per week
The tax office only allows €26.67 per day for meals (no overnight stay, in Spain). You spend a day on average, so the rest does not count.
For the self-employed
How much do receipts without an invoice cost you?
A till receipt does not get you the VAT back, and the tax office can reject the expense. Move the sliders and see how much money slips away every year.
Calculator
Enter what you spend in a normal week. The result updates instantly.
Your situation
Your net income per year (sets your income tax rate)
Every year you fail to recover
About a month, between VAT you do not deduct and income tax you overpay.
Move a slider: tell us which receipts pile up in a normal week.
- VAT not deducted
- Income tax overpaid
If you got an invoice for every receipt you would recover a year. Today you already recover .
Indicative estimate using current rates and limits. This is not tax advice: your accountant has the final say.
With a real receipt
€86.40 at the builders’ merchant. What is that piece of paper worth?
It is the materials receipt from our demo: four bags of mortar, profiles and screws. With your income tax rate at , this is how it changes depending on the paper you hold.
With the receipt
0 €
Without your NIF there is no VAT to deduct and the tax office can throw out the expense.
With an invoice
of VAT recovered and less income tax on a net amount of .
What the rules say
Four rules the calculator applies
-
VAT only comes back with an invoice
To deduct VAT you need the original invoice. A receipt or a simplified invoice without your NIF, address and VAT amount is not enough.
Art. 97 of VAT Law 37/1992 -
Meals: €26.67 per day
Your business meals are deductible for income tax if they are at restaurants, you pay by card or another electronic means and you stay under €26.67 per day (€48.08 abroad; €53.34 with an overnight stay).
Art. 30.2.5 c) of the Income Tax Law and art. 9 of its Regulations -
Car for mixed use: half the VAT
A passenger car is presumed 50 % business use: you recover half the VAT on fuel, parking and tolls, and the expense does not count for income tax. Work vehicles (vans, delivery, transport) and sales agents’ cars: 100 %.
Art. 95.Three and Four of the VAT Law -
Hospitality and travel, tied to income tax
VAT on restaurants, trips and travel is only deductible for the part that is a deductible expense for income tax. That is why the daily meal cap also cuts the VAT.
Art. 96.One.6 of the VAT Law
How we calculate it
- Every receipt has VAT inside it: 10 % on meals and transport, 21 % on materials and car costs. With an invoice that VAT is deductible; without one, it is lost.
- The rest of the receipt (the net amount) lowers your profit and you pay less income tax according to your marginal rate. We use the general income tax scale (state plus average regional): 19, 24, 30, 37, 45 and 47 %. In your region it may differ by a few points.
- Meals: we spread your receipts over 5 working days and apply the cap of €26.67 per day (the cap for a day without an overnight stay in Spain; if you travel and sleep away, the cap is higher and we do not count it here). Anything over the cap counts neither for income tax nor for VAT.
- Car: passenger car for mixed use, 50 % of the VAT on fuel, parking and tolls and nothing for income tax; work vehicle or sales agent’s car, all the VAT plus the net amount for income tax.
- What you "fail to recover" is the yearly total multiplied by the percentage of receipts you do not get an invoice for today.
- We do not include the self-employed social security contribution (since 2023 it depends on your net income, so deducting more can lower it too) or the 5 % allowance for hard-to-justify expenses.
Three habits
What changes the result from tomorrow
-
01
Ask for it "with my details" at the till
A simplified invoice with your NIF, your address and the VAT broken down is already enough to deduct. Keep them saved on your phone so you can read them out in two seconds.
-
02
Meals, always by card
Cash meals are not deductible, even with an invoice. Paying by card, Bizum or phone meets the requirement, and your bank statement backs up the expense.
-
03
Photo on the spot, not at the end of the month
The receipt that stays in your pocket gets lost or fades. If you record it as you leave the shop, you know what you still need to claim and from whom.
The invoice, without chasing anyoneNew
Tell IAhoy to ask for the invoice for you
Send a photo of the receipt on WhatsApp. IAhoy records it as an expense, asks whether you want the invoice and, if you say yes, writes to the shop, follows up if they do not answer and sends it to you as a PDF.
- One photo and the expense is recorded with supplier, date, description and VAT.
- One button to ask for the invoice. All we need is the shop’s email.
- The invoice as a PDF arrives on WhatsApp, in your name and with your NIF.
Free, no card and nothing to install.
Re-enactment of the real flow (in Spanish)
Common questions
Before you ask
Is a receipt with my NIF enough?
Yes. A simplified invoice with your NIF, your address and the VAT amount broken down is valid for deducting VAT. That is what you ask for at the till when you say "with my details, please". If the receipt has already been issued without them, you have to ask the shop to redo it or to issue a full invoice.
What if I paid for the meal in cash?
Then it is not deductible for income tax: the law requires business meals to be paid electronically (card, Bizum, phone). And because VAT on hospitality is tied to income tax deductibility, you do not recover the VAT either.
I have read that some courts accept receipts
There are rulings that accepted expenses backed only by receipts when their link to the business was obvious, for example travel. They are specific cases, not a rule: the tax office still asks for an invoice and, even if you win, VAT cannot be recovered without one. The calculator plays it safe and counts the receipt as 0.
Does this replace my accountant?
No. It is an estimate using the general rates and limits so you can see the size of the hole. Your accountant knows your region, your business and your case. With IAhoy they also receive your expenses and invoices already organised.
