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When can I deduct communication costs?

You can deduct your telephone and internet costs from tax if they were work-related. Deductible communication costs as business expenses include the work-related portion of the basic fee for your telephone line and the call charges or flat rate for a landline or mobile phone, as well as the fees for sending work-related faxes and the costs of work-related internet use.

If you have a second telephone line in your home office that you use exclusively for work (at least 90% work-related use), you can claim these costs in full. However, this does not apply to the use of a work-related second number on the same ISDN telephone line.

You must separately declare your work-related cost share. If you cannot claim your work-related costs as a lump sum, it is also possible to provide individual proof of calls, faxes, and internet use. A record of the work-related portion for a period of three consecutive months is sufficient for this purpose.

(2023): When can I deduct communication costs?

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Which communication costs can I deduct?

As communication costs, you can deduct the business portion of the basic fee for your telephone line and the call charges or flat rate fee for a landline or mobile phone, as well as the fees for sending business faxes and the costs of business internet use.

You can also include the rental costs or purchase price for telephone systems and other telecommunications equipment used for business purposes in your tax return. Additionally, you can deduct:

• proportional connection costs
• provision fees
• work-related repair costs

(2023): Which communication costs can I deduct?