Either through choice or by necessity a large percentage of the self-employed or 'autonomos' in Spain choose to work from home. That being the case, it is of course important to be aware of those expenses that can be claimed and used to reduce profits and therefore income tax.
It is also important to be aware of those that may not be claimed as expenses despite perhaps having been assured by friends that they have claimed such expenses for years without problem. It is never a problem – until hacienda begin to query them.
The basic rule to follow when claiming expenses associated with the home for the purposes of the business that you carry out there is the idea of proportion i.e. it is permissible to claim those expenses relating to the home in the proportion in which you use the home to carry out the business.
For example, if your home measures 120 square metres and the room in which you carry out the business is 30 square metres then you may claim 30/120 or 25% of the bills relating to the property. So which bills may be included?
The following list gives example of those bills that may be included:
- Taxes associated with the property e.g. IBI
- Rent
- Community Charges
- Home Insurance
- Mortgage Interest
The above rule regarding proportionality applies regardless of whether the property is in your own name or jointly with a spouse.
Whether other utilities can be included will depend ultimately on whether or not they are used for the purposes of your business but may include the electricity, telephone and internet connection.
The expenses incurred by using a vehicle can be more complicated and depends on factors such as whether it is apt for industrial use alone or also for personal use and the specific type of activity being carried out. Up to 100% of the expenses may be claimed depending on those factors though often no more than 50% is possible.
