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Practical manual for Income Tax 2022.

Requirements and conditions to apply the additional increase

In order for the maternity deduction to be increased by up to an additional 1,000 euros, the following requirements must be met:

1. The previously mentioned requirements must be met for beneficiaries and children who are entitled to the maternity deduction .

2. In addition, it is necessary that the taxpayer has paid in tax period the custody expenses of the child under three years of age .

CUSTODY EXPENSES are considered to be the amounts paid by the taxpayer that meet following conditions

  1. That they be satisfied to authorized daycare centers or early childhood education centers.

    Clarifications:

    The term “authorized” must be understood as applicable to both early childhood education centers and nurseries.

    The maternity deduction is a measure linked to the educational field (first cycle of early childhood education), so its application refers to early childhood education centers, public or private, that develop the aforementioned cycle and consequently are authorized by the competent educational Administration. See in this regard the Resolution of the TEAC of May 26, 2021, Claim number 00/0946/2021, extraordinary appeal for unification of criteria.

    Therefore, the deduction cannot be applied to expenses incurred by natural or legal persons who may provide care to children under three years of age for purposes other than the aforementioned educational purposes. These would be the cases of expenses incurred in companies or establishments open to the public that host minors for different purposes (venues for birthday parties or children's parties, play centres, premises for mere custody, children's camps, etc.) or expenses paid to individuals in the family home for custody of minors (care provided by paid relatives, custody expenses paid to "babysitters", domestic employees, etc.), and which may or may not require administrative authorisation, as would occur in the case of opening establishments open to the public, which require certain municipal or regional licenses, although they will not have the authorisation of the educational administration due to the nature or purpose of the custody.

  2. That the following concepts be paid:

    • pre-registration and registration of children under 3 years of age,

    • assistance, during general and extended hours, and

    • feeding.

  3. That your payment corresponds to expenses that have occurred for full months .

  4. That are not considered exempt income in kind for the taxpayer by application of the provisions of article 42.3. b) or d) of the Personal Income Tax Law , that is, by:

    • The direct or indirect contracting by companies or employers of the first cycle of early childhood education service for the children of their employees in authorized nurseries or early childhood education centers [Art, 42.3.b) Law IRPF ].

    • The provision of preschool, infant, primary, compulsory secondary, high school and vocational training services by authorized educational centers to the children of their employees, free of charge or at a price lower than the normal market price [Art. 42.3.d) Law Income Tax ]

Specialty: application of the increase until the child begins the second cycle of early childhood education

In the tax period in which the youngest child turns three years old, the increase may be applied to expenses incurred after reaching that age until the month prior to the month in which the second cycle of early childhood education may begin.

For these purposes, it should be noted that if the child turns three in January or if the mother starts working in the year in which the child turns that age, but after having turned that age, the maternity deduction cannot be applied, although this will not prevent the increase in nursery or early childhood education center expenses authorized for the expenses incurred up to the month in which the child can begin the second cycle of early childhood education from being applied.

Obligation to provide information by authorized nurseries or early childhood education centers :

Article 69.9 of the Personal Income Tax Regulations , in development of the provisions of section 5 of the aforementioned article 81 of the Personal Income Tax Law, establishes for authorized nurseries or early childhood education centers the obligation to submit an informative declaration on the minors and the expenses that give the right to apply the increase in the deduction.

Order HAC/1400/2018, of December 21, which approves form 233, "Informative declaration for expenses in authorized nurseries or early childhood education centers" and determines the place, form, deadline and procedure for its presentation, and modifies Order HAP/2194/2013, of November 22, which regulates the procedures and general conditions for the presentation of certain self-assessments, informative declarations, census declarations, communications and refund requests, of a tax nature ( BOE of November 27).