VAT on employee mileage in Spain (2026)
Can Spanish companies recover VAT on fuel for employee business trips? The AEAT requires detailed compliance — here's the playbook.
The AEAT criterion
Spanish VAT Law 37/1992 allows recovery of input VAT on expenses tied to the company's economic activity.[^liva-104] For employee fuel and mileage, the AEAT line is: recoverable when the spend is shown to relate to the business and not the employee's personal use of their vehicle.
Three scenarios in practice:
1. **Company-owned vehicle assigned to an employee**: fuel VAT recoverable at 100% only if the vehicle is exclusively for business; otherwise 50% (Art. 95.Tres LIVA). 2. **Employee's own vehicle, reimbursed per km**: the per-km reimbursement does not generate VAT (no invoice). The fuel VAT stays with the employee. 3. **Employee's own vehicle, real-cost reimbursement**: if the employee invoices the company with VAT, the company recovers it under general rules — exceptional and usually requires the employee to be registered as a self-employed.
The IRPF exempt limit
Distinct from VAT, IRPF has its own exempt limit for mileage: **€0.26/km** since July 2023 (raised from €0.19/km after 18 years). Payments at or below this with a valid trip slip are IRPF- and Social Security-free. Above €0.26/km, the excess is taxable.
Minimum AEAT documentation
For reimbursement to be deductible for the company under Corporate Income Tax (IS) and simultaneously IRPF-exempt for the employee, AEAT demands:
- Per-trip slip: date, origin, destination, business purpose, km, vehicle plate. - Internal travel and reimbursement policy, signed and dated. - Calculation at the prevailing exempt rate (€0.26/km in 2026). - Evidence the trip is not the ordinary home-workplace commute.
Without documentation, AEAT reclassifies the payment as taxable compensation, with up to 4 years of retroactive regularization plus a 50% to 150% penalty.
Company vehicle: the 50% rule
The most contested rule: Art. 95.Tres LIVA presumes a passenger vehicle assigned to the business is so at 50%, absent proof. So input VAT on fuel and repairs is recoverable at 50% by default for company cars. To reach 100%, the company must prove exclusive business use — typically via a detailed log, a written ban on personal use, GPS, and after-hours parking on the company premises.
Commercial vehicles (vans, work trucks) have a 100% presumption.
Worked example: Barcelona consultancy
A Barcelona consultancy reimburses 12 consultants €0.26/km for client visits. Each averages 1,500 km/month.
- Monthly reimbursement per consultant: 1,500 × 0.26 = €390. - Annual per consultant: €4,680. - Total: 12 × €4,680 = €56,160. - IRPF: €0 (within exempt limit). - Social Security: €0 (within exempt limit). - IS deduction: €56,160 (100% deductible). - VAT: per-km reimbursement creates no VAT. To reclaim fuel VAT, the company would need invoices in its name plus proof of business use — operationally complex on personal vehicles.
What changes in 2026
The 2026 budget kept €0.26/km — no update. Admin improvements to TicketBAI (Basque Country) and broader SII (Immediate Information Supply) coverage for >€6M revenue companies.
For mileage reimbursement, this means fuel invoices the company intends to deduct must clear SII within 4 business days from invoice date.
What to do this quarter
1. Confirm the internal rate is €0.26/km (or document the decision to pay above, with tax treatment). 2. Roll out digital trip slips with an integrity hash — AEAT accepts e-documents. 3. For company passenger cars, decide whether to pursue 100% recovery proof or accept the 50% default. 4. Confirm SII captures all fuel invoices in scope.