Tax return: How to deduct the costs of working from home from your taxes
Created: 05/05/2022, 08:48
By: Andrea Stettner
If you work from home in your home office, you can claim many costs in your tax return.
In some cases even unlimited.
Since the corona pandemic, working from home has been part of everyday life for many.
But if you not only live at home, but also work at home, the costs for electricity, heating or water increase significantly.
The legislator has therefore given employees a
home office flat rate of up to 600 euros
to relieve them of the additional costs.
However, very few employees benefit from the special regulation, since the home office flat rate only has a tax impact on income-related expenses of more than 1,000 euros per year.
If you have your own study, you have a much better chance of getting your additional costs back from the tax authorities.
In order to be able to claim a study as income-
related expenses
, however, certain requirements apply.
If you have an office at home, you can deduct the costs of the home office from your taxes.
© Westend61/Imago
Home office: who can deduct their office from tax – and how much?
If the employer does not provide the employee with a workplace, the home office can be tax deductible – up to a
maximum of 1,250 euros per year.
These include, for example, teachers or field workers.
"So that the tax office actually recognizes the costs for equipment, electricity or rent, the room must be set up like an office and may only be used exclusively or almost
exclusively for operational or professional purposes
," informs the wage tax assistance association VLH.
Incidentally, people with whom you share the office can also state their home office in their tax return, provided they cover the costs.
If you have several offices in different locations, only the costs up to a maximum of 1,250 euros per year can be claimed.
It looks even better if employees
only work from home
and never anywhere else.
These include writers, freelance journalists and artists.
You can deduct the costs incurred for your study from your taxes without limitation.
Office: What costs can I state in the tax return?
In principle, all
expenses that can be allocated to the study in whole or in part can be
deducted from tax.
These include office equipment, rent, renovation or electricity costs.
You can determine the share of your office in the costs using the following formula:
area of the office / total living area of the apartment x 100 = percentage of the office
What? | As |
Study room equipment (e.g. desk, shelf, chair) | in full height |
subsequent construction of the study | in full height |
Renovation of the study | in full height |
rent | proportionally |
Additional costs (electricity, heating, garbage disposal, etc.) | proportionally |
Depreciation (for real estate owners) | proportionally |
Work corner expenses are not deductible
Don't have your own office?
If you only do your home office in a work corner of the apartment, you are not allowed to enter the costs for this in your tax return.
This was decided by the Grand Senate of the Federal Fiscal Court in a judgment in 2016.
The judges justified their decision with the fact that a work corner is also used privately and an objective separation is therefore not possible.
The
only exception here is the home office flat rate
, which can also be claimed without your own office.
By the way, many insurance policies are also tax deductible.
(as)
