Deductible expenses for companies (SL) in Spain 2026
An SL in Spain can deduct any expense that is necessary for the business, properly documented, and recorded in the accounts. That is the complete rule. The problem is rarely knowing what is deductible: it is proving it. AEAT rejects legitimate expenses every day because the invoice is in the director's name instead of the company's, or because there is no way to show that a €90 meal was with a client. This guide covers what an SL can deduct, what documentation each category requires, and where the limits are that get expenses struck out in a review.
Updated: July 2026
The golden rule: three requirements
For AEAT to accept an expense against corporate income tax (Impuesto sobre Sociedades), three conditions must hold at the same time. If one fails, the expense is not deductible no matter how genuine it is:
Connection to the business activity. The expense must relate to generating income for the company. A shareholder's personal expense is not deductible even if the company paid it.
Documentary evidence. You need a full invoice in the company's name, showing its CIF, registered name, and address. A receipt with no tax details does not allow you to deduct the IVA, and in many cases does not support the expense either.
Accounting entry and correct period. The expense must be recorded in the financial year it belongs to under the accrual principle (devengo), not when it was paid.
There is a fourth, implicit condition that causes most disputes: the expense must not appear on the list of explicitly non-deductible expenses in Article 15 of Ley 27/2014 (the corporate income tax law). Fines, penalties, donations, and gratuities are excluded even when the company has paid them.
Invoice or receipt: what documentation you need
The difference between a full invoice and a receipt (factura simplificada) determines what you can deduct:
Full invoice. Includes your SL's tax details: registered name, CIF, and address. Allows you to deduct the expense against corporate income tax and to recover the input IVA through Modelo 303. This is what you want whenever possible.
Receipt or simplified invoice. Does not carry your tax details. It supports the expense if the amount is small and the business nature is obvious, but it does not allow you to deduct the IVA. For recurring or high-value expenses, always request a full invoice.
In practice: when you pay for something on behalf of the company, ask for an invoice with the company's CIF before you leave the premises. Chasing it afterwards is far harder, and at petrol stations, restaurants, and small retailers it is often impossible after a few weeks.
Premises, office, and workspace
Office or commercial premises rent. Fully deductible if the lease is in the company's name. You need a monthly invoice from the landlord, with IRPF withholding applied if the landlord is an individual.
Coworking. Fully deductible with an invoice in the SL's name. One of the cleanest categories from a tax perspective, because providers issue correct invoices by default.
Utilities for the premises (electricity, water, internet, cleaning): fully deductible if the contracts are in the company's name and the premises are used exclusively for business.
Mortgage interest on business premises. If the SL owns the property, the loan interest is deductible. Principal repayment is not, but you can depreciate the building as a fixed asset.
Works and refurbishment. Repairs and maintenance are deductible in the year incurred. Improvements that increase the property's value are capitalised as fixed assets and deducted through depreciation over several years.
Working from the director's or shareholder's home
This category generates the most disputes. When a director's home is used partly as the company's office, the deduction is possible but limited and requires formalisation.
What AEAT requires:
Declaring the allocated space to AEAT on Modelo 036, stating what percentage of the property is used for the business activity
A partial lease agreement between the shareholder (as an individual) and the company, if the property belongs to the shareholder. The company pays market-rate rent for that space, and the shareholder declares that income in their personal IRPF.
Utility invoices corresponding to the declared percentage
Without that lease agreement, deducting utilities from a shareholder's home through the SL is one of the practices AEAT reviews most often. Structuring it correctly requires advice, because it affects the shareholder's IRPF and counts as a related-party transaction between shareholder and company.
Software, subscriptions, and office supplies
Software and SaaS (design, management, invoicing, cloud storage tools): fully deductible with an invoice in the company's name. If the provider is outside Spain, the reverse charge mechanism applies, and you must report it on Modelo 349 if they are in the EU.
IT equipment (computers, monitors, phones): capitalised as fixed assets and deducted through depreciation according to the official tables, typically over four years for IT equipment. Low-value items can be expensed directly in the year of purchase.
Domains, hosting, and licences: fully deductible.
Professional services
Fees paid to gestorías, tax advisers, lawyers, auditors, designers, developers, and any service provider are fully deductible with an invoice.
Important point: if the provider is an individual (autónomo), their invoice must carry IRPF withholding, normally 15% (7% for new autónomos in their first year and the two following). Your SL is responsible for paying that withholding to AEAT quarterly through Modelo 111 and reporting it in the annual summary, Modelo 190. Failing to do so is the company's own infraction, separate from the provider's obligations.
Training, conferences, and professional subscriptions
Courses and training related to the company's activity: fully deductible.
Industry conferences and events: deductible, including registration, travel, and accommodation, provided there is a clear link to the business. Keep the event programme alongside the invoices.
Professional publications and subscriptions: fully deductible.
Professional association and chamber membership fees: deductible.
Travel, transport, and per diems
Business travel is deductible, but it is one of the categories where proving the business purpose matters most.
Transport (train, flights, taxis, car hire): fully deductible with an invoice and evidence of the reason for the trip. Keep emails, contracts, or meeting notes showing who you met and why.
Accommodation: deductible with an invoice in the company's name.
Per diems (dietas) for employees and directors travelling on business: there are statutory tax-exempt limits. Within those limits, the per diem is deductible for the company and tax-free for the recipient. Above them, the excess is taxed as remuneration.
