Can additional expenses related to homeworking be deducted alongside the home office allowance?

In addition to the home office allowance, you can deduct work-related work equipment as business expenses for tax purposes. You can deduct the following work equipment (examples), among others:

• Computer
• Laptop
• Smartphone
• Headset
• Printer, copier, fax machine
• 20 per cent of telephone and internet costs (max. 20 Euro p.m.)
• Office supplies (e.g. pens, paper, files, etc.)
• Office furniture (e.g. desk, office chair, filing cabinet)
• Professional literature (trade magazine, trade magazines, professional journal, professional journals)

(2022): Can additional expenses related to homeworking be deducted alongside the home office allowance?

Which costs are covered by the home office allowance?

All employees who were required to work from home 2022 may deduct the flat rate of 5 Euro per day from their taxes. The maximum allowance is 600 Euro, which can be claimed for up to 120 days. Any employee who had to work from home but does not have a dedicated home office can claim the allowance.

For simplicity, employees who meet the requirements for a home office can also opt to deduct the home office flat rate instead of the actual expenses.

The home office allowance is primarily intended for employees who do not have a dedicated home office in their home but still incur additional costs due to (corona-related) home working. The allowance is intended to cover all additional costs for using one's own premises (rent, electricity, heating costs, etc.).

No written proof, e.g. from the employer, is required. However, it may be advisable to have the home office days confirmed in writing by the employer.

If you incur further expenses due to working from home, you can claim these as work-related expenses under "work equipment".

The flat rate for using the workplace at home is only granted for calendar days on which the work activity is carried out exclusively at home and no other place of work is visited.

(2022): Which costs are covered by the home office allowance?

Can I claim a deduction for my home office?

Expenses for a home office can be deducted as income-related expenses or business expenses if

• no other workplace is available for the professional or business activity, up to 1.250 Euro.
• the home office is the centre of all professional and business activities, with no limit on the amount.

You can claim a home office for tax purposes if "no other workplace" is available for your business or professional activity. In this case, home office costs can be deducted as income-related expenses or business expenses up to a maximum amount of 1.250 Euro. The maximum amount of 1.250 Euro is an annual amount.

The maximum amount is not reduced if the home office is only used for part of the year or if "no other workplace" is available for only a few months. Only a workplace that is suitable for office work and is set up accordingly is considered as "another workplace".

The decisive factor for assessing the "home office as the centre" is that the qualitative focus of the overall activity is in the home office. This is the case if the essential and defining activities for the profession are carried out there. The "centre" is therefore determined by the substantive focus of the professional activity.

This assessment is not primarily based on the duration of use. The time (quantitative) usage is at most an indication: extensive use suggests the centre, while minimal use suggests otherwise. However, the home office can still be the centre even if the time spent there is less than 50% of the total professional and business activity and the external activities predominate in terms of time.

It is important that the work in the home office is so significant for the profession that it defines it. Is "no other workplace" available if employees decided to work from home during the corona crisis for health protection reasons and did not visit their workplace?

Currently, the Federal Government answers this question as follows:

The tax deductibility of expenses for a home office also applies if the taxpayer decided to work from home due to the corona crisis or did not visit their workplace for health protection reasons. Another workplace is only available to the taxpayer if they can actually use it to the required extent and in the required manner.

If the taxpayer cannot actually use their business or professional workplace, e.g. for health protection reasons, no other workplace is available for their business or professional activity. The deduction requirements are to be checked by the relevant state tax authorities in each individual case as part of the tax assessment (BT-Drucksache 19/19321 of 19.5.2020, page 3).

(2022): Can I claim a deduction for my home office?

Home office: What can I deduct?

Whether it's rent, utility costs or cleaning expenses - the costs incurred for a home office can be claimed as income-related expenses or business expenses in your tax return, provided the home office is recognised for tax purposes. The costs for work equipment, such as computers or desks, do not matter in this context, as employees can additionally enter work equipment as income-related expenses and self-employed individuals as business expenses in the tax return.

For apprentices and first-time students, the following also applies: deduct work equipment as special expenses. During further training or a second degree, the costs for work equipment can be deducted as income-related expenses.

