Deductible taxi expenses: the 16 worth tracking

In short: the main deductible expenses for a self-employed taxi driver under the direct-estimation regime (estimación directa, Spain's standard tax method for the self-employed) are fuel or charging, insurance, self-employment contributions (RETA), maintenance and tyres, the roadworthiness test (ITV), vehicle financing or renting, the licence, the accountant, parking and tolls. Logging every one of them is what separates what you bill from what you actually earn — and what lowers your personal income tax bill (IRPF).

This article describes Spain's self-employment tax framework — if you drive in another country, use it as a starting point and check the exact rules with a local accountant. Ask any taxi driver how much they billed last month and they'll tell you in seconds. Ask how much they earned and it's a different story: real profit is billing minus expenses, and a taxi's expenses go well beyond fuel. Here's the full list — the same categories we use in Taxio.

The everyday ones

• Fuel (in litres, if you want to track consumption precisely)
• Electric charging (in kWh, for plug-in hybrids and EVs)
• Car wash: your car is your storefront
• Parking and tolls: small, constant, invisible if you don't log them

The ones for the car

• Maintenance: check-ups, oil, brakes, the garage
• Tyres: with the mileage a taxi racks up, they're not a footnote
• ITV: required more often than for a private car
• Vehicle financing or renting: the monthly instalment is an expense too, even if it stings less because it leaves your account automatically
• Insurance: the policy for a public-service vehicle

The ones that come with being self-employed

• Self-employment contributions: religiously, every month
• Taxes and fees
• Licence: the fees and costs of keeping it
• Accountant: what you pay so you don't have to fight the paperwork yourself

Self-employment contributions, in fact, aren't just another fixed cost: Spain's Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) itself explicitly lists them among the deductible expenses for a self-employed person, since "the contributions the business owner pays into the special regime for self-employed workers (RETA)" are included when calculating net income under the direct-estimation regime, according to its practical IRPF guide. And since 2023 that contribution is no longer a flat amount for everyone: as Social Security's official website explains, "everyone who works for themselves will pay Social Security contributions based on their annual net income," split into brackets that can be updated up to six times a year — one more reason to keep your real profit up to date instead of estimating it by eye at year's end.

The ones nobody wants to log

• Fines: they happen; ignoring them in your books doesn't make them cheaper
• Supplies and materials: seat covers, chargers, phone mounts, water for passengers
• Other: the catch-all for anything that doesn't fit above

Why log every one of them (not just "the big ones")

Because profit is decided in the fine print. A weekly car wash, airport parking and two tolls a day look like loose change; by the end of the quarter they add up to hundreds of euros that, if unlogged, make you believe you're earning more than you really are.

For the tax office to accept them, an expense also has to meet three conditions: according to the Tax Agency's guide to IRPF, an expense is tax-deductible when it is "linked to the business activity carried out," "recorded in the accounts or in the record books" you're legally required to keep, and "properly substantiated." All three depend on logging the expense as it happens, not months later while digging through the glovebox for the receipt.

Well-logged expenses also change the conversation with your accountant: instead of showing up with an envelope of receipts, you show up with a list sorted by category and date. Which part is deductible, and how, is your accountant's job; your job is making sure none of it is missing.

How Taxio handles it

In Taxio every expense is logged in seconds, with its category, its amount and, where relevant, its litres or kWh. The app shows you spending by category and your real profit (billing minus expenses) by month, quarter or year, and exports it as a PDF or Excel file ready for your accountant. If you run a fleet, you also see it broken down by car.

The golden rule: if it came out of your pocket because of the taxi, log it. Your real profit will thank you.