Through Corona, the issue of "working from home" has reached a new dimension. One or the other employee wonders whether in the future work will be done entirely in the home office.
In principle, the following applies: If no other workplace is available or if the home office forms the center of professional activity, the costs can be deducted from taxes.
But what does it mean exactly?
- If the home office forms the center of all business and professional activities, the costs can be deducted without limit. According to case law, the issue is not only the purely temporal extent of the use of the study, but the question of the "qualitative focus" of the activity. So the question of where the essential, job-typical work is done.
- No other workstation is available: There is a limited expense deduction (up to 1.250 per year) is possible if the home office, although not the center of work, is indispensable for the office work that needs to be done. As with teachers or freelancers, for example, where the focus of their work is z. B. have at school or with customers.
The case law expresses itself in a relatively complicated way on the subject: The study must be integrated into the domestic sphere of the taxpayer. As a rule, this means a separate room in your private apartment or apartment building. In addition, it is supposed to be used for office work such as z. B. intellectual, written, administrative-organizational work is done. Not intended to be open to the public and to employ other persons there.
Segregated space
The study must be z.B. Be separated by a door from private spaces such as the living room or bedroom. One through z.B. a shelf separated "work corner" in a room is against it no work room. It should also not be a room that is otherwise used as a guest room and in which there is a bed. If the room is also used for private purposes, the total expenses are not deductible. When it comes to furnishings, you should limit yourself only to furniture and objects that are necessary for the intended work. Generally, expenses are recognized if the home office is used as such 90 percent or more of the time.
Which costs can I claim for tax purposes?
In principle, the following costs can be claimed for the study:
- Rent or. Building-AfA,
- Loan interest for the acquisition, construction or repair of the building or condominium,
- Electricity and heating,
- Repairs,
- Insurance premiums (z. B. Building insurance, legal protection),
- Garbage collection,
- Heating maintenance,
- Property tax,
- Renovation costs etc.
For example, Emma lives in a 60-square-meter, three-room apartment in Cologne, Germany. The monthly warm rent including all utilities is 800 euros, electricity 70 euros. The study, the center of their activity, is 10 square meters in size. Emma is thus able to make a pro rata amount of 1 per year.Set 740 euros as advertising expenses (145 euros times 12).
If costs are incurred exclusively for the study, for example during a renovation, they can be deducted in full as income-related expenses.
Can costs for furniture be deducted?
Even the furnishings that are used exclusively for business z. B. Desk, chair, shelf, computer, are deductible as business expenses. However, they do not count as part of the workroom, but independently as work equipment. You can read more about this in the article Smartphone and Co.: Work equipment tax deduction
What is a home office fee?
If you do not have your own study in your apartment or house, you can claim the home office allowance of up to 600 euros for the years 2020 to 2022 inclusive when working at home. Read more in the article Home office flat rate.