Depreciation tables for self-employed workers in 2026: complete guide

As a self-employed worker using simplified direct assessment, in 2026 you depreciate your investments using the simplified table in the Order of 27 March 1998: 26% per year for computers and software, 16% for business vehicles, 10% for furniture and installations, and 3% for buildings. If you use standard direct assessment, the table that applies is the one in Article 12.1.a) of Corporate Income Tax Law 27/2014. In both cases, you also have three statutory accelerators that almost nobody uses: full deduction for assets costing up to EUR 300, double depreciation as a small enterprise, and unrestricted depreciation for job creation.

What depreciation is and why it saves you tax

When you buy an asset that will last more than one year — a laptop, a van, a machine or office furniture — the Spanish tax authority does not let you deduct the full amount in the year of purchase. It is an investment (a fixed asset), not a current expense, and the deduction is spread over the asset’s useful life. That annual allocation is depreciation.

The logic is accounting-based: the asset loses value each year through use, and that loss in value is the real expense for each tax year. The tax consequence is direct: every euro of depreciation you record reduces your net income for personal income tax (IRPF), just like any other deductible expense.

A quick example. You buy computer equipment for EUR 1,500 (excluding VAT):

• You cannot deduct EUR 1,500 as an expense that year.
• You can depreciate up to 26% per year: EUR 390 of deductible expense each year, for about 4 years (with the balance in the final year).
• If you deducted it all at once and the tax authority reviewed your return, it would assess the difference plus late-payment interest.

The opposite mistake also costs money: many self-employed workers record no depreciation at all because it seems complicated, giving up hundreds of euros in deductions every year. In practice, depreciation is not something to ignore: it is one of the few deductible expenses that does not require a new cash outlay each year.

Which table applies to your tax method

Spain has two depreciation tables for economic activities under direct assessment, and using the wrong one is a common mistake:

The vast majority of self-employed workers use the simplified method, so we will start there.

Simplified depreciation table (simplified direct assessment)

This is the table in force in 2026, approved by the Order of 27 March 1998 (BOE of 28 March 1998) and applicable without amendment ever since. It only permits the straight-line method:

How to read it: the maximum rate is the highest percentage you can deduct each year; the maximum period is the final deadline for completing depreciation. You are free to choose between those two limits. For a piece of furniture costing EUR 2,000, you can record between EUR 100 per year (EUR 2,000 ÷ 20 years) and EUR 200 per year (10%).

Article 12 Corporate Income Tax Law table (standard direct assessment)

If you use standard direct assessment, you apply the table in Article 12.1.a) of Law 27/2014 of 27 November on Corporate Income Tax. It is more detailed. These are the most common assets for a business (in force in 2026):

Note two interesting differences from the simplified table: software is depreciated faster under the Corporate Income Tax Law table (33% rather than 26%), and there is a catch-all rule: any asset not expressly listed is depreciated at 10%, with a maximum period of 20 years.

Calculation rules: when, on what amount and how much

When depreciation begins

From the date the asset is ready for use, not the invoice date. The first year is prorated: if the laptop enters service on 1 July, you only deduct half the annual charge that year.

The depreciation base

The purchase price plus necessary costs incurred until the asset is brought into service (transport, installation, assembly). Input VAT is not part of the base if you deducted it in your VAT returns; if it is not deductible, it is included in the cost and depreciated with the asset.

Land is never depreciated

For commercial premises, an office or an industrial unit, only the value of the building is depreciated, never the land. If the deed does not break down the two values, use the ratio of their cadastral values shown on the IBI property tax bill.

Within the maximum period

Each asset must be fully depreciated, excluding its residual value, within the table’s maximum period. Charges left over after that period are no longer deductible: depreciating too little is not prudent; it means losing the deduction.

