Who can deduct the home office allowance from their taxes?

Both employees and self-employed individuals can claim the so-called home office allowance for tax purposes. It amounts to 6 Euro per day on which you predominantly work from home – up to a maximum of 1.260 Euro per year.

The allowance covers all costs incurred due to work activities in your own home – such as electricity, heating, or a portion of the rent. Work-related items such as laptops, printers, or office supplies are not included and can be claimed additionally.

A separate office is not required. A desk in the living room corner or at the kitchen table is sufficient.

Two typical cases: When the allowance is possible

Case 1: Home office on individual days (classic case)

If you work predominantly from home on individual days and do not go to the office or your primary workplace, you can claim the 6 Euro allowance for these days – up to a maximum of 210 days per year (= 1.260 Euro).

Important:

• "Predominantly" means: More than half of the daily working hours are spent working from home.
• The commuting allowance cannot be claimed simultaneously for the same day – unless there is also a business trip.

Example 1:
A civil engineer goes to the construction site in the morning and works at home in the afternoon for several hours. If he spends most of the day at home, he can claim both the travel expenses to the construction site and the home office allowance.

Example 2:
An insurance broker visits clients in the morning and works at home in the afternoon. Since he spent more time working away from home, he cannot claim the allowance.

Case 2: No other workplace available (e.g. teachers)

If you permanently have no other workplace available – for example, teachers who do their lesson preparation exclusively at home – you may claim the home office allowance even if you travel to school daily.

In this case, you can claim both the daily allowance and the commuting allowance for travel to school.

An "other workplace" is any place outside the home where you could perform your work duties – such as an office. The quality of the facilities does not matter; it only matters whether it is fundamentally usable.

Example:
A teacher teaches in the morning at school but does not have a desk for preparation and follow-up. If he works at home in the afternoon, he can claim the daily allowance in addition to the travel allowance.

Further notes on the home office allowance

• Cannot be claimed simultaneously with expenses for a home office.
• No special proof or record-keeping requirements, but a clear documentation of home office days is recommended.
• The individual work situation determines whether and how the allowance can be claimed.