SteuerGo FAQs

(2023) Who can deduct the home office allowance from their taxes?

Employees and self-employed individuals can claim the home office allowance. Home office costs can be claimed as a daily allowance of 6 Euro per working day, with an annual maximum of 1.260 Euro. The daily allowance covers all costs incurred due to your professional activity at home. However, please note that it does not include expenses for work equipment, which can be deducted separately.

A separate office is not required. A simple workspace in your home, such as a desk in a corner or at the kitchen table, is sufficient.

There are two main scenarios to consider:

Scenario 1: Occasional work from home alongside work at the company (Classic home office case)

In this case, you can claim the daily allowance of 6 Euro per working day, up to 1.260 Euro per year, for each day you work mainly from home and do not visit another primary workplace. It does not matter if another workplace is available to you.

However, it is important to note that you cannot claim the travel allowance in addition to the home office allowance if you work both at home and in the office on the same day and incur travel costs. The exception is if you undertake a business trip on a home office day.

"Mainly" means that more than half of your daily working hours are spent at home.

Example 1: A civil engineer named B travels to a construction site and then completes office work at home. B can deduct travel expenses to the construction site and the daily allowance if most of the working time on that day is spent at home.

Example 2: An insurance broker named V visits a client and advises them at home. V then returns home and continues working at the kitchen table. Although V has another workplace at the employer's office, V cannot deduct the daily allowance because the time spent at home does not predominate.

Scenario 2: No other workplace available permanently (Teacher case)

If no other workplace is permanently available for your professional activity and you work from home (for example, teachers preparing lessons at home), you can also use the daily allowance. In this case, you may also claim travel expenses to the school in addition to this allowance.

Another workplace is essentially any location suitable for office work. The specific working conditions and circumstances are not relevant.

It is important to note that the daily allowance cannot be claimed simultaneously with costs for a home office or the annual allowance for a home office. There are no special record-keeping requirements for claiming the daily allowance.

Finally, it should be noted that the daily allowance can only be deducted if no expenses for a home office are claimed. It depends on the individual circumstances and requirements of your professional activity to determine whether the daily allowance is applicable to you. Records of the days worked from home are also important to justify the deduction.

Example: A teacher named A teaches at school daily from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and prepares lessons at home in the afternoon from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Since A has no other workplace at school for preparation and follow-up, A can deduct the daily allowance for work at home in addition to the travel allowance for journeys to school.