You bought a new laptop for work. €1,200. Can you deduct that on your tax return?
Yes. But how you deduct it depends on the amount. There’s an important cut-off: €1,000.
The €1,000 rule
When you buy equipment for your professional activity, the price determines how you’ll deduct it:
Up to €1,000: Deduct the full amount in the year of purchase. Simple and direct.
Bought a €800 phone in January? Deduct €800 as an expense that year.
Over €1,000: Depreciation (amortização) applies. Instead of deducting everything at once, you deduct a portion each year over the equipment’s useful life.
For computing and electronic equipment, the estimated useful life is typically 4 years — meaning 25% per year.
Example: Diogo bought a MacBook Pro for €2,400.
- Annual deduction: €2,400 × 25% = €600
- Over 4 years: €600/year
Over 4 years, he deducts the full value — just spread out over time.
Computer: 100% or partial?
If the computer is used exclusively for work → you deduct 100%.
If it’s mixed use (work + personal) → you deduct the professional proportion.
How do you calculate that proportion? By a reasonable estimate of professional use. If you work 8 hours a day and use the computer personally for 2 hours → 80% professional.
The tax authority won’t measure your screen time to the minute — but it needs to be an honest, consistent estimate. Never declare 100% on a computer you clearly also use for gaming or streaming.
Phone: the 50% rule
The phone is a special case. The tax authority assumes you don’t use your phone 100% for work — you also call family, use personal WhatsApp, etc.
The common and accepted practice is to deduct 50% of the phone’s cost as a professional expense.
If you bought a phone for €900:
- Deductible amount: €900 × 50% = €450
- Since this is below €1,000, you deduct it in full in the year of purchase
Camera, tripod, profession-specific equipment
For those whose camera is their primary work tool (photographer, videographer), the camera is 100% professional and fully deductible.
The same principle applies to other profession-specific equipment:
- Microphone for podcasters or content creators
- Drawing tablet for illustrators
- Specific instruments for musicians
The logic: if it’s a tool you use exclusively (or almost exclusively) in your professional activity, it’s fully deductible.
What’s required
To deduct the equipment, it must be documented:
- Invoice issued in your name with your NIF — an anonymous cash receipt won’t do
- Invoice issued by a shop, not a private seller
Keep invoices in digital format. You may need them for up to 4 years.
How FIZ handles equipment
In FIZ’s expenses module:
- Log the purchase with amount, “Equipment” category, and date
- For amounts over €1,000, indicate it’s depreciable
- The system automatically calculates the annual depreciation
- The correct amount flows into that year’s expenses — no calculations needed
At year-end, the figures are ready for your income tax return’s Annex B.
✅ In summary
-
Under €1,000: deduct everything in the year of purchase. Above that, depreciation applies — typically 25% per year over 4 years for tech equipment.
-
Phone: deduct 50% (mixed use assumed by the tax authority). Camera or profession-exclusive equipment: 100%. Computer: 100% if exclusive, proportional if mixed use.
-
With FIZ you log the equipment once and the system automatically calculates annual depreciation — no spreadsheets, no manual formulas.