Mileage when a personal vehicle is used for company travel: there is an exempt per-kilometre rate. It requires a travel log with date, origin, destination, and purpose.
Vehicles: the most contested category
Vehicles are where AEAT is strictest with SLs. The general rule is that a passenger car is presumed to have mixed use (business and personal), which caps the deduction:
IVA: 50% deductible by default on passenger cars. Deducting 100% requires proving exclusive business use, which AEAT accepts only in narrow cases (commercial vehicles, branded fleet vehicles with no possible personal use).
Corporate income tax: the expense (fuel, insurance, maintenance, depreciation) follows the same allocation criterion. If the vehicle has mixed use, deducting 100% of the cost is a position AEAT reviews.
Industrial and commercial vehicles (vans, goods transport vehicles): fully deductible for both IVA and expense, because the nature of the vehicle rules out personal use.
Vehicle made available to a director or employee: if a vehicle is provided for personal use, that constitutes benefit in kind (retribución en especie) and must be declared on their payroll, with the corresponding withholding.
Client meals and entertainment
Two situations here are taxed differently and need to be kept apart:
Business meals with clients or suppliers (atenciones a clientes): deductible, but capped at 1% of net turnover for the financial year. Anything above that percentage is not deductible. You need a full invoice and, if reviewed, to be able to identify who the meal was with and what the commercial relationship is.
Staff per diems while travelling: these follow the per diem rules described above, not the 1% cap.
Client gifts and hospitality also count towards the 1% entertainment cap. Gifts to shareholders or directors are never deductible: they are treated as gratuities or benefit in kind.
Insurance and financial costs
Public liability insurance, premises insurance, goods insurance: fully deductible.
Health insurance for directors or employees: deductible as a staff cost, and for the beneficiary it receives favourable tax treatment within annual limits per insured person.
Bank charges and account maintenance fees: fully deductible.
Interest on loans and credit lines: deductible. The Spanish Supreme Court has confirmed that interest is deductible even when the loan did not generate income directly and immediately, provided the expense is recorded in the accounts, correctly allocated to the right period, and documented. Repayment of loan principal is not a deductible expense: it is a cash outflow that reduces debt, not a cost of the year.
Fines and penalties of any kind, including surcharges for late filing
Corporate income tax itself
Donations and gratuities, except client entertainment within the 1% cap and donations to entities under Ley 49/2002, which have their own deduction regime
Expenses arising from actions contrary to the law
Returns on own capital (dividends)
Expenses involving tax havens unless a genuine transaction is proven
Personal expenses of shareholders or directors that are not declared as remuneration
Common mistakes that get expenses rejected
Invoice in the shareholder's name instead of the company's. The most common reason for rejection. If the invoice carries the director's NIF rather than the SL's CIF, the expense does not belong to the company. Always ask for an invoice with the company's details.
Deducting 100% of the IVA on a passenger car without proving exclusive business use. The legal presumption is 50%. Deducting more without evidence almost guarantees a review.
Paying personal expenses from the company account. Even if regularised later, they create a shareholder loan or an undeclared benefit in kind. Keep the accounts strictly separate.
Not applying withholding on autónomo suppliers' invoices. The obligation to withhold and pay is the SL's, not the provider's. If you do not, AEAT claims the unpaid withholding from you plus a penalty.
Exceeding the 1% entertainment cap without adjusting for it. The excess must be adjusted off-book in the corporate tax return. Failing to do so is an adjustment AEAT detects by cross-checking accounts.
Losing the supporting documents. Invoices must be kept for four years from the end of the filing deadline, and ten years for commercial law purposes. No invoice means no deduction, even if the payment shows on the bank statement.
Deductible expenses for an SL: frequently asked questions
Can an SL deduct the director's salary?
Yes, provided the remuneration of the office is set out in the company's articles of association and is consistent with the duties performed. If the articles state the office is unpaid, remuneration paid to the director is not deductible. This is one of the adjustments AEAT reviews most frequently in small companies.
Is my mobile phone deductible if I also use it personally?
If the line is in the company's name and use is predominantly for business, the expense is deductible. Incidental personal use does not invalidate the deduction, but if AEAT finds the line is mostly personal it can reclassify it as benefit in kind. The cleanest approach is separate lines.
Can I deduct expenses incurred before the SL was incorporated?
Yes. Incorporation costs (notary, commercial registry, gestoría) are deductible and recorded as expenses of the first financial year. The invoices can be in the name of the company in formation or the founding shareholders, and are subsequently recognised in the company's accounts.
How long do I need to keep invoices?
Four years for tax purposes, counted from the end of the filing deadline for the relevant return. For commercial law purposes, six years from the last accounting entry. In practice, keep documentation for ten years: if you have unused tax loss carryforwards, AEAT can review much older financial years.
Can the director's autónomo social security contributions be deducted?
If the director is registered in RETA by virtue of being a company director and the company pays their contribution, that payment is deductible for the SL but counts as remuneration for the director, who must declare it in their IRPF. If the director pays it personally, they deduct it in their own tax return, not the company.
What happens if AEAT rejects an expense in an inspection?
The expense is removed from the taxable base, which increases the year's profit and generates additional tax to pay, plus late payment interest. If AEAT considers there was negligence, it also applies a penalty of between 50% and 150% of the amount underpaid. If the adjustment also affects deducted IVA, that is assessed separately.
