{"id":14200,"date":"2026-08-24T15:42:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T13:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accountable.de\/help-center\/which-expenses-can-i-deduct\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T17:06:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T15:06:00","slug":"which-expenses-can-i-deduct","status":"publish","type":"help_center","link":"https:\/\/www.accountable.de\/en\/help-center\/which-expenses-can-i-deduct\/","title":{"rendered":"Which expenses can I deduct?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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What expenses can you deduct as a self-employed? We give you a handy overview of the main deductible expenses as a self-employed person.<\/p>\n

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A professional expense, or deductible expense, is an expense that is tax deductible. You can deduct this expense for tax purposes if you incurred the expense during the year to obtain taxable professional income. Each expense is necessary to run your business.<\/p>\n

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Income tax expenses<\/b><\/h1>\n

Annually, these professional expenses will count through your personal income tax. The total amount of your expenses is then deducted from your turnover. This end result is your net income or your net professional income on which you will pay taxes. The higher this amount, the more taxes you will have to pay at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

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VAT expenses<\/b><\/h1>\n

On most goods and services you buy, you pay a bit of VAT. If you are liable for VAT yourself, in many cases you can recover it from the VAT administration (i.e. the government). But there are some conditions, which are strictly monitored. This is what you need to watch out for:
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The invoice is 100% correct<\/b><\/h2>\n

The invoice proves how much VAT you paid. Only if the invoice is completely correct can you recover the VAT. A lot can go wrong: the VAT percentage must be correct and all necessary information must be included, such as your VAT number, a description of the goods or services, … . The tax authorities have become a little more flexible on the latter point. Nevertheless, it is still very important that you check the invoices you receive carefully and have them adjusted if necessary. It can avoid many a discussion with the VAT inspector.<\/p>\n

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Example: a supplier charges 21% VAT, when in fact it should only be 6%. You pay 21% anyway and reclaim that amount via the VAT return. Then you only get 6% back, because ‘wrongly charged VAT is not deductible’, even though you did pay 21%. So it is up to you to check whether the VAT on the invoice is correct. Is that not the case? Then ask your supplier for a correct invoice.
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What are the conditions for deductible professional expenses?<\/b><\/h1>\n

Each expense must meet four conditions:<\/b><\/p>\n