Those in training can claim the costs for their home office as special expenses; during further training and a second degree, as income-related expenses. Depending on the size of the home office, you can include the relevant share of your rent and utility costs in your training or further training costs.

For a home office of 25 square metres in a 100 square metre flat, you can declare a quarter of the rent and utility costs in the tax return.

(2022): Home office: What can I deduct?

Who can claim a home office?

You can claim a home office for tax purposes and deduct the relevant costs as business expenses:

• unlimited, if the office is the centre of all business and professional activities.
• up to 1.250 Euro, if no other workplace is available for the business or professional activity.

In addition, expenses for professionally used rooms at home can also be deducted for tax purposes without limit in the following cases:

• if it is not a home "office", e.g. a storage room, exhibition room, sales room, recording studio for a composer, studio for a painter, lawyer's office, practice rooms for a speech therapist.
• if it is not a "home" office. This is the case if the room is not integrated into the domestic sphere and does not form a structural unit with the residential part, e.g. renting an office in another building, additionally rented room in a multi-family house on a different floor from the private flat.
• if the office is open for intensive and permanent public access. In this case, the office is not considered a home office.
• if the room is considered a business premises for the self-employed. This may apply if the office is in close proximity to other business premises, e.g. next to the baker's flat are the bakery, sales room, staff room, and the office where bookkeeping is done.

(2022): Who can claim a home office?

When is no other workplace available?

If no other workplace is available for your business or professional activity, you can claim a home office for tax purposes and deduct home office costs up to 1.250 Euro as business expenses.

An "other workplace" is only considered as such if it is:

• Suitable for office work and accordingly equipped, and
• Available for you to use in the specifically required scope and manner.

(1) If you have only one professional activity, it must be checked whether an - existing - other workplace is actually available for all areas of this employment. You are also dependent on the home office if you have to perform a significant part of your work there. It is required for an "other workplace" that you can access a workplace for the necessary office work at any time.

This applies for example to teachers: They do have a workplace, namely the school or classroom, but this workplace is not suitable for office work. Therefore, teachers do not have an "other workplace" for this reason alone. In addition, the workplace cannot be used for a specific part of their job - namely lesson preparation and follow-up. Therefore, teachers can easily claim a home office up to 1.250 Euro.

(2) If you have multiple professional or business activities, it must be checked separately for each of these activities whether another workplace is available for the respective activity. If you cannot use the other workplace for just one activity, you may deduct a home office up to 1.250 Euro as business expenses according to the proportion of use for this activity.

The Hessian Finance Court has ruled that an employee also has a workplace at their employer's premises if it is only a so-called pool workplace, meaning the employee does not have their own desk but is assigned a different one each morning. This is also known as "desk sharing" (judgment of 30.7.2020, 3 K 1220/19). The situation is different if an employee cannot use their other workplace in the specifically required scope and manner. Indications can arise from both the nature of the workplace itself (size, location, equipment, etc.) and the conditions of use (employment terms, availability of the workplace or access to the building, etc.). Example: Only three workplaces are available for eight employees (BFH judgment of 26.2.2014, VI R 37/13).

During the corona years, countless employees were sent to home office. Different situations were encountered - some were "forced" to work from home, others were given the choice to work in the employer's office or from home, and others had to coordinate with colleagues as only one person could be in the office at a time. But how should the costs for the home office be considered?

If you work partly at home and partly at the office, the following applies regarding the home office:

• Three days home office: If you work at home three days a week, it depends on whether the work in the office and home office is of equal quality: If so, the home office is the "centre", and the costs are fully deductible. If the work in the office is of higher quality, the home office cannot be the centre. Then a deduction of up to 1.250 Euro is possible, as no other workplace is available on the three home working days (BFH judgment of 23.5.2006, VI R 21/03). During the corona period, most tax offices assume without further checks that the work in the office and home office is of equal quality.
• Two days home office: If you work at home only two days a week, it depends on whether the workplace in the office could also be used during this time: If the use is neither restricted nor prohibited, a deduction is not possible. However, if the use of the workplace in the office is excluded on the home working days (e.g. because it is used by another employee or the employer has prohibited its use), the "other workplace" cannot be used in the specifically required scope and manner. Therefore, costs for the home office up to 1.250 Euro are deductible as business expenses (BFH judgment of 26.2.2014, VI R 40/12).

