Expense Registration - Incoming Invoice
General Information
In Spain, self-employed individuals (autónomos) can account for expenses related to their professional activity in order to reduce the taxable base. However, all expenses must be justified and supported by invoices issued with your tax details (NIF/NIE, address, and name). Without invoices, only Social Security contributions, medical insurance, and bank commissions can be registered as expenses.
Professional Expenses of an Autónomo
Professional expenses include accounting and tax services (including autónomo registration costs), office or coworking rental, subscriptions to software required for work, office supplies, and other expenses directly related to your professional activity.
Purchase of Equipment (for example, a laptop)
If equipment is used both for professional and personal purposes, only the part corresponding to professional use can be deducted. For example, if a laptop is used 50% for work, only half of its cost can be treated as an expense.
Utility Expenses
If you use part of your home for work, you may deduct 30% of utility expenses proportionally to the area used for professional activity.
For example, if 20% of your apartment is used as a workspace, the deductible amount will be 30% of 20% of the utility costs. The tax authorities may conduct an inspection to verify that the area has been calculated correctly. In this case, permission from the landlord may be required.
To deduct residential rental expenses, a separate invoice must be issued for the workspace including VAT and personal income tax withholding with the autónomo details. The property must also be registered with the tax authority as a business premises directly affecting the activity, including the cadastral reference and the percentage of use for the activity. This percentage must not exceed 30%.
Vehicle Expenses
Vehicle expenses can only be deducted if your activity is directly related to transportation, for example, if you work as a courier or driver. If the vehicle is used both for work and personal purposes, the Spanish tax authorities do not allow its maintenance expenses to be deducted from the taxable base.
Expenses Without Invoices
Some expenses do not require an invoice but may still be accounted for:
- Social Security contributions (Seguridad Social).
- Medical insurance payments (up to 500 € per year for each family member).
- Bank commissions related to business activity.
Automatic Deduction in Modelo 100
When submitting the annual tax declaration (Modelo 100), self-employed individuals using the Simplified Direct Estimation method (Estimación Directa Simplificada) may apply an automatic deduction of 5% (7% in 2023) of income, up to a maximum of 2000 euros. This deduction is intended to cover undocumented expenses, such as small business costs that are not always supported by invoices.
Therefore, accounting for expenses helps reduce the tax burden, but it is important that all expenses are justified and comply with Spanish tax authority requirements.
1. Introduction
In this lesson, we will explain how to correctly register expenses using an invoice. All invoices accepted as expenses must contain your NIF/NIE, name, and billing address. These details are usually required when creating accounts in online stores. If you make purchases directly related to your activity in physical stores, ask for an invoice to be issued. A regular receipt (factura simplificada) is not sufficient. We recommend carrying a note with your details that you can show to the seller or cashier.
2. Registering an Expense by Invoice
2.1 Incoming Invoice
If you need to register an Incoming Invoice from a supplier outside Spain, or if the invoice contains many lines, open the Purchases section, then select Incoming Invoice and click Create. Required fields are marked with a red underline.
Leave the "Number" field empty — the system will automatically assign an invoice number. Select the Incoming Invoice date by clicking the calendar icon if necessary.
Next, specify the supplier. Search in the list of registered companies works immediately when you start typing the name. If the supplier is not yet registered, click "Show All", then "Create" to add a new record. In the supplier record, specify whether it is a legal entity or an individual (autónomo). Enter the country of registration, tax number, full company name or name and surname for an individual. Add the supplier’s registration address specified in the invoice. Then click "Save and Close" and select the created supplier from the list.
The system will automatically set the tax regime according to the supplier’s country of registration. Usually, this field does not need to be changed. Next, select the "Territory of Consumption of Goods and Services". If your autónomo is registered in mainland Spain or the Balearic Islands, select "Mainland Spain and Balearic Islands". If the autónomo is registered in the Canary Islands, select "Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla".
