Deduct software subscriptions

Software subscriptions are deductible if they are directly related to your professional activity.

If you subscribe to or purchase a piece of software necessary for your professional activity (e.g. Accountable), it is fully deductible.

Think about it: CRMs (we love Efficy, a real champion from 🇧🇪), invoicing tools, creative and editing software, the entire MS Office suite, and apps such as Dropbox or Evernote that facilitate your organization are perfect targets for deductions.

Depending on your profession, you will be able to deduct different software: if you’re in gaming, you will be able to deduct your subscriptions to gaming platforms; if you’re an artist, you will be able to deduct your subscriptions to hobby/art platforms; if you’re a doctor or healthcare professional, you will need to deduct your subscriptions to scheduling software, file management, etc.

In terms of deductibility, payment methods or subscription durations (e.g. monthly or annual) don’t matter. If you buy a perpetual license, generally for a very high amount, you will have to amortize the purchase of this software, generally over 3 years.

And if the software is used for both private and professional purposes?

Absolutely no problem, you will deduct part of the subscription fee, depending on the professional use of the software.

An example: you use a software program professionally 5 days a week, and use it personally 2 days a week. You would then deduct 5/7, or 71% of the total amount, from your taxes.

What about VAT?

The VAT rules are exactly the same: if you use the software solely for your self-employed professional activity, you recover 100% of the VAT. If the use is mixed, you recover the VAT in proportion to your professional use.

That’s all there is to it.