
• Directorate General for Taxation (DGT) · Binding ruling V2828-15 · checked on 26/09/2026
• Directorate General for Taxation (DGT) · Binding ruling V4121-15 · checked on 26/09/2026