The Tax Authority confirms that a dentist who registers as self-employed in the same clinic where he worked for his father can apply for a 20% reduction for starting an activity, provided that the income comes from his own clients.
A dentist who registers as self-employed in the same clinic where he previously worked as his father's employee can apply for a 20% reduction for starting an activity in the IRPF. This has been clarified by the Tax Authority in a binding consultation that, although it analyses a specific case, establishes a useful criterion for thousands of self-employed individuals continuing the family business.
The Two Requirements That the Tax Authority Demands for the 20% Reduction
The reduction for starting an activity in the IRPF allows for a 20% decrease in positive net income during the first year in which profits are made and in the following year, with a limit of 100,000 euros per year. However, to access it, the self-employed individual must meet two very clear conditions.
The first is that the taxpayer must not have carried out any economic activity in the year prior to starting. That is, if in 2024 you were self-employed in any other activity, you could not apply for the reduction in 2025, even if the business is different. The Tax Authority reserves this benefit for those who are truly starting from scratch.
The second condition aims to prevent the reduction from being used to disguise an employment relationship. If more than 50% of the self-employed individual's income in the first year comes from the person or company for which they worked as an employee the previous year, there is no right to the incentive. The key is the source of the income, not who owns the premises or the family relationship.
What matters is not who owns the premises, but where the income of the new self-employed individual comes from.
The Case of the Dentist: Same Premises, Same Family, but Applicable Tax Incentive
The binding consultation V0761-26, dated April 6, 2026, analyses the situation of a dentist who registered as self-employed on January 1, 2025. Between 2022 and 2024, he worked as an employee in his father's clinic. When starting his own activity, he continued in the same facilities but only attended to his own patients and billed them directly.
The Tax Authority concludes that the 20% reduction can indeed be applied because both requirements are met. During the previous year (2024), he did not carry out any economic activity; he only worked as an employee. And although he shares the premises where he was previously employed, the income does not come from the clinic or his father, but from his own patients. There is no economic dependency on the former employer.
The resolution makes it clear that neither the family bond nor the fact of working in the same establishment constitutes an obstacle in itself. What matters is who pays for the services of the self-employed individual.
Which Other Self-Employed Individuals Can Benefit from This Clarification
Although the consultation refers to a dentist, the criterion is valid for any professional who inherits or continues the family business. A son who takes over his father's hardware store, a daughter who sets up her own hair salon in her mother's premises, or a mechanic who opens a workshop after having been employed in a relative's business could benefit from the reduction, provided they meet the two requirements: not having been self-employed the previous year and that more than half of their income comes from their own clients.
The most common mistake is to assume that because it is a family member's premises, one cannot request the incentive. Many self-employed individuals refrain from applying the reduction out of fear or ignorance, losing potential savings of up to 20,000 euros per year (20% on the first 100,000 euros of net income).
To prove that the income does not come from the former employer, it is advisable to keep a separate record of one's own clients and the invoices issued in their name. The Tax Authority can verify the source of the income, so it is not enough to just state it: documentation must be provided to support it.
The reduction is applied in the IRPF declaration (model 100) for the year in which the net income is positive and in the following year. There is no separate application deadline; it is included when filing the tax return. The key requirements are: not having carried out any economic activity in the year prior to starting, and that less than 50% of the income for the period comes from the person or company for which they worked the previous year. The maximum savings in tax can range between 3,800 and 4,500 euros depending on the marginal rate.
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