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Computer, phone and furniture bought by the company: 5 rules on depreciation
Step Inside Accounting · Practical guide
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1. Buying is not expensing it all in one year
A computer, a phone or a desk lasts several years. So the company cannot record the full price as an expense in the year it buys it: it spreads it over the asset’s useful life. Each yearly share is called depreciation.
Each year’s depreciation is an expense that reduces the profit and therefore the corporate tax (IRC). In the end the company deducts the full value of the asset; it just does so in several steps.
2. The rates you will use most
The law sets the maximum yearly depreciation rate for each type of asset. For a small services company, these are the most common:
- Computers and software: 33.33% a year (3 years).
- Phones: 20% a year (5 years).
- Office machines (printer, copier): 20% a year (5 years).
- Furniture: 12.5% a year (8 years).
You can use a lower rate, but there is a minimum: half the maximum rate. If in a given year the company does not record at least that minimum, the missing part is lost for tax purposes and cannot be recovered later.
3. Up to €1,000: all in the year of purchase
Items with a unit value of up to €1,000 can be depreciated in one go, in the year they are bought. An €800 phone or a €300 chair count in full as an expense of that year.
The exception is items that are part of a set that should be depreciated as a whole, such as the complete furniture of an office bought at once. In that case, the value of the set counts, not the value of each piece.
4. The VAT is recovered straight away
The VAT on these purchases is not depreciated: if the company is in the normal VAT regime and the item is for the business, it deducts the full VAT in the return for the period of the purchase. Depreciation is calculated on the price without VAT.
If the company is VAT-exempt and cannot deduct it, the VAT becomes part of the cost of the item and is depreciated together with the price.
5. Personal use: only what belongs to the company counts
The work computer and phone belong to the company, even if the manager takes them home. What the company cannot do is buy things for the family: the children’s tablet, the spouse’s phone or the living-room furniture.
Those items are not a company expense, the VAT cannot be deducted, and the Tax Authority may treat the amount as distributed profits or as income in kind for the partner.
Example
In January 2026, the company buys a €1,500 laptop, an €800 phone and a €1,200 desk, all before VAT. In 2026, the expenses are €500 for the laptop (33.33%), €800 for the phone (up to €1,000, all in the year) and €150 for the desk (12.5%): €1,450, which saves €217.50 of IRC (15%). The company also recovers €805 of VAT (23% of €3,500).
Team tip
Keep the invoices in the company’s name, with its tax number (NIF), and tell us what each item is for. That is how we choose the right rate and defend the expense in an inspection.
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This article is for information only and does not replace professional advice. Figures and rules are those in force at the date of publication and may change.
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