Self-Employed Expenses Ireland — Tax Deductions Guide
Self-employed expenses in Ireland.
Most self-employed workers claim too little — and overpay their tax every year.
Allowable expenses reduce your taxable profit — which directly reduces your income tax, PRSI and USC. The rules are specific: expenses must be incurred "wholly and exclusively" for business purposes. The categories are wide, but Revenue audits them closely. Claiming too little means overpaying. Claiming too much — or without documentation — means penalties, interest and a disallowed deduction.
Ask us on WhatsApp — freeThe main expense categories for self-employed workers in Ireland
Vehicle and Travel — The Most Misunderstood Category
You can claim the business-use portion of fuel, insurance, road tax, servicing and depreciation. If your vehicle is used partly for work and partly personally, you must calculate the split. Revenue accepts mileage logs. Claiming 100% of vehicle costs when the car has personal use is one of the most common causes of disallowed deductions during an audit.
Phone and Internet — Only the Business Portion
If you use your phone for both personal and business calls, only the business proportion is deductible. A €60/month phone bill is not automatically a €720/year deduction. Revenue expects a reasonable apportionment — typically evidenced by call logs or a consistent percentage. The same applies to broadband if you work from home.
Home Office — A Proportional Allowance
If you work from home as a self-employed person, you can claim a proportion of home running costs: rent or mortgage interest, heating, electricity and broadband. The allowance is calculated based on the number of rooms used exclusively for work and the time spent working. Many self-employed workers do not claim this — it can represent €500 to €1,500 per year in deductions depending on your home costs.
Equipment and Tools — Deducted or Written Down
Items used solely for your business — a laptop, tools, work phone, professional equipment — can be claimed. Smaller items (below €1,000) are typically expensed in full in the year of purchase. Larger assets are subject to Capital Allowances: written down at 12.5% per year over 8 years. The distinction matters — getting it wrong affects two or more years of returns.
Professional Fees and Insurance
Accountancy fees, trade association memberships, professional indemnity insurance, public liability insurance and legal fees directly related to your business are all allowable. This includes the cost of hiring us to file your Form 11. Many self-employed workers who file themselves forget to include what they pay an accountant as a deduction the following year.
Stock, Materials and Subcontractors
Direct costs of providing your service or product are fully deductible: materials, stock purchased for resale, subcontractor payments, delivery costs. These are the easiest to claim — but must be evidenced with invoices and payment records. Subcontractor payments also have specific RCT (Relevant Contracts Tax) reporting requirements for certain industries.
Common expense mistakes — and what they cost
These are the errors we correct most frequently when reviewing a client's prior year return. Each one results in either overpaying tax or a Revenue audit query.
Claiming 100% of vehicle costs when personal use exists
If your car is used for work deliveries on weekdays and family trips on weekends, only the work-related mileage is deductible. Revenue will request a mileage log during an audit. Without one, the entire vehicle expense claim is at risk.
Not claiming the home office allowance
Most delivery drivers, cleaners, childminders and sole traders who work from home are entitled to claim a proportion of home running costs. Because it requires a calculation rather than a receipt, many skip it — and lose hundreds of euros in deductions every year.
Forgetting that accountancy fees are deductible
The fee you pay for your Form 11 to be filed is an allowable business expense — claimable in the following year's return. A €350 fee at your tax rate of 40% saves €140 in tax. Many self-filers miss this entirely.
Claiming expenses without receipts or records
Revenue accepts bank statements for some expenses. But for fuel, cash purchases and mixed-use items, they want receipts. A Revenue audit requires documentary evidence for every deduction. Without it, the expense is disallowed and you pay the tax plus interest from the original return date.
Missing equipment bought at the start of the year
If you bought a laptop in January and are filing your return in October, it is easy to forget purchases from nine months ago. We ask every client for a list of all equipment purchased during the year — not just what they remember.
Mixing personal and business expenses
Groceries, personal clothing, gym membership, non-work travel — these are never deductible. When personal expenses appear in a business account and are claimed on a return, Revenue flags them during a compliance review. The result is a disallowed deduction, an interest charge, and attention on the rest of the return.
