Deductibility of the home office
November 21, 2009 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Matthias Wander
Good day dear Sir or Madam,
I have prepared the tax return for my girlfriend for the year 2008. I have also deducted the home office expenses (rent + utilities) as it is located on the mezzanine level and my girlfriend uses it exclusively for business purposes. However, I mistakenly claimed the expenses for the entire year, even though we only lived in the apartment for 5 months in 2008.
The tax office has now requested documents regarding the home office. What is the best course of action for me now, as the tax office can see from the documents that I could have claimed less? I have not yet sent the requested documents to the tax office. Should I simply admit my mistake and create a new calculation based on the detailed information? I hope that my girlfriend does not get into trouble for attempted fraud or something similar.
Thank you in advance for answering my inquiry.
Sincerely,
Johannes Bergs
Dear Mr. Bergs,
I would like to answer your inquiry based on the information provided in your initial description as follows:
Since 01.01.2007, a home office is only tax-deductible if it represents the center of the entire business or professional activity.
I cannot assess whether this applies to your girlfriend based on the information provided.
However, even if the home office does not represent the center of the business or professional activity, the costs for the home office should still be declared in the tax return, as the Finance Court in Münster and the Federal Finance Court have already expressed concerns about the constitutionality of the new regulation regarding home offices, and now we have to wait for the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court. If the court rules in favor of the taxpayers, the tax assessment can only be changed if the costs for the home office were declared in the tax return beforehand. Costs submitted later cannot be taken into account.
Regarding your question:
As this seems to be a simple mistake, your girlfriend has nothing to worry about. Submit the requested documents and explain that upon reviewing the documents, you noticed that there was an error in the cost calculation. Also submit the correct calculation.
I hope this answers your question.
Sincerely,
Wander
Tax consultant
