{"id":30699,"date":"2026-08-20T12:43:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T10:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accountable.eu\/help-center\/working-from-home-what-you-can-claim-and-how\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T17:27:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T15:27:14","slug":"working-from-home-what-you-can-claim-and-how","status":"publish","type":"help_center","link":"https:\/\/www.accountable.eu\/en-be\/help-center\/working-from-home-what-you-can-claim-and-how\/","title":{"rendered":"Working from home: what you can claim and how?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article, we explain the tax deductions you can claim when working from home. <\/p>\n

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\u2753 Can I deduct my home office? What about my power and internet bills? And can I claim expenses for work-related purchases on tax? <\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udc49 Keep reading to find out which home office expenses you can deduct from tax.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udcd8 Home office tax deductions in Germany: principles<\/b><\/h2>\n

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First things first: your home office.<\/h3>\n

You can generally deduct the costs of your home office from your taxes, but only if certain requirements are met. <\/p>\n

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\u2757The most important one: <\/p>\n

Your home office must be a separate, enclosed room<\/b> that is used exclusively for work. A desk in the corner of your bedroom, in a hallway, or in a shared space like a basement doesn’t qualify.<\/p>\n

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You can only claim the cost of a home office if no private use takes place in that room – so no bed, wardrobe, or TV.<\/p>\n

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What costs can you deduct?<\/b><\/h3>\n

If the requirements are met, you can deduct a proportional share of your rent and utilities (e.g. electricity, heating, internet).<\/p>\n

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    If you’re the sole tenant<\/b>, you can apply the work-related share directly.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    If the rental contract is shared<\/b> (e.g. with a partner or in a shared flat), the deductible portion must be divided accordingly.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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    Main or secondary workplace?<\/h3>\n

    Secondly, you can only deduct the full amount if your home office is your primary place of work, meaning you carry out the majority of your professional tasks there.<\/p>\n

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    If you mostly work in an office or co-working space and only occasionally from home, you typically cannot deduct the full home office costs.<\/p>\n

    In that case, you’re limited to the Homeoffice-Pauschale (home office flat-rate), but only if you have no alternative workplace for certain tasks.<\/p>\n

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    \ud83d\udcb0 How much can I deduct?<\/b><\/h2>\n

    You can either<\/b> deduct the flat-fee allowance<\/b> or real expenses.<\/b><\/p>\n

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    The flat-fee allowance<\/b> (Homeoffice-Pauschale) is up to 1.260\u20ac. <\/p>\n

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    \ud83d\udca1 This covers electricity, heating, rent & insurance. <\/p>\n

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    \ud83d\udca1 If the professional proportion of your rent + utilities is below 1.260\u20ac per year, we suggest you deduct the Pauschale.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \u26a0\ufe0f What if your home office doesn\u2019t meet the requirements?<\/b><\/h2>\n

    If your workspace doesn\u2019t qualify as a fully deductible home office \u2013 for example, if it\u2019s part of another room or used privately \u2013 you can\u2019t<\/b> deduct rent or utilities.<\/p>\n

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    However, you can still claim the flat-rate allowance<\/b> (Homeoffice-Pauschale) of up to 1.260\u20ac per year, as long as you spend at least 50%<\/b> of your working time at home on each workday. <\/p>\n

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    This means that even if you have client meetings or other appointments outside, you can still claim the flat-rate, as long as you work from home for at least half of your daily hours.<\/p>\n

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    This makes the flat-rate a useful fallback even without a fully compliant home office setup.<\/p>\n

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    \ud83d\udc49 Note:<\/b> <\/p>\n

    Since 2023, the flat-rate is officially called \u201cTagespauschale f\u00fcr das Homeoffice\u201d (daily home office allowance). No changes to the content – just the name.<\/p>\n

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    On top<\/b> of the Pauschale, you can also deduct real expenses<\/b> for the following:<\/p>\n

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      Furniture (desk, chair)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      Electronics (screen, printer)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      Internet (monthly bill)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      Phone (monthly bill)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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      \ud83d\udcdd How to encode the home office allowance?<\/b><\/h2>\n

      The daily home office allowance is 6\u20ac per day<\/b>, up to a maximum of 1.260\u20ac per year<\/b>.
      \u200b<\/p>\n

      To calculate your deduction, count the number of days you worked from home for your self-employment. Only include days<\/b> where you worked more than half of your normal working hours<\/b> at home. <\/p>\n

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      \ud83d\udccc Note:<\/b> <\/p>\n

      For the flat-rate, you can count a maximum of 210 days per year<\/b>, even if you worked more days from home. This corresponds to the maximum deduction of 1.260\u20ac per year<\/b>.<\/p>\n

