45 ms·

> To date, workers in Germany can only write off work costs at home if they can prove they have one room in their household dedicated solely to work. How does

by d33 6y ago

> To date, workers in Germany can only write off work costs at home if they can prove they have one room in their household dedicated solely to work. How does one prove they don't use the room for anything else? Webcam recording throughout the month? Also, this kind of deduction favors the rich as the poor can't afford having one room just for that.

chadlavi 6y ago
I would guess it's more a matter of room count. If you have a room that isn't a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, or living room, you could claim it. You can't claim your apartment's living room though. It absolutely 100% favors the rich. As do most tax incentives.
CallMeMarc 6y ago
This policy is so outdated, you literally aren't allowed to have more than ~10% personal belongings (like family pictures) in the room. Also you're afaik not allowed to have a bed/couch inside which makes a guest room/home office setup impossible.
logifail 6y ago
> this kind of deduction favors the rich ...and/or favours the educated: if you have to go to the bother of knowing about this allowance _and filing a tax return_ to claim. In Germany many (most?) employees pay their income taxes automagically via payroll deductions and so aren't required to submit an annual return.
lotu 6y ago
More suburban than rich. I seen million dollar NYC apartments that where it doesn't make sense to have separate room for work and the work "room" is more of wide hallway combined with the kid's beds. A more fair options would be to still allow the room option for simplicity but also allow you to deduct things by the square foot so even if your office is just a corner it could count, though that is really mushy and people don't like mushy tax laws.
wallwart 6y ago
In theory one can say they use 25% of their bedroom or living room for work, and hope that the tax man is lenient enough to accept that. But then you also need to submit the floor plan or square footage measurements in order to get something deducted from your rent/utilities. And probably pay someone to do all this for you due to the huge number of caveats. German tax law truly is something else. Completely favors the middle class that can afford to keep one room for 'work'. One wonders if starving artists can get some tax returns for their attic shoebox ateliers.
ryneandal 6y ago
Tax deductions in the US were very similar for at-home work. It's absurd because I'm working in that room for between 6-12 hours during the work week (sometimes on weekends when needed), but also used it for a "den" during nights/weekends when I wanted to watch a movie/play a video game as well. This is incredibly common for home offices.
inv13 6y ago
Can't wait for a lawman to randomly knock on my door and check in on my home office. :)

by d33 6y ago

chadlavi 6y ago

I would guess it's more a matter of room count. If you have a room that isn't a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, or living room, you could claim it. You can't claim your apartment's living room though. It absolutely 100% favors the rich. As do most tax incentives.

CallMeMarc 6y ago

This policy is so outdated, you literally aren't allowed to have more than ~10% personal belongings (like family pictures) in the room. Also you're afaik not allowed to have a bed/couch inside which makes a guest room/home office setup impossible.

logifail 6y ago

> this kind of deduction favors the rich ...and/or favours the educated: if you have to go to the bother of knowing about this allowance _and filing a tax return_ to claim. In Germany many (most?) employees pay their income taxes automagically via payroll deductions and so aren't required to submit an annual return.

lotu 6y ago

More suburban than rich. I seen million dollar NYC apartments that where it doesn't make sense to have separate room for work and the work "room" is more of wide hallway combined with the kid's beds. A more fair options would be to still allow the room option for simplicity but also allow you to deduct things by the square foot so even if your office is just a corner it could count, though that is really mushy and people don't like mushy tax laws.

wallwart 6y ago

In theory one can say they use 25% of their bedroom or living room for work, and hope that the tax man is lenient enough to accept that. But then you also need to submit the floor plan or square footage measurements in order to get something deducted from your rent/utilities. And probably pay someone to do all this for you due to the huge number of caveats. German tax law truly is something else. Completely favors the middle class that can afford to keep one room for 'work'. One wonders if starving artists can get some tax returns for their attic shoebox ateliers.

ryneandal 6y ago

Tax deductions in the US were very similar for at-home work. It's absurd because I'm working in that room for between 6-12 hours during the work week (sometimes on weekends when needed), but also used it for a "den" during nights/weekends when I wanted to watch a movie/play a video game as well. This is incredibly common for home offices.

inv13 6y ago

Can't wait for a lawman to randomly knock on my door and check in on my home office. :)