Don’t get too excited, there are still rules applying !
With the approval of the new Act on urgent measures of self-employment, the possibility of deducting a daily subsistence allowance for the self-employed, up to an amount of 26.67 euros per day has been included. This measure mainly affects the self-employed and professionals who have to eat away from home. So here is what the maintenance allowance is and what conditions must be met in order to deduct it .
The total that can be deducted, (the amount that the self-employed can spend when he is away from home) is 26.67 euros a day, which increases to 48.08 euros when abroad. Of course, everything must be properly documented in order to do so.
If, in addition to eating away from home, the self-employed person must spend the night outside his habitual residence, that amount will double . In addition, invoices that do not correspond to companies that are in hotel or catering establishments will not be accepted. That is to say if we go to a supermarket to buy what is necessary to make a sandwich or salad etc, the outlay would not be deductible, but if we consume it in a bar or restaurant, then that is allowed.
How to pay and make the expenditure deductible.
Now here is a bit of a problem…. The payment must be credited by electronic means. If you pay in a restaurant, but it is done in cash, it will not be a deductible expense. It is essential to pay with a card or electronic means to be properly documented.
Depending on the self-employed and their use of the allowance, the effect it could have on their income tax return will be between 1,200 and 3,000 euros. An allowance of 26 euros for 20 days a month and eleven months a year, which doubles if staying away from home or working abroad.
The truth is that we do not have to spend 26 euros on a meal. But if we are away from home, in many cases it is usual to have breakfast in the middle of the morning and an additional meal. In both cases the expense would be deductible. It is true that many may have reservations when it comes to asking for an invoice for something in which they have barely spent three or four euros, but added together at the end of the year it would be a significant amount.
The facts are that to reach these amounts quoted, the customer expenditure would have to be between 6,000 to 12,000 euros per year in living expenses. So if we did not eat away from home until now, it does not make sense to start doing it from now on. What is important is to always request the invoice with our tax data, so that it can be legally deductible.
Original Article from Pymes y Autonomos via Javea Connect Gestoria Vera Cruyanes
