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I wonder why this aspect seems to be neglected in the whole remote vs. office work discussion: > Yet even now, as office space expands like poison gas into our

I wonder why this aspect seems to be neglected in the whole remote vs. office work discussion: > Yet even now, as office space expands like poison gas into our homes, [...] I am not a big fan of working at an office every day, but I consider effectively giving a part of my home to my employer (so I can work for them) as a significant disadvantage of working from home. Does everyone else just have a spare room which they can use, fully equipped with ergonomic desk and chair, screen etc.? Don't they have partners, house mates, family etc. who would also like to have a say on what happens with that part of the shared house? What if multiple people in a household have gone to working from home? Does each of them have their own office space at home?

teddyh 4y ago
Where I live, I believe you get a tax break for any extra room and/or equipment you buy but use for work-releated purposes only.
- carschno 4y ago
  Not sure what you are implying. Some monetary incentive is of course nice, even though I am not sure why the office I use for my employer should be subsidized by the taxpayer. Anyway, I doubt that compensation would be enough to move to another apartment that does have an extra room which can be used for an office (for each member of the household, if needed).
  - teddyh 4y ago
    > am not sure why the office I use for my employer should be subsidized by the taxpayer. Maybe because when you are working from home, you are not commuting and incurring costs on the road network, public transportation, pollution, etc. > I doubt that compensation would be enough to move to another apartment Probably not. But if you knew this was the case, you might get a bigger apartment next time you do move, in order to save yourself the commute time, if nothing else.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    Although it's mostly small potatoes stuff, there are a number of employment-related expenses that are tax deductible: uniforms, professional dues, subscriptions, etc.
- ghaff 4y ago
  In the US, it was always borderline unless it was really dedicated space--which it isn't for the vast majority of people--and going into an office wasn't an option. My tax guy always counseled me against taking a deduction because he said it was a red flag. Opinions may vary of course. In any case, my understanding is that relatively recent tax law changes make it even less applicable for most people.

teddyh 4y ago

Where I live, I believe you get a tax break for any extra room and/or equipment you buy but use for work-releated purposes only.

carschno 4y ago
Not sure what you are implying. Some monetary incentive is of course nice, even though I am not sure why the office I use for my employer should be subsidized by the taxpayer. Anyway, I doubt that compensation would be enough to move to another apartment that does have an extra room which can be used for an office (for each member of the household, if needed).
- teddyh 4y ago
  > am not sure why the office I use for my employer should be subsidized by the taxpayer. Maybe because when you are working from home, you are not commuting and incurring costs on the road network, public transportation, pollution, etc. > I doubt that compensation would be enough to move to another apartment Probably not. But if you knew this was the case, you might get a bigger apartment next time you do move, in order to save yourself the commute time, if nothing else.
- ghaff 4y ago
  Although it's mostly small potatoes stuff, there are a number of employment-related expenses that are tax deductible: uniforms, professional dues, subscriptions, etc.
ghaff 4y ago
In the US, it was always borderline unless it was really dedicated space--which it isn't for the vast majority of people--and going into an office wasn't an option. My tax guy always counseled me against taking a deduction because he said it was a red flag. Opinions may vary of course. In any case, my understanding is that relatively recent tax law changes make it even less applicable for most people.