Guides

How "claiming tax back" works as an autónomo

There are two separate routes, and most expenses use one or both:

• IVA (VAT) — on qualifying business purchases you deduct the IVA you paid (IVA soportado) from the IVA you charge clients, in your quarterly Modelo 303. This is literal money back per invoice. Autonomo Pilot does not model IVA today — it focuses on the income-tax side below.
• IRPF (income tax) — business expenses and reductions lower your rendimiento neto and taxable base, so you pay less income tax. This is what Pilot's categories, Modelo 130 estimator and Year page model.

The golden rules (both routes)

• The expense must be genuinely linked to your activity (afectación).
• It must be justified with a proper factura carrying your NIF — simple till receipts and untraceable cash payments get rejected.
• It must be recorded in your books (Pilot's ledger + your accountant's records).
• Mixed personal/business use → proportional deduction only.

What reduces your IRPF (what Pilot models)

• Activity expenses at 100%: your RETA/Seguridad Social cuota, accountant & professional fees, business insurance, software & web services, office & equipment, marketing, training.
• Health insurance: deductible up to €500/person/year (you, spouse, children under 25; more with disability). Pilot warns when you exceed the cap.
• Home-office utilities (suministros): 30% × the proportion of your home registered as workspace. Pilot seeds the category at 30% — set the % to 30 × your m² share (e.g. 20% of the home → 6%).
• Travel & meals (dietas): deductible when strictly work-related, outside your usual area, paid electronically and within daily limits (≈€26.67/day in Spain, €48.08 abroad). Pilot always routes these to review because the same merchants appear for personal spending.
• Vehicles: strict AEAT practice only allows IRPF deduction with exclusive business use; partial (e.g. 50%) claims are a position some accountants file. Confirm yours with your accountant — the % is editable per category.
• Gastos de difícil justificación: an automatic 5% of positive net income, capped at €2,000/year (the 7% rate applied to 2023 only). No invoices needed — Pilot applies it in the Modelo 130 and Year estimates.
• Renta-only reductions (don't touch Modelo 130): pension-plan contributions (individual limit €1,500/yr), certain bundled insurance/pension products, union/professional dues.
• Charity donations: a credit against your renta quota — 80% on the first €250, 40% above (45% for sustained giving), within limits. Pilot computes this on the Year page.
• Personal allowance: at least €5,550 of your base is tax-free (more with age, dependants, disability) — built into the Year estimate.

Common non-deductibles (tracked, not claimed, by default)

Mobile phone without a dedicated business line; bank fees on mixed-use accounts; rent of your home (outside registered workspace rules); anything personal. Each is a category in Pilot so the numbers exist for the accountant conversation — flip a category's Deduct % in Settings if your accountant approves a claim.

Special situations Pilot doesn't estimate

New-autónomo 20% profit reduction (first two profitable years), the €2,000 single-client/TRADE reduction, regional (autonomía) deductions, asset amortization schedules, and bad-debt losses — all real, all conditional; raise them with your accountant. The accountant pack gives them the raw data they need.