Family and disability deductions on the differential tax liability

These five personal income tax deductions reduce the differential tax liability directly, generating a refund even when there is no tax due. They cover five family situations: (1) large family (€1,200 per year for general category, increased by 100 % in the special category and up to €600 additional per child above the minimum); (2) descendant with disability ≥ 33 % in care (€1,200 per child); (3) ascendant with disability ≥ 33 % in care (€1,200 per ascendant); (4) spouse with disability ≥ 33 % in care (€1,200, with spouse's annual income excluding exempt income ≤ €8,000); (5) ascendant with two children, single (legally separated or unmarried) (€1,200). All of them can be claimed monthly in advance (€100/month) by filing form 143, transferred between taxpayers entitled to the same deduction, and adjusted afterwards via forms 121 (transfer with no filing obligation) and 122 (refund of excess collected).

🔵 Main rule: Article 81 bis and forty-second additional provision of the Personal Income Tax Act; article 60 bis of the Personal Income Tax Regulation.

What they have in common

The five deductions work the same operationally:

• Subtracted from the differential tax liability (not from the gross or net liability).
• Apply even when the differential liability is zero or negative: they generate a refund.
• Maximum amount of €1,200 per year (€100 per month) for each item.
• Can be received in advance by filing form 143.
• Can be transferred between several taxpayers entitled to the same deduction.
• Require a link to the Spanish Social Security system: being registered through an activity as employee or self-employed, receiving contributory or assistance unemployment benefits, receiving a Social Security or Civil Servants Pension Scheme pension, or being a professional not registered with RETA receiving equivalent benefits from alternative welfare mutual insurance funds.

🟡 Key incompatibility: the large-family deduction and the single-parent-with-two-children deduction are mutually exclusive. The three disability deductions (ascendant / descendant / spouse) are compatible with each other when they relate to different people.

Amounts and requirements — comparison

Large-family deduction

Available to ascendants who are part of a large family, as well as siblings orphaned of both parents who are part of one.

• Amount: €1,200 per year (€100/month), with a 100 % increment for special-category large families.
• Increment per child above the minimum (from tax year 2018): up to €600 per year for each child exceeding the minimum required for the general or special category.
• Proof: with the official large-family certificate or any legally admissible proof.
• Splitting: if more than one person is entitled to the deduction for the same family, the amount is split equally, unless the right is transferred to one of them through the collective application of form 143.

🧮 Example: general-category large family with one child above the minimum

1. Base amount (general category): €1,200 per year (€100/month).
2. Increment per child above the minimum: up to €600 per year additional.
3. Annual deduction: up to €1,800 (1,200 + 600).

Deduction for descendant with disability in care

Available for each descendant with disability equal to or greater than 33 % for whom the taxpayer is entitled to the minimum for descendants.

• Amount: €1,200 per year for each descendant with disability (€100/month).
• Splitting: if more than one person is entitled to the deduction for the same descendant, the amount is split equally between them, unless the right is transferred to one of them (collective form 143 or transfer in the personal income tax return itself).

Deduction for ascendant with disability in care

Available for each ascendant for whom the taxpayer is entitled to the minimum for ascendants and who has a disability equal to or greater than 33 %.

• Amount: €1,200 per year per ascendant.
• Link to the minimum for ascendants: only applies if the taxpayer has the minimum for ascendants recognised for that ascendant.
• Transfer: as with the descendant deduction, several entitled taxpayers may split or transfer the right to one of them.

Deduction for spouse with disability in care

Available from tax year 2018. Requires that:

• The spouse has a disability ≥ 33 % and the taxpayer is not legally separated.
• The spouse has annual income, excluding exempt income, no greater than €8,000.
• The spouse does not generate entitlement to the deductions for descendants or ascendants with disability.

Amount: €1,200 per year.

Deduction for ascendant with two children, single

Designed for parents in de-facto single-parent families (legally separated or unmarried) with two children not entitled to maintenance allowances.

• Amount: €1,200 per year.
• Requirements: full entitlement to the minimum for descendants, the children do not receive maintenance payments from the other parent.
• Incompatibility: cannot be applied simultaneously with the large-family deduction.

💡 Choice between mutually exclusive items: if your family situation entitles you to both the large-family deduction and the "ascendant with two children single" one, you may only claim one of them. The large-family one allows the increment per extra child, while the two-children-single one has a fixed amount.

