Those who work in the home office should not only claim the home office flat rate for tax purposes.
Check out the list of the five most important cost items here.
In the corona pandemic *, many Germans are working from home.
Those affected should also
take this into account
when
filing their tax return
.
The Association of Taxpayers recommends that all information be precisely documented.
These are the costs to keep in mind when considering taxes - they can save you a lot of money:
1. Home office flat rate:
Point number one that you should definitely not forget: the
home office flat rate
. Here's a little relief
when it comes to
working at the kitchen or living room
table
at home:
those affected can
claim
five euros
per
home office day
, up to
a maximum of 600 euros per year
. Tip for the tax return: The home office flat rate is to be entered in Appendix "N" for employees, as the taxpayers' association informs. This also applies if there was no extra study available, but work was carried out at the
kitchen or dining table
. “Who has a
separate study
and had to work there because of the corona pandemic, you can choose between the home office flat rate and proof of the individual costs, "the German Press Agency (dpa) quoted the expert Isabel Klocke from the taxpayers' association.
He can then choose the cheaper option.
Also read:
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2.
Business
expenses:
For working days on which they worked exclusively in the home office, employees can
claim
the
home office flat rate
of five euros per day, up to a maximum of 600 euros per year,
as business expenses
in the tax return. Because the home office flat rate is actually one of the advertising costs (and everyone automatically has a flat rate of 1,000 euros for advertising costs under tax law). Advertising costs include, for example,
training
costs you
have paid yourself
,
expenses for work clothing
or
specialist literature
. Just like, for example,
application costs
.
So all costs that are related to the job.
Therefore, ultimately, only those taxpayers who benefit from the home office flat rate benefit from the already applicable flat rate
advertising costs of 1,000 euros
.
In other words: the maximum of 600 euros is only profitable if the employee has additional income-related expenses.
Because only when all professional expenses together exceed the amount of 1,000 euros per year does this have a tax-reducing effect.
In the case of employees, income-related expenses are entered in Appendix N of the income tax return.
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3. Separate study:
A
separate study
can also be billed
.
For example, if you use a separate room as an office, you can
add up to 1,250 euros
to the expenditure
.
According to dpa, this includes
a
new work table, an office chair, curtains and the rent as well as electricity and ancillary costs
.
The prerequisite, however, is that the space is primarily used for work.
So what is meant is not the converted guest room.
As far as the
home office
is concerned, the case law is dpa
according to clearly.
The Federal Finance Court (BFH) decided in 2016 that expenses for "a room that is integrated into the domestic sphere, a not inconsiderable part of which is also used privately" are
not
taken into account
as operating expenses or advertising expenses
(Ref .: XR 32/11) .
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4. Work equipment: Was the technical equipment in the home office insufficient
and did you have to
buy
a
new laptop
or a
new printer
,
for example
? Those affected who work at home should also think about these costs. The
following applies to
such
work equipment
, as dpa describes: If it cost a little less than 800 euros net, it can be sold directly in the year of purchase. More expensive work equipment would meanwhile have to be written off over several years. For cell phones, for example, a useful life of five years applies.
5.
Travel
expenses:
There is a catch with the home office flat rate: The five euros only apply if you really only worked at home. Anyone who also drives to the company on one day cannot claim the daily flat rate, dpa quotes the Federal Association of Wage Tax Assistance Associations (BVL). In order to be able to prove the costs to the tax office, it is therefore helpful to have a
confirmation from the employer
, according to the BVL. This is especially true in cases where employees have worked
sometimes in the office and sometimes from home
. Basically: Anyone who works from home and drives to the company on the same day can only claim the flat-rate distance allowance for that day. Does an employee also have, for example, a
Annual subscription for the use of public transport
, as dpa writes, he can claim the home office flat rate of five euros as well as the entire costs for the annual subscription as income-related expenses in his tax return for the days on which he worked at home.
(ahu) Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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List of rubric lists: © Uwe Anspach / dpa
