Skip to main content
Practical manual for Income Tax 2023.

C. Deduction for investments in the acquisition of fixed assets

Regulations: Art. 94 Law 20/1991, of June 7, modifying the fiscal aspects of the Economic Fiscal Regime of the Canary Islands

Attention: For the purposes of applying the deduction for investments in new fixed assets in the Canary Islands, the regulations to be applied, in light of the provisions of the fourth transitional provision of Law 19/1994, are the deduction system for investments in the Canary Islands provided for in article 26 of Law 61/1978, of December 27, on Corporate Tax, and in its Regulations, approved by Royal Decree 2631/1982, of October 15, regulations in force at the time of its repeal, on the understanding that there is no equivalent substitute regime in the current LIS . Interpretative criterion established by the Supreme Court in the third legal basis of Judgment No. 605/2024, of April 10, issued in the contentious-administrative appeal No. 1299/2022 (ROJ: STS 2022/2024).

In accordance with the above, the Twelfth Additional Provision of Law 43/1995, of December 27, on Corporate Tax, cannot be considered as an equivalent substitute regime for the deduction for new fixed assets.

a. New fixed assets

Taxpayers can deduct from the total tax 25 percent of the investments they actually make in new fixed assets.

In accordance with article 94.1.a) of Law 20/1991, of June 7, amending the tax aspects of the Canary Islands Economic and Fiscal Regime ( BOE of June 8), the rates applicable to investments made will be 80% higher than those of the general regime, with a minimum differential of 20 percentage points. Taking into account the above, and following the aforementioned Supreme Court Ruling 2022/2024, which considers applicable to the deduction for investment in new fixed assets article 26 of the aforementioned Law 61/1978 in its latest version, given by article 74 of Law 41/1994, of December 30, on the General State Budget for 1995, the applicable deduction rate will be 5%. Therefore, the deduction percentage will be 25 percent.

See articles 214, 215 and 216 of Royal Decree 2631/1982, of October 15, for the consideration of an item as a new fixed asset for the purposes of the aforementioned deduction.

In no case will land be considered new fixed assets.

Taxpayers who engage, through an economic operation, in the leasing or transfer of fixed assets to third parties for their use may enjoy the deduction for investments in new fixed assets, provided that they meet the remaining requirements provided and there is no direct or indirect link with the lessees or transferees of said assets, nor are they financial leasing operations.

Investment in movable property under a financial leasing regime:

The deduction will be eligible for movable property acquired under a financial leasing arrangement that has a depreciation coefficient equal to or greater than 10% indicated in the amortization tables approved by the Order of May 12, 1993 In this case, the applicable deduction percentage, which in no case will be higher than that established in general, will be calculated in accordance with the provisions of article 26. Fifth of Law 61/1978.

b. Used fixed assets

Likewise, taxpayers may deduct from the total amount 25% of the amount of investments for the acquisition of the used fixed asset item that had not previously enjoyed this deduction for investments in tangible fixed assets.

Used fixed assets that qualify for deduction must belong to one of the following categories (Royal Decree 241/1992):

  • Machinery, facilities and tools.

  • Information processing equipment.

  • Internal and external transport elements, excluding vehicles that may be used by persons directly or indirectly linked to the company.

To be eligible for this deduction, the acquisition of the used fixed asset must represent a clear technological improvement for the company, and this circumstance must be proven, in the event of verification or investigation of the taxpayer's tax situation, by proving that the item subject to the deduction will produce or has produced any of the following effects:

  • Decrease in the unit production cost of the good or service.

  • Improving the quality of the good or service.

c. Time of computation of the deduction

Investments in tangible fixed assets that give rise to the investment deduction shall be deemed to have been made in the tax period in which they come into operation.

See section 3 of article 218 of Royal Decree 2631/1982 on the possibility of choosing a calculation criterion in the years in which payments are made in cases where the payment period for the investment is longer than 2 years or if the period elapsed between the firm order of the goods and their receipt is longer than 2 years.

d. Deduction base

The basis for the deduction shall include the entire agreed consideration, excluding interest, indirect state taxes and their surcharges, which shall not be included in it, regardless of their consideration for the purposes of the valuation of the assets.

Furthermore, it cannot be higher than the price that would have been agreed under normal market conditions between independent subjects in the operations carried out in the cases contemplated in article 26.Nine.Second of Law 61/1978.

e. Maintaining investment

In order to enjoy the deduction for investments, it will be a requirement that the elements remain in operation in the company of the same taxpayer for at least five years or during their useful life, if less, without being transferred, leased or assigned to third parties for their use.

f. Justification

The taxpayer must keep available to the Tax Authority a certificate issued by the transferor stating that the item being transferred has not previously benefited from the deduction for investments or the Investment Pension Fund regime.

g. Deductions not applied due to insufficient quota

As a result of the Canary Islands continuing to apply the deduction for investments in tangible fixed assets, it must be taken into account that, as with the rest of the types of deductions for investment, the amounts not deducted for this concept (including the balances of the deductions pending application as of January 1, 2015) may be applied, respecting the limits that apply to them, in the liquidations of the tax periods that end in the immediate and successive 15 years.

The calculation of the period for the application of the aforementioned deduction may be deferred until the first fiscal year in which, within the limitation period, positive results are produced in the cases provided for in article 26.Sixth of Law 61/1978.

h. Limit

The taxpayer may deduct the amount of the deduction for investments in new fixed assets in the Canary Islands that comes from both previous tax periods that are pending application and from the tax period itself, with a single limit of 70 percent.

This limit is determined by applying the provisions of Section Seven.First of Article 26 of Law 61/1978, which sets a joint limit of 35%, plus the minimum differential of 35 percentage points established by Article 94 of Law 20/1991.

The limit on the deduction for investments in new fixed assets in the Canary Islands is applied, in accordance with the Resolution of the TEAC of April 9, 2015, Claim number 00/05445/2014, filed in an extraordinary appeal for unification of criteria, on the entire tax rate and not only on the part of it that corresponds to income from economic activities carried out in the Canary Islands.

Note: In the case of the islands of La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro, the percentage rises from 70% to 80%.