Deductible maintenance expenses retroactively for a home office used in one's own property.
May 25, 2018 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Bernd Thomas
Since April 2017, my husband has been working from home (1st place of work in the employment contract). Now we would like to deduct the home office for the first time in the tax return for 2017. We purchased our own home in 2013 and have not previously deducted any maintenance costs (no rental, no home office). Renovation costs have been claimed as craftsmen's services.
In our tax software program, we are asked to enter our property (purchase date 30.01.2013, completion 1980, total living space) and the percentage of the home office, and are now asked to assess whether there were any maintenance costs - the form shows up to 2008, so 10 years back.
Does this mean that we can now claim the maintenance costs from 2013? If so, how do we treat the craftsman's invoices that we have already claimed? Should the cost be entered net or gross?
Dear inquirer,
I am happy to answer your inquiry based on the information provided in the context of an initial consultation on frag-einen.com. The response is based on the factual information you provided. Missing or incorrect information can affect the legal outcome.
In this case, you cannot claim maintenance expenses retroactively.
If you claim maintenance expenses, you can either claim the portion directly attributable (e.g. a painter painting the home office) or, if it relates to the entire house, the maintenance expenses divided proportionally by area.
For the services provided by the craftsman, you can then claim the portion that qualifies as household-related craftsman services from the remaining balance.
Since you are claiming a home office as an employee, I assume that no input tax can be deducted. Therefore, these expenses should be reported gross.
Best regards,
Bernd Thomas
Tax consultant
Dipl.-Kaufmann (FH) Bernd Thomas, Tax Consultant, Neustadtswall 85, 28199 Bremen, member of the Hanseatic Chamber of Tax Consultants Bremen, registration number 111705, professional liability insurance with R+V Allgemeine Versicherung AG, Mittlerer Pfad 24, 70499 Stuttgart, insurance sum: 250,000 euros for each individual claim; annual maximum benefit: 1,000,000 euros (for all damages in an insurance year)
