If your week is measured in viewings, keys and title deeds, every expense counts. In this guide we explain, clearly and practically, what you can and cannot deduct as a self-employed real estate agent in Spain, and how to document it so the Spanish Tax Agency doesn’t keep you up at night.
When you are just starting out, you usually have few expenses: you tend to sell to family, friends and acquaintances, and you don’t need to spend much to find those clients.
The problem comes once your business is established and you have regular costs to attract new clients. The Spanish Tax Agency is very strict about deductible expenses: its job is to collect tax, and believe us, it has very capable people working there.
The rules the Spanish Tax Agency expects you to follow
Spanish tax law is extensive and, for many expenses, open to interpretation. That is why this guide explains both what the law says (the Personal Income Tax Law and Regulations, and the VAT Law) and how the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) applies it in practice when it reviews a real estate agent’s expenses, which is not always what you might expect.
For an expense to be deductible:
- Link to your activity: the expense must be directly related to finding, managing or closing property deals.
- Evidence and traceability: a full invoice in your name and a traceable payment.
- Recording and timing: record the expense in your accounting books and in the correct period.
- Business assets (vehicles, equipment, property): an asset only counts as a business asset if it is used exclusively for your activity. Divisible assets, such as the part of your home used as an office, can be partly assigned to the business. Indivisible assets, such as a car, cannot: any private use means its costs are not deductible for personal income tax (IRPF) purposes (Article 29 of the IRPF Law and Article 22 of the IRPF Regulations). Equipment such as a laptop or mobile phone still counts as a business asset if you only use it privately outside working hours.
- VAT: only deductible for the part used in your business (for private cars, the general rule is a 50% presumption unless proven otherwise).
- Office at home (IRPF): utilities are deductible by applying 30% to the percentage of floor space used for the business; other property costs, by that same percentage.
Did you know that an expense can be deductible for VAT but not for income tax?
Typical Deductible Expenses for a Real Estate Agent
Even allowing for different interpretations, some expenses are clearly deductible for real estate agents. Based on our experience, these are the main ones:
Marketing and finding clients
- Property portals (featured listings, renewals)
Professional photography, video, 3D tour and drone (with the required permits).
Home staging, cleaning and small repairs prior to marketing (no permanent improvements).
Web, hosting, domain, SEO/SEM, real estate CRM and automation.
Posters, signs, cards and promotional material.
Travel and transport
- Taxi, ride-hailing (Uber, Cabify), train, plane and bus for trips to properties, notaries or clients, with an invoice in your name and the purpose noted down.
- One-off car hire for a specific business trip.
- Your own car: for personal income tax (IRPF) it is only deductible if you use it exclusively for your business, which is very hard to prove for a private car. However, you can usually deduct 50% of the VAT. We explain this in the non-deductible expenses section below.
Office and technology
- Office or coworking rental, cleaning, security.
- Electronic equipment (computer, mobile, tablet), software, digital signature, cloud storage and backups.
- Note: equipment costing more than €300 must be depreciated over several years rather than deducted all at once.
- Phone and internet: a line used only for business is easier to defend at 100%.
- Land Registry extracts (nota simple), valuations, certificates (energy performance, building inspection – ITE), key copies.
- Professional association fees (API/APEI), professional liability insurance and legal expenses insurance.
- Fees paid to collaborators (shared commissions, photography, minor renovation work, architects), with an invoice and, where applicable, tax withholding.
- Security, training and regulatory compliance
- Specialist training (property sales, lettings, valuation, drones, photography).
- Protective equipment and branded work clothing (not everyday clothes).
- Self-employed social security contributions, health and safety, data protection compliance and accountancy fees.
Expenses that need extra care
In our experience advising self-employed professionals, these are the expenses that are hardest to prove as deductible.
Partly deductible expenses
Shared phone and internet: set a stable, reasonable percentage split.
Gifts to clients: deductible as client and supplier entertainment, up to a limit of 1% of your annual turnover (Article 15.e of the Corporate Income Tax Law, which also applies to the self-employed). Branded promotional items are best, and keep a record of which client received each one. Note: gifts or donations with no business purpose are not deductible.
Work on your office or business premises: repairs and maintenance (repainting, fixing a fault) are deductible in the year they are paid. Improvements or new installations (refurbishing the premises, air conditioning, built-in furniture) are an investment and are deducted through depreciation over several years. If the premises are rented, the work is depreciated over its useful life or, if shorter, over the term of the lease.
Events and networking: link the expense to winning or keeping clients, with evidence (diary entries, invitations, contacts made).
Expenses that need careful documentation
Travel, accommodation and client entertainment: they must be clearly linked to your business and well documented.
Your own meals while working (self-employed subsistence): deductible if eaten at a restaurant or other hospitality venue, paid by card or another electronic method, and linked to your business activity. Daily limits: €26.67 in Spain and €48.08 abroad; if you stay overnight away from your home town, €53.34 and €91.35. Ask for an invoice in your name: it is the best evidence and you need it to deduct the VAT.