In the "External Identifier" field, enter the number of the Incoming Invoice shown on the received document.
Next, go to the Goods and Services tab, click "Show All" → "Create" to add a product or service. The "Group" field is optional. Enter the name of the product or service so that it is short and clear. The name can be entered in Russian, Spanish, or English. You can fill in one field and then enable auto-translation by clicking the "Yes" button next to the other languages.
It is important that the Spanish name corresponds to what is specified in the Incoming Invoice. If you have doubts, you can use the contextual dictionary or consult an accountant.
You may combine several invoice positions into one. For example, if the invoice contains several lines with office supplies, you can register a single product called "Office Supplies" and enter the total amount in one line.
Select the type: "Product" or "Service". Specify the unit of measurement as shown in the invoice. The VAT rate will automatically be set to 21%. In the product or service record, it must correspond to the rate applied within mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands. You do not need to change the VAT rate in the product record even if it differs in the specific transaction.
Next, select the accounting group. Click "Show All" and choose the appropriate category from the list.
| Accounting Group for Goods and Services | When It Is Used |
|---|---|
| Rental Services and Fees | Expenses for renting premises, equipment, machinery, and administrative or licensing fees |
| Customs Duties | Expenses related to import/export operations, including customs duties and charges |
| Goods | Expenses for purchasing tangible assets such as raw materials, finished products, or resale goods |
| Other Services | Services not included in other categories, for example accounting, consulting, IT services, or subscriptions |
| Insurance Premiums | Insurance contract payments for property, liability, health, etc. |
| Advertising and Public Relations | Marketing, PR campaigns, social media promotion, advertising, and sponsorship expenses |
| Repairs and Disposal | Current and major repairs, equipment maintenance, disposal, and dismantling of assets |
| Banking Services | Bank commissions, acquiring services, currency conversion, and loan interest if not capitalized |
| Independent Professional Services | Payments for external experts, auditors, lawyers, appraisers, and other specialists |
| Utilities | Electricity, water, heating, gas, waste disposal, and similar expenses |
| Taxes, Fees, and Purchases on Behalf of Third Parties | Taxes excluding main taxes such as VAT or corporate tax, government duties, and purchases under agency agreements |
| Works and Services of Main Activity | Expenses directly related to the company’s core activity |
| Transportation Services | Logistics, cargo transportation, courier services, and fuel for company transport |
After completing the fields, click "Save and Close", then select the created service by double-clicking it or clicking "Select".
In the goods and services table, you can specify which activity this expense is related to. In the "Project" field, click "Show All" and select:
- "Actividad operativa" for operational expenses
- "Actividad de inversión" for investment-related expenses
By default, "Actividad operativa" is selected.
Enter the quantity in the "Quantity" field and specify the unit price in the "Price" field. The price is always entered excluding VAT and in EUR, unless you use multicurrency accounting. The total amount will be calculated automatically.
Next, select the payment method. Go to the "Payment Terms" tab and choose the appropriate option from the list. If the payment is made through a bank, select "Bank Transfer". If payment is made in cash, select "Cash".
By default, 100% prepayment is set, but this can be changed. You can specify partial prepayment or configure payment in several stages. More details about payment deferral configuration can be found in section 7.2 Payment Deferral of the article "Income Registration — Outgoing Invoice".
When all data has been entered, click "Save" to save the information. Then attach the Incoming Invoice file. To do this, go to Attachments, click "Add", then "Select from Disk", and upload the invoice file from your computer.
After that, click "Post and Close" to accept the Incoming Invoice into accounting.
2.2 Quick Entry of Incoming Invoices — Supplier from Spain
To register an expense using an invoice from a Spanish supplier, open the Purchases section, then under the Service subsection click Incoming Invoice Entry.
This function is designed for quick registration of suppliers from Spain and allows data entry in just a few steps.
In the new tab, fill in the data. Required fields are marked with a red underline.
Completion
Open the received invoice, since all data will be taken directly from it.