What Revenue does when expenses are wrong
- Revenue disallows the expense and issues a revised assessment — you pay the additional tax plus interest from the date the original return was filed.
- Without receipts or records, every expense claim is at risk during a Revenue audit. The burden of proof is on you — not on Revenue to disprove.
- Underclaiming is invisible. You never receive a notice. You just pay more tax than you owe, every year, without knowing it.
- One disallowed expense triggers a Revenue query on the entire return. Everything else gets scrutinised — other expense categories, income figures, credits claimed.
- A pattern of incorrect expense claims across two or more years can prompt a full compliance review covering all open years — up to 4 years back.
The difference between correct and incorrect expense claims can be hundreds of euros in tax per year. We review every category before filing.
Before filing your Form 11, we go through every expense category relevant to your work: vehicle, phone, home office, equipment, insurance, professional fees and direct costs. We claim what you are entitled to — and nothing that is not supported.
- We identify all allowable expenses across every category — including ones most self-employed workers miss
- We calculate home office and vehicle proportions correctly — not estimated guesses that attract scrutiny
- We check that every expense is supported by documentation before claiming it
- We separate capital from revenue expenses correctly — so the right deduction applies in the right year
- We communicate in Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and English — fixed fee of €350 for Form 11 including full expense review
Clear pricing — no surprises
Fixed fees. Always confirmed before we start.
Not sure what you can claim?
Send us a message on WhatsApp. We review your expenses before filing and make sure you only pay tax on what you actually owe.
Start on WhatsApp — it's freeFrequently asked questions
What expenses can a self-employed person claim in Ireland?
The main categories are: vehicle and travel (business proportion only), phone and internet (business proportion), home office costs (proportional), equipment and tools (expensed or written down over 8 years), professional fees and insurance, stock and materials, subcontractor costs, advertising and marketing, training directly related to your work, and bank charges on your business account. All expenses must be incurred "wholly and exclusively" for the purpose of your trade. Personal expenses — groceries, personal clothing, family travel — are never deductible.
Can I claim fuel as a self-employed expense in Ireland?
Yes, but only the business proportion. If you use your car for both work and personal journeys, Revenue expects you to calculate the business-use percentage based on mileage. The most defensible approach is a mileage log — recording every business journey with the date, destination and purpose. Alternatively, some self-employed workers use a consistent percentage (e.g. 70% business use) if their pattern is predictable and they can justify it. Claiming 100% of fuel when a vehicle has any personal use is one of the most common reasons for a disallowed deduction.
Can I claim home office expenses if I work from home?
Yes. If you use part of your home exclusively for work, you can claim a proportion of rent or mortgage interest, heating, electricity and broadband. The calculation is based on the number of rooms used for work divided by the total number of rooms, and the number of hours spent working there. A self-employed person working full time from a dedicated home office in a 4-room house could claim 25% of relevant home costs. We calculate this for every client who works from home.
Do I need receipts for all my expenses?
Yes — or equivalent documentation. Revenue accepts bank statements for some regular payments (insurance, subscriptions, phone bills). For fuel, cash purchases and mixed-use items, you need receipts. During a Revenue audit, you must be able to provide documentary evidence for every expense claimed. If you cannot, the deduction is disallowed. We recommend keeping all receipts — physically or photographed — and bank statements for the full year. Receipts should be kept for 6 years.
What is the difference between a revenue expense and a capital expense?
A revenue expense is a day-to-day cost of running your business — fuel, phone bills, insurance, materials. These are deducted in full in the year they are incurred. A capital expense is the purchase of an asset that will be used over several years — a vehicle, machinery, a laptop worth over €1,000. Capital expenses are not deducted in full immediately. Instead, they are written down at 12.5% per year over 8 years under Capital Allowances rules. Getting this distinction wrong can affect the accuracy of two or more years of returns.
I forgot to claim expenses in my last Form 11. Can I correct it?
Yes. You can amend a filed Form 11 through ROS for up to 4 years after the filing deadline. If you missed allowable expenses, we can review your records, identify what was not claimed, and file an amended return — reducing your tax liability for that year. If the amendment results in a refund, Revenue processes it to your bank account. This is one of the most common corrections we make for new clients who were previously self-filing.