How disability is accredited

For personal income tax purposes, persons with disability are those who prove a degree of impairment equal to or greater than 33 %.

💡 Practical shortcut: if you already receive a permanent disability pension recognised by Social Security, you do not need to request a certificate from IMSERSO to prove the 33 % for personal income tax purposes.

Reduced mobility and need for help from third parties are accredited via the same route (IMSERSO or Autonomous Community certificate).

How to request the advance payment: form 143

Form 143 allows the deduction to be collected month by month (€100/month against the annual deduction of €1,200) instead of waiting for the personal income tax return.

Application modalities

• Individual: only one person is entitled, or each entitled person applies for their share when there are several.
• Collective: several persons entitled by the same item transfer the right to a single one, who collects the full amount and reports it in their return.

When it is filed

• From the moment the requirements are met (Social Security registration / pension / unemployment benefit).
• Not renewed every year: only filed again if you switch modality (individual ↔ collective), which must be done in January.
• Variations (employment changes, end of benefit, death) are notified within 15 calendar days from when they occur.

Activity requirements to qualify for the advance

• Full-time: registration at least 15 days each month in the General Regime or in the Special Regimes for Coal Mining and Sea Workers.
• Part-time: working day of at least 50 % of the standard one and registration for the entire month under the above regimes.
• In the Special Agricultural Regime as employee, having opted for daily contribution bases: at least 10 actual workdays in the period.
• In the remaining special regimes of Social Security or alternative mutual funds: registration for 15 days of the month.
• As recipient of contributory or assistance unemployment benefits, or Social Security or Civil Servants pension: for each month in which it is received.

Transfer of right and adjustment

Transfer of right — when several taxpayers are entitled to the same deduction:

• If a collective form 143 was filed: the first applicant receives the full amount and reports it in their personal income tax return.
• If an individual form 143 was filed: the transfer is made in the personal income tax return itself by whoever applies the deduction.
• If you are not required to file and want to transfer: file form 121 within the campaign period.

Adjustment of any excess or shortfall in the advance:

🟠 Critical deadline: any variation affecting the advance collection or failure to meet the requirements must be reported to the AEAT within 15 calendar days of occurrence. The excess received is then adjusted in the personal income tax return or, if there is no filing obligation, via form 122.

Related

• Differential tax liability and final result — how these deductions fit into the final IRPF calculation.
• Personal and family minimum — complementary figures for descendants and disability that reduce the base, not the differential tax liability.
• IRPF manual for taxpayers over 65 — interaction with the age-increased minimum and other specific deductions.

Frequently asked questions

Can several deductions be claimed at once?

Yes, the three disability deductions (ascendant, descendant and spouse) are compatible with each other when they relate to different people. The only express incompatibility is between the large-family deduction and the ascendant-with-two-children-single deduction: if you are entitled to both, you can only apply one of them.

If I stop meeting the requirements mid-year, what happens to what I have collected?

You have 15 calendar days to notify the AEAT of the change (for example, end of an employment contract). Amounts received during the months you did meet the requirements are kept; what was received later is adjusted in the next tax return or via form 122 if you have no filing obligation.

Do I count as a large family if I do not yet have the certificate?

The rule allows the large-family status to be proved with the official certificate or by any legally admissible means of proof, so the certificate is not the only option: if you have not yet been issued one, you can prove it by other valid legal means.

If my spouse already generates entitlement to another deduction (descendant or ascendant with disability), can I claim the spouse-with-disability deduction?

No. The legislation expressly requires the spouse not to generate entitlement to the deductions for descendants and ascendants with disability for the taxpayer to be able to apply the spouse-with-disability-in-care deduction.

Does the automatic 65 % judicial incapacity declaration still apply after the Civil Code reform?

Yes. After the Civil Code reform, judicial incapacity extends to judicial decisions in civil order establishing representative guardianship of persons with disability. They automatically accredit a degree of disability ≥ 65 % for personal income tax purposes.

If I am a Minimum Living Income (IMV) beneficiary, do I generate entitlement to these deductions?

No. The Minimum Living Income does not, by itself, generate entitlement to the large-family deduction nor to the deductions for persons with disability in care. The general requirements must be met: registration through an activity as employee or self-employed, receiving contributory or assistance unemployment benefits, receiving a Social Security or Civil Servants pension, or being a professional not registered with RETA receiving equivalent benefits from alternative welfare mutual insurance funds.