📌 In short: you bought a laptop, camera, bike or car before you officially started your business, and now want to deduct it? If you bought it in the same calendar year as your start, you bring it in at its purchase price. If you bought it in an earlier year, you bring it in at its market value on your start date, meaning what it's worth on the second-hand market, and amortize that value. This article shows you exactly how.
🧭 The general rule: the calendar year of your start
Costs you incur for your business before officially starting are deductible, as long as you incurred them in the same calendar year as your business start. A laptop bought in March 2026 for a business starting in June 2026 can therefore be brought in at its purchase value, as if your business had bought it.
If you bought the asset in an earlier calendar year (for example, a laptop bought in 2025 for a business started in 2026), you can no longer deduct it at its purchase price. You can, however, bring it into your business at its value at the moment you start using it professionally. 👇
💡 The market value principle
If you genuinely start using the asset for your business from your start date, you bring it in at its market value on that date: the price at which an equivalent item, in the same condition, sells on the second-hand market. You then amortize that value over the asset's remaining useful life.
Think of it like this : the asset has already lived part of its life in your private hands. What goes into your business is what it's worth today, not what it cost back then.
💡 Three things change, one stays the same: you adjust the amount (market value), the amortization period (remaining useful life) and the expense date (your start date). You keep the original invoice on file as proof of purchase.
📋 How to determine the market value
Three simple steps:
Look up a few second-hand listings for an item equivalent to yours (same model or same specs, similar age and condition), as close as possible to your start date. For a car, you can also use a used-car valuation tool.
Pick a cautious value based on those listings: prefer prices from completed sales; otherwise, take the lower end of the range or apply a discount, since asking prices are a ceiling. This value shouldn't exceed your original purchase price. That's your market value, the amount you bring in.
Estimate the remaining useful life: the number of months you expect to keep using the asset for your business. That's your amortization period.
💡 Example: a laptop bought for 1,500 € on 7 July 2025. Your business starts 16 July 2026. Listings for the same model, in similar condition, are around €850 on that date. You therefore bring the laptop in at 850 €, amortized over its remaining useful life, for example 24 months if you expect to use it for two more years.
📸 Keep a dated record of your research. Take screenshots of the listings with the date and link visible. That's what backs up your market value if the tax authorities check. |
⚙️ How to enter it in Accountable
Go to Expenses and open (or add) the asset.
Choose the right category for the asset (e.g. technology for a laptop, vehicle for a car), so it is booked as an investment and amortized correctly.
Set the amount to the market value (in the example, €850).
Set the expense date to your business start date, not the original purchase date.
Set the amortization period to the remaining useful life (in the example, 24 months).
Set your professional-use percentage if you also use the asset privately.
Attach the original invoice and your listing screenshots as supporting documents.
Click Save to clear the "to review" badge so it counts toward your deductible costs.
⚠️ Keep your original invoice. It proves the asset is yours and when you bought it. Only the amount, period and expense date are adjusted to reflect the asset's market value on your start date. |
🚗 VAT, amortization and cars
If you bought the asset privately (before being VAT-registered), there is no VAT to recover: enter the market value with a 0% VAT rate, so nothing flows into your VAT return.
In Accountable, amortization starts on your business start date: the first annual amount is calculated from that date, and the remaining part moves to the last year. The total amount you deduct stays the same. For vehicles, the usual professional-use percentage and CO₂ deduction cap apply on top.
⚠️ Bringing in an asset bought in an earlier year is a case-by-case judgment call. It depends on whether you can genuinely show the asset was put into professional use from your start date, and the tax authorities look at that "intention to use professionally".
🚨 Before entering a big-ticket asset (like a car), check with a tax coach. Getting the value or period wrong can misstate your deduction. |
✨ Recap :
For an asset bought in the same calendar year as your start: enter it at its purchase price.
For an asset bought in an earlier year: you can follow the table below.
Field | What to enter |
Category : | The right investment category for the asset (e.g. technology, vehicle) |
Amount : | Market value of the asset on your start date (not the original price) |
VAT : | 0% if you bought the asset privately |
Expense date : | Your business start date |
Amortization period : | Remaining useful life |
Professional use : | Your actual professional-use percentage |
Evidence : | The original invoice and dated screenshots of equivalent second-hand listings |
Questions about bringing in an asset you bought before starting? We are happy to help in the chat or by email at support@accountable.eu 💜