Deduct home office expenses from taxes

Due to the transition from the office to the home office, many employees had to set up a workplace at home. The infrastructure costs for providing the home office can be deducted in the tax declaration if certain conditions are met. Learn all about home office tax deductions.

Home office tax deductions

In addition to the mask mandate and the prohibition of large events, the recommendation for home office also belongs to one of the numerous measures to combat the coronavirus. Instead of working in the office, many people now work from home. This also affects the costs associated with professional activity. Although the commute is now eliminated, workspaces had to be created instead. In addition, canteen meals have been replaced by home-cooked meals. What do these changes mean for the tax declaration?

Claiming a portion of the rent

Under certain conditions, the rental costs for a room used as a home office can be deducted from taxes. However, several conditions must be met. Deductions can only be claimed if a significant part of the work is done from home. A significant portion is considered to be at least 40 percent of a full-time schedule. Those who work full-time and do so from home at least two days a week thus meet the first condition for claiming the rental costs for a workspace in their tax declaration. However, this only applies if the employer does not provide usable workspaces. By the way: Meal expenses in the home office are not deductible.  

Exclusive use as a study

In order for the rental costs to be proportionally claimed, the room used must serve exclusively as a study. Those who work in the living room or bedroom, for instance, are not entitled to the deduction. The criterion of exclusive office use is strict. Even the presence of a sofa bed in the same room means the deductibility is no longer given. Moreover, it is necessary that the arising infrastructure costs are not reimbursed by the employer. How exactly the deductible costs are calculated varies from canton to canton. Those affected should therefore best inform themselves at the cantonal tax office about the applicable regulations.

No flat-rate professional expenses allowed

There's a catch. Those who decide to deduct home office costs from their taxes cannot also claim a flat-rate for professional expenses. Travel costs, such as the SBB subscription or gasoline, as well as additional costs for external meals, cannot be additionally deducted. Those affected must therefore decide in terms of home office tax deductions: either they can claim the proportionate rental costs or flat-rate professional expenses.

Source: https://www.20min.ch/story/kann-ich-homeoffice-kosten-von-den-steuern-abziehen-791407783471

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