(2022): When is no other workplace available?

When is the home office the centre of professional activity?

If the home office is the "centre of all business and professional activities", the costs are fully deductible as business expenses. This is the case if you carry out all your professional and business activities exclusively in the home office.

If you work partly in the home office and partly outside, the assessment of the home office as the centre depends on whether the qualitative focus of the overall activity is in the home office. This is the case if the essential and defining activities for the profession are carried out there. The "centre" is therefore determined by the main focus of the professional activity.

The decisive factor is not the duration of use. The time (quantitative) usage is at most an indication: extensive use suggests the centre, while minimal use suggests otherwise.

The home office can also be the centre if the time spent there is less than 50% of the total professional and business activity and the external activities predominate in terms of time. It is important that the work in the home office is so significant for the profession that it defines it. It is not sufficient for the activities in the home office to have merely a supporting function.

Examples:

• For typical sales representatives and field staff, the qualitative focus of the overall activity is usually outside the home office in the business district. The work done in the home office does not define the profession but has a supporting function.
• For a sales manager who is out of the office on average two days a week to supervise 13 field staff and look after some key accounts, the home office is the centre. This is where he performs the essential tasks for his job.
• For university lecturers and judges, the home office is not considered the centre, as they do not perform the essential and defining tasks for their profession at home. For university lecturers, these are the lectures at the university, and for judges, the court hearings.

During the corona years, countless employees were sent to home office. Different situations were encountered. Some were "forced" to work from home, others were given the choice of working in the employer's office or from home, and others had to coordinate with colleagues regarding the use of the workplace, as only one person was allowed in the office at a time. But how should the costs for the home office be taken into account?

If you work partly at home and partly on site, the following applies to the home office:

• Three days home office: If you work at home three days a week, it depends on whether the work in the office and home office is of equal quality: If so, the home office is the "centre", and the costs are fully deductible. If the work in the office is of higher quality, the home office cannot be the centre. Then a deduction of up to 1.250 Euro is possible, as "no other workplace" is available on the three home working days (BFH ruling of 23.5.2006, VI R 21/03). During the corona period, most tax offices assume without further examination that the work in the office and home office is of equal quality.
• Two days home office: If you work at home only two days a week, it depends on whether the workplace in the office could also be used during this time: If the use is neither restricted nor prohibited, a deduction for business expenses is not possible. However, if the use of the workplace in the office is excluded on the home working days (e.g. because it is used by another employee or the employer has prohibited its use), the "other workplace" cannot be used in the specifically required scope and manner. Therefore, costs for the home office of up to 1.250 Euro are deductible as business expenses (BFH ruling of 26.2.2014, VI R 40/12).

(2022): When is the home office the centre of professional activity?

When can teleworkers claim tax relief for their home office?

With teleworking, employees carry out their work either exclusively from home or alternately partly at home and partly at the company.

(1) If you carry out teleworking exclusively from home, the home office is the centre of all professional activities, and the costs are fully deductible as business expenses.

(2) If you work partly at home and partly at the company, the following applies to the home office:

• If you work three days at home, it depends on whether the work at the company and home office is of equal quality: If this is the case, the home office is also the centre, and the costs are fully deductible. However, if the work at the company is of higher quality, the home office cannot be the centre. Then a deduction of up to 1.250 Euro is possible because "no other workplace is available" on the three home working days (BFH ruling of 23.5.2006, VI R 21/03).
• If you work only two days at home, it depends on whether the workplace at the company could also be used during this time: If the use is neither restricted nor prohibited, a deduction for business expenses is not possible. However, if the use of the workplace at the company is excluded on the home working days (e.g., because it is used by another employee), the "other workplace" cannot be used in the specifically required scope and manner. Therefore, costs for the home office up to 1.250 Euro are deductible as business expenses (BFH ruling of 26.2.2014, VI R 40/12).

