Self-employed individuals with different activities must calculate objective estimation limits separately

Access to the objective estimation method in Personal Income Tax (IRPF) is subject to meeting certain economic magnitude limits. A recent resolution from the Dirección General de Tributos (DGT) clarifies how these limits must be calculated when a taxpayer carries out more than one economic activity.

What the DGT has ruled

The query concerned whether the exclusionary limits of the objective estimation method should be calculated jointly for all activities or if they should be applied exclusively to each one independently. The binding body has determined that the calculation of magnitudes is carried out per individual economic activity.

The only exception to this rule of individuality occurs when data from spouses, ascendants, or descendants are included and two simultaneous requirements are met:

• The activities must be identical or similar (belonging to the same IAE group).
• There must be a common address with shared resources.

In the case analyzed, as the activities were located in different IAE groups, the DGT establishes that magnitudes apply individually to each activity, preventing the grouping of data for the calculation of limits.

What this means for you

If you are a self-employed professional carrying out various economic activities, you must keep in mind that you will not always be able to sum the results of your businesses to try to fit within the parameters of objective estimation. If your activities belong to different groups of the Economic Activities Tax (IAE), each one must meet its own limits independently.

This criterion limits the possibility of using the grouping of activities to access a more simplified taxation regime if they do not maintain a relationship of technical or group similarity according to current regulations.

What you should do

It is necessary to verify the classification of each of your activities in the IAE to determine whether the calculation of the objective estimation limits must be carried out separately or jointly. Since failure to meet these limits entails the obligation to tax via the direct estimation method, it is advisable to evaluate the structure of your economic activities and your family composition to ensure compliance with the regulations of Order HAC/1425/2025.