Statutory accelerators: low value, small enterprises and unrestricted depreciation

The tables are the general rules, but in 2026 there are three lawful ways to deduct more quickly. And yes, they also apply under simplified direct assessment: Article 30 of the Personal Income Tax Regulations provides that the small-enterprise rules in the Corporate Income Tax Law apply to the amounts in the simplified table, while unrestricted depreciation for low-value assets is a general rule in Article 12 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, applicable to personal income tax through the reference in Article 28 of the Personal Income Tax Law.

Low-value assets: up to EUR 300 per unit

Article 12.3.e) of Law 27/2014 permits unrestricted depreciation (in practice, deduction in the year of purchase) for new tangible fixed assets whose unit value does not exceed EUR 300, with an aggregate limit of EUR 25,000 per tax year. A keyboard costing EUR 90, a chair costing EUR 250 or a monitor costing EUR 280 can be deducted directly that year, without a multi-year depreciation record.

Accelerated depreciation: double the table rate

If your previous-year turnover was below EUR 10 million (Article 101 of the Corporate Income Tax Law), you qualify as a small enterprise for tax purposes. This allows you to depreciate new tangible fixed assets and property investments at the table’s maximum rate multiplied by 2 (Article 103 of the Corporate Income Tax Law). Under the simplified method, that EUR 1,500 computer goes from EUR 390 per year (26%) to EUR 780 per year (52%): fully depreciated in less than two years.

Unrestricted depreciation for job creation

If you also increase your average workforce in the 24 months after the start of the period in which the investment enters service (compared with the previous 12 months) and maintain that increase for a further 24 months, Article 102 of the Corporate Income Tax Law lets you apply unrestricted depreciation to new investments of up to EUR 120,000 for each person/year of workforce growth. It is the most powerful accelerator: full deduction in the year of investment.

The 5 most costly mistakes in a tax review

The register: where the deduction is won or lost

Self-employed workers using direct assessment must keep an investment asset register (Article 68 of the Personal Income Tax Regulations, Royal Decree 439/2007), with each asset recorded separately: description, date it entered service, acquisition value, rate applied and accumulated depreciation. That register supports the deductible expenses you report in your quarterly Form 130 and the depreciation entry (“tax-deductible depreciation charges”) in your annual personal income tax return.

This is where software makes a difference. Frihet includes fixed-asset and depreciation tracking in its accounting reports, so you can keep the asset record, its value and the progression of its depreciation in the same system. The asset setup, tax rate and relevant accounting entry still need to be reviewed: recording a purchase invoice does not replace that accounting judgement. You can start on the free plan (up to 999 invoices per month) and avoid leaving your investment asset register isolated in another spreadsheet.

Full example: a freelance designer’s tax year

María, a designer using simplified direct assessment, invests in the following during 2026:

Total deductible in the first year: EUR 1,150 on an investment of EUR 3,770. If María met the small-enterprise requirements and chose the accelerated depreciation in Article 103 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, the laptop deduction would rise to EUR 1,040 (52%) and the total for the year to EUR 1,670. At a marginal rate of 30%, correctly recording these depreciation charges rather than missing them is worth several hundred euros of personal income tax every year.

Frequently asked questions about depreciation

Has the simplified table changed for 2026?

No. The Order of 27 March 1998 remains in force without amendment, as does the table in Article 12.1.a) of Law 27/2014 for standard direct assessment. What should be reviewed each year are the incentives (unrestricted depreciation, accelerated rates), which are sometimes expanded by temporary legislation.

Can I change the rate from one year to the next?

Under the straight-line method, you can move between the maximum rate and the minimum rate (the rate derived from the maximum period), while keeping the asset’s depreciation plan consistent. You cannot exceed the maximum rate or extend depreciation beyond the table’s maximum period.

What happens if I sell the asset before it is fully depreciated?

You stop depreciating it on the sale date and calculate the capital gain or loss by comparing the sale price with its net book value (cost less accumulated depreciation). Note that, for this calculation, the tax authority counts the minimum depreciation even if you did not record it — another reason to depreciate every year.