During the corona years, countless employees were sent to the home office. Different situations were encountered - and still are. Some were "forced" to work from home, others were given the choice of working in the employer's office or from home, while others had to coordinate with colleagues regarding the use of the workplace, as only one person was allowed in the office at a time. But how should the costs for the home office be considered?

If you work partly at home and partly at the company, the following applies to the home office:

• Three days home office: If you work three days a week at home, it depends on whether the work at the company and home office is of equal quality: If this is the case, the home office is the "centre", and the costs are fully deductible. However, if the work at the company is of higher quality, the home office cannot be the centre. Then a deduction of up to 1.250 Euro is possible because "no other workplace" is available on the three home working days (BFH ruling of 23.5.2006, VI R 21/03). During the corona period, most tax offices assume without further examination that the work at the company and home office is of equal quality.
• Two days home office: If you work only two days a week at home, it depends on whether the workplace at the company could also be used during this time: If the use is neither restricted nor prohibited, a deduction for business expenses is not possible. However, if the use of the workplace at the company is excluded on the home working days (e.g., because it is used by another employee or the employer has prohibited its use), the "other workplace" cannot be used in the specifically required scope and manner. Therefore, costs for the home office up to 1.250 Euro are deductible as business expenses (BFH ruling of 26.2.2014, VI R 40/12).

(2022): When can teleworkers claim tax relief for their home office?

Can the home office be taken into account during parental leave?

Parental allowance makes it possible for one parent - usually the mother - to stay at home for at least a year after the birth of a child to care for the child. This parental leave can be extended to three years without continued salary payment.

During this time, the home office is often used for professional purposes, such as studying specialist literature, reading subscribed professional journals, preparing and following up on training courses attended, creating new work concepts, storing work materials, etc.

(1) Since "no other workplace" is available for such professional activities, the costs of the home office can be deducted as business expenses up to 1.250 Euro. This applies even if no taxable income is earned during parental leave.

(2) Can the home office be the "centre of professional activity" during parental leave? The Federal Fiscal Court bases this on the expected circumstances of the later professional activity (BFH ruling of 30.11.2004, VI R 102/01).

• For a teacher on parental leave, the home office costs are only deductible up to 1.250 Euro because "no other workplace" was available to her previously and this will also be the case later.
• For an employee who worked in the employer's office before parental leave, the home office was not the "centre" and will not be after parental leave. Therefore, the home office costs during parental leave are only deductible up to 1.250 Euro. By the way, the maximum amount of 1.250 Euro also applies if the parental leave did not last the whole year or the home office was not used all year round.

During the corona years, countless employees were sent to home office. Different situations were encountered - and still are. Some were "forced" to work from home, others were given the choice of working in the employer's office or from home, while others had to coordinate with colleagues regarding the use of the workplace, as only one person was allowed in the office at a time. But how should the costs for the home office be considered?

If you carry out your professional activity partly at home and partly at the company, the following applies to the home office:

• Three days home office: If you work at home three days a week, it depends on whether the work in the company and home office is of equal quality: If so, the home office is the "centre", and the costs are fully deductible. If, on the other hand, the work in the company is of higher quality, the home office cannot be the centre. Then a deduction of up to 1.250 Euro is possible, as "no other workplace" is available on the three home working days (BFH ruling of 23.5.2006, VI R 21/03). During the corona period, most tax offices assume without further examination that the work in the company and home office is of equal quality.
• Two days home office: If you work at home only two days a week, it depends on whether the workplace in the company could also be used during this time: If the use is neither restricted nor prohibited, a deduction for business expenses is not possible. However, if the use of the workplace in the company is excluded on the home working days (e.g. because it is used by another employee or the employer has prohibited its use), the "other workplace" cannot be used in the specifically required scope and manner. Therefore, costs for the home office up to 1.250 Euro are deductible as business expenses (BFH ruling of 26.2.2014, VI R 40/12).

(2022): Can the home office be taken into account during parental leave?