First, fill in the "External Identification Number" field — this is the supplier invoice number usually specified in the header in the "Número" field.
Next, specify the invoice date. Click the calendar icon and select the required date or enter it using the numeric keypad. The invoice date may differ from the accounting posting date.
According to the law, Incoming Invoices can be accepted into accounting within 4 years if there are valid grounds for doing so.
Now enter the supplier data.
Enter or copy the company’s NIF, full name, and address. To fill in the address, click the three dots next to the field and transfer the data from the invoice. If the supplier is already registered in the system, the data will be filled in automatically after entering the NIF.
Specify the product or service name in Spanish. You can simply copy it from the invoice. In this case, a new product or service record will be created with the specified parameters. You can edit this record later by adding names in other languages if they are enabled.
Next, configure the accounting parameters. In the "Accounting Group" field, click "Show All" and select the appropriate category.
In the "Type" section, specify "Service", since in this case a provided service is being registered rather than a product.
Check that the "VAT Rate" and "Units of Measurement" fields correspond to the invoice data.
In the "Amount" field, enter the service cost excluding VAT. The system will automatically calculate the tax, and the total amount will appear in the "Amount Including VAT" field.
If the invoice has already been paid, select the "Paid" checkbox and specify the payment date and your bank account from which the payment was made. The payment document will be created automatically. If the payment has not yet been made or if you prefer to create payments using bank integration, leave the field empty.
Click "Create and Post" so that the invoice is registered in the system and accepted into accounting.
After that, a pop-up window requesting attachment of the invoice file will appear.
You are required to store primary accounting documents. They may be needed in the event of a tax audit. Therefore, we recommend uploading a scanned copy of the Incoming Invoice or the original electronic file by attaching it to the document.
3. Viewing and Copying
All registered Incoming Invoices can be found in "Purchases" → "Incoming Invoice". All your invoice-based expenses are displayed there.
If a 
grey circle appears next to the invoice, it means that it has been saved in the system but not yet posted. To accept it into accounting, select the required invoice and right-click it. In the context menu, click "Post" or use "More" → "Post". After that, the circle will change to 
red, meaning that the invoice has been posted but not yet paid.
After the payment is registered for the invoice, the status will become 
green.
Copying an Invoice
If you have recurring payments, for example monthly accounting services, software subscription etc. there is no need to manually create a new invoice every time. You can simply copy an existing one.
To do this, select the required invoice, click the copy icon, or right-click and select "Copy".
A new window with a copy of the invoice will open. On the "Main" tab, обязательно change the date to the one specified in the new invoice and fill in the "External Identifier" field — this is the number specified in the original document.
Then click "Save" o "Post" to register the invoice in the system.
Next, attach the new Incoming Invoice file. Go to the "Attachments" tab, click "Add" → "Select from Disk", and upload the file from your computer. You can also use drag and drop. You don't need to "Save" o "Post" the invoice again after atttaching documents to it.
Deleting an Invoice
If an invoice was created by mistake, it can be deleted until it has been registered in government systems or included in reporting. To do this, select the required document, right-click it, and select "Mark for Deletion". A cross icon will appear next to the invoice, and it will be deleted automatically within 24 hours. If the invoice can no longer be deleted, you can create a rectifying invoice based on it. The rectifying invoice will register the full or partial cancellation of the invoice in the system.
A rectifying invoice must be used when the original invoice already belongs to a closed accounting period or has already been sent to an AEAT system such as Veri*Factu or SII. It corresponds to a credit note or debit note, depending on whether the correction decreases or increases the original amount.
4. Completion
Now you know how to correctly register autónomo expenses using invoices. Do not forget to register all expenses directly related to your activity in a timely manner so that accounting remains accurate and correct.
In the next lesson, we will explain how to register expenses without invoices, such as bank account withdrawals for Seguridad Social, medical insurance contributions, and bank commissions directly related to autónomo activity.
Thank you for your attention!