Meals with clients or suppliers: must be linked to real, documented deals (limit of 1% of turnover; the VAT is not deductible).
Non-deductible expenses (the ones that usually get rejected)
These are some of the expenses that the Spanish Tax Agency routinely rejects and that are almost impossible to deduct:
- Everyday clothing, footwear, watches and personal gadgets.
- Fines, penalties and surcharges (for example, the surcharge for filing late). Note: late-payment interest charged by the Tax Agency is deductible as a financial expense, according to the Spanish Supreme Court (judgment 1091/2023 of 24 July).
- Donations and gifts with no business purpose.
- Expenses without a full invoice, or with an invoice in someone else’s name.
- Travel between your home and your usual office.
- “Social” meals with no clear link to a business deal.
- Running costs of a private car with personal use (fuel, insurance, repairs, depreciation, etc.). For personal income tax (IRPF) they are only deductible if the car is used exclusively for your business, which is very hard to prove. The legal exceptions (Article 22.4 of the IRPF Regulations) are vans and mixed-use vehicles used to carry goods, passenger transport (taxi, VTC), driving schools, commercial agents in the strict sense, and vehicles hired out to third parties. As a general rule, a real estate agent is not on that list. Note: you can usually deduct 50% of the VAT on the car even if its costs are not deductible for IRPF.
Practical examples (income tax vs VAT)
Car used for property viewings
- Income tax (IRPF): a private car cannot be partly deducted. Either you use it exclusively for your business and deduct 100% of its costs (fuel, insurance, repairs, depreciation, etc.), or you deduct nothing. Proving exclusive use is very difficult: the Tax Agency almost always rejects it unless you have another vehicle for personal use and a detailed record of your trips (diary, clients, mileage).
- VAT: for private cars you can deduct 50% of the VAT even if the car is also used privately, unless the Tax Agency proves lower business use. For vans and mixed-use vehicles used to carry goods, the law presumes 100% business use.
Mobile phone and internet
- Income tax (IRPF): a line used only for business is easier to defend at 100%; a shared line requires a reasonable percentage split.
- VAT: only deductible if the service is used for the business; with mixed use, the Tax Agency is strict unless there is a clear separation.
Office at home
- Income tax (IRPF): utilities (electricity, water, gas, internet) are deductible by applying 30% to the percentage of floor space used for the business; other property costs, by that same floor-space percentage.
- VAT: without exclusive use or a separate space, VAT on utilities is not normally deductible.
Home staging and 3D tours
- Deductible as marketing costs. It is best to link each invoice to a specific property or deal.
Meals with clients
- Deductible if linked to a real deal, with an invoice in your name and a traceable payment, up to a limit of 1% of your annual turnover. The VAT on these meals is not deductible.
Did you know that matching income and expenses is very important to the Tax Agency?
Matching income and expenses is, in plain English, the rule that says:
“You can only deduct expenses that are genuinely related to the income from your business.”
It is one of the basic criteria for an expense to be tax deductible.
FAQs
Can I deduct my car if I also use it for personal purposes?
For income tax (IRPF), no. A private car is only deductible if it is used exclusively for your business, and any private use means you cannot deduct its costs (Article 22 of the IRPF Regulations). The exceptions are vans and mixed-use vehicles used to carry goods, passenger transport, driving schools, commercial agents in the strict sense and vehicles hired out to third parties. For VAT, however, there is a presumption of 50% business use, so you can deduct that 50% even if the car is also used privately, unless proven otherwise.
I work from home. What can I deduct?
Property costs in proportion to the floor space used for the business, and utilities by applying 30% to that percentage, unless you can prove a different figure.
Are meals with clients deductible?
Yes, if they are linked to real deals, with an invoice in your name and a traceable payment, up to 1% of your annual turnover. The VAT on them is not deductible.
Do home staging, photos and 3D tours count as expenses?
Yes, as marketing costs. Link each invoice to the property or deal to strengthen the deduction.
Is a till receipt without my details enough?
For VAT, no: you need a full invoice, or a simplified invoice showing your tax number (NIF), address and the VAT amount. For income tax, a till receipt can be accepted as evidence, especially if you paid by card, but it is much weaker than an invoice. Always ask for an invoice in your name.
Is there an automatic deduction for “hard-to-justify” expenses?
Yes, if you are taxed under the simplified direct assessment method (estimación directa simplificada): you can deduct 5% of your net income (income minus expenses) as hard-to-justify expenses, up to a maximum of €2,000 a year. It is applied directly in your tax return, without invoices. It does not apply under the normal direct assessment method, or if you use the reduction for economically dependent self-employed workers or those with a single client. It is a complement: you still need to document the rest of your expenses.