Is a home office deductible for managing the photovoltaic system?
Since 1 January 2022, photovoltaic systems on single-family homes (including roofs of garages and carports as well as other outbuildings) up to 30 kWp have been legally exempt from tax.
But not only systems on single-family homes are favoured:
- Systems installed on buildings not used for residential purposes (e.g. commercial property, garage courtyard) are also exempt from tax. The limit here is also 30 kWp.
- For systems on multi-family homes and mixed-use buildings, the limit is 15 kWp per residential or commercial unit.
- In addition, photovoltaic systems on buildings predominantly used for business purposes are favoured up to 15 kWp per residential/commercial unit.
- A maximum of 100 kWp per taxpayer or partnership is exempt from tax.
The tax exemption applies regardless of the date the photovoltaic system was commissioned for income and withdrawals generated since 1 January 2022.
Expenses may not be deducted as business expenses or advertising costs if they are directly economically related to tax-free income. This is regulated in § 3c para. 1 EStG. This also means that operating expenses directly economically related to the (possibly future) operation of tax-exempt photovoltaic systems are not deductible. This also applies to any costs of a home office in connection with the management of the photovoltaic system.
