What to do if you lose a receipt as a freelancer in Spain

You paid a business expense, but the receipt is gone. Can you deduct it? It depends.

If you had a full invoice

If you asked for an invoice and the supplier has it on record, you can request a duplicate. Full invoices are registered in the supplier's system and are recoverable.

If you only had a simplified receipt

A supermarket, gas station, or restaurant receipt does not have your tax ID and is not registered in the supplier's system. If you lose it:

• You cannot request a duplicate
• You cannot deduct VAT (you couldn't with the receipt either)
• You can try to deduct the expense on income tax if you have another proof (bank statement), but it is harder to defend before the tax authority

How much money you lose

An average freelancer loses between 5 and 15 receipts per year. If each one is worth an average of €50 with 21% VAT, that is between €52 and €157 in VAT you don't deduct. Plus the income tax expense you don't declare.

Not a fortune, but it is money out of your pocket for a problem that has a solution.

How to never lose a receipt again

The rule is simple: take the photo in the moment. Not when you get home, not on Sunday. Now.

SinTrámite lives in your pocket. You pay, pull out your phone, snap the photo. In three seconds the expense is saved, the data extracted, and the photo filed. You can throw away the paper.