Because of Corona, many employees work in the home office - sometimes at the kitchen table, at the dining table, in a work corner or even on the couch in the living room. The costs of such a type of home work are actually not deductible. A number of conditions must be met for tax deductibility. So that employees who have only worked temporarily or are still working from home because of the Covid 19 pandemic do not go completely empty-handed and at least part of the resulting „ troubles“ replaced, the federal government has decided on the home office flat rate.
Home office flat rate – a maximum of 600 euros will be recognized as income-related expenses
With the home office flat rate, five euros can be deducted from taxes per working day in your own four walls. But only under certain conditions:
- maximum 600 euros per year
- The home office flat rate is included in the Advertising fee (Employee lump sum) included and not additionally / extra considered. So that the flat rate is „worth it“ you must first have income-related expenses that are higher than EUR 400 per year (EUR 401 other income-related expenses + EUR 600 home office flat rate = EUR 1,001 income-related expenses in total, i.e. EUR 1 more than the flat-rate deduction that everyone enjoys).
- the deductibility only arises if you have worked from home for at least 120 days.
You should note the following points if you want to claim the home office flat rate in your tax return:
- Have your employer issue you with a certificate stating the period, or in other words how many days, you worked from home.
- Also record as precisely as possible when you have been working at home.
Status 03/24/2021