      Then simply add one expense manually per year, enter the calculated amount, with 0% VAT<\/b> and 100% professional use<\/b>, under the \u201cHome Office Allowance\u201d<\/b> category.<\/p>\n

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      \ud83d\udca1 Since this is a flat-rate allowance, you don\u2019t need to attach any documents.<\/p>\n

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      Mobile-App<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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      Web-Version<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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      <\/div>\n

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      \ud83d\udcbb How to encode real expense?<\/b><\/h2>\n

      \ud83c\udfe0 Rent<\/b><\/h2>\n

      If your home office is your main place of work, you can claim the proportional rental expenses on your tax<\/b>. Make sure you know the exact size of your home office and calculate the rent per m\u00b2.<\/p>\n

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      In the app, enter the expense manually. Record your rent as an expense under the \u201cRent (Home Office as Main Workplace)\u201d<\/b> category, using the professional use percentage based on the size of your home office. <\/p>\n

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      If your home office is not your main workspace<\/b>, use the category \u201cRent (Home Office as Secondary Workplace)\u201d<\/b> instead.<\/p>\n

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      \ud83d\udca1 Attaching a document is optional.<\/p>\n

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      Mobile-App<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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      Web-Version<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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      <\/div>\n

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      <\/div>\n

      \n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

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      \ud83d\udd0c Power, heating, internet etc. \u2013 all tax deductible<\/b><\/h2>\n

      If your home office meets the previously mentioned criteria, you can also deduct the proportional other costs for your apartment. <\/p>\n

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      This includes your power and internet bill as well as any additional services included in your Nebenkostenabrechnung (utilities and service charge statement).<\/b><\/p>\n

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      \u2757Again though, you can\u2019t<\/b> claim the whole cost, only the proportional amount broken down for the size of your home office. <\/b><\/p>\n

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      \ud83d\udc49 Also keep in mind that you – hopefully – don\u2019t work 24\/7, but usually 5 days of the week for specific times. So you are only allowed<\/b> to claim the expenses for used power etc. within this time period.<\/b><\/p>\n

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      \ud83d\udee1\ufe0f Your home insurance <\/b><\/h2>\n

      You can generally claim the costs for work-related insurances on your tax. <\/p>\n

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      This includes the cost for your home insurance<\/b>, given that you mainly work from home and meet all of the above-mentioned criteria<\/b> for deducting your home office.<\/p>\n

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      \ud83d\udc49 If that\u2019s the case, you can claim the proportional cost of the home insurance<\/b> for your home office.<\/p>\n

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      \ud83d\udcce Expenses for your home office<\/b><\/h2>\n

      To be able to properly work from home, you will probably need some office supplies like folders, pens, staplers, or notebooks. All of these expenses are 100% tax deductible. <\/b><\/p>\n

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      You can even claim costs for toilet paper, as it is a relevant business-related expense when working from home! \ud83e\uddfb<\/p>\n

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      If these costs exceed 800\u20ac, however, you might not be able to claim everything at once but rather have to treat it as an amortisation and claim the costs over time. <\/p>\n

      More about amortisation in our article <\/p>\n

      \ud83d\udcc2 How to manage assets and amortisation?<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

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      Make sure you keep all incoming invoices for business expenses if you plan on including them in your income tax declaration! More about incoming invoices in our article: <\/p>\n

      \ud83d\udcc2 What should be included on all incoming invoices?<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

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      \ud83e\ude91 Office furniture<\/b><\/h2>\n

      Last but not least, you also need some proper office furniture to work from home. <\/p>\n

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      Therefore, you can claim the full expenses for desks, office chairs, monitors, etc. on tax<\/b>, given the accumulated costs are not higher than 952\u20ac, including VAT<\/a><\/b>. <\/p>\n

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      If your expenses were higher, you have to divide the costs according to their approximate lifecycle and amortise them over time, as declared by the German ministry of finance<\/a><\/b>.<\/p>\n

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      By the way, you can also deduct items you use privately if they\u2019re used for business purposes at least 10% of the time<\/b>. For example, you can claim the work portion of the costs for your phone or laptop based on how much you use them for work.<\/p>\n

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      Don\u2019t hesitate to contact us whenever you have a question <\/p>\n

      at tax-coach@accountable.eu<\/a> – we\u2019re here to help and guide you further. \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n

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      \ud83d\udcb0 Want to know what you can claim on your tax return? In our webinar Pay Less Tax<\/b>, we take an in-depth look at business expenses, with practical tips and a live Q&A session. Register here<\/a>!<\/p>\n

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