HEALTHPLAN MAGAZINE

Submitting a rushed tax return is never a good idea as it increases the likelihood of overlooking deductions, such as those for donations, large families, or certain insurance policies.

Additionally, taxpayers in times of inflation may wonder if they can deduct expenses related to their electricity, gas, water, telephony, and internet bills, especially since teleworking is still prevalent for many people post-pandemic. However, it is only possible to do so in specific cases.

Employees cannot deduct utility expenses from their income statement, as their company must assume these costs if they work from home for over 30% of their work time, according to Law 10/2021.

Self-employed individuals working from home who have communicated this to the Treasury through their census declaration (Forms 036 and 037) can deduct 30% of these costs on the proportional part of their housing used for their activity.

As an example, if a self-employed person allocates 40 square metres of a home which has a total of 100 square metres, to their professional activity, 30% of the expenses applied on the 40% of office space can be deducted.

If the total bill was €2,000 for the year, 12% could be deducted which would equate to a non-taxable amount of €240.

Note that VAT cannot be deducted. For VAT to be deductible, expenses have to be exclusive to the business activity. They cannot cover personal and business needs at the same time.

These self-employed individuals can also deduct any expenses related to their economic activity, provided they are properly justified by invoices or receipts and recorded correctly in their accounts.

Regarding the taxation of government energy aid, beneficiaries of the electric social bonus do not need to declare anything special in their income statement. However, in the case of the thermal social bonus, beneficiaries must include the aid as capital gain in the general tax base. If a taxpayer only earns an income of less than 22,000 euros per year and receives the thermal social bonus for an amount less than 1,000 euros per year, they are not required to file an income statement.

Health insurance premiums can also be deducted

Private health insurance premiums may have certain tax-deductible elements, but it's important to note that only those costs related to sickness or healthcare coverage are eligible. Other insurance types, such as accident insurance or additional coverages, do not qualify for this deduction.

The expenses that can be deducted include health insurance payments made by the policyholder, their spouse, and children under 25 years old, up to a maximum of €500 per member per year.

Learn more about health insurance policies for the self-employed in Spain.

Those working from home may also be eligible to deduct other relevant expenses such as part of their rent, mortgage interest, community of owners fees, and more.