Home office for promotion + teaching duties
September 5, 2011 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Yanqiong Bolik
I am a lawyer and work as an employee three days a week. I also spend three days a week working on my PhD. The PhD is for my professional advancement, for example, to take on leadership roles.
Three times a year, I work as a lecturer at the Administrative Academy for Law for three or two days on a self-employed basis.
Question:
Can I deduct my home office for tax purposes due to my PhD/lecturing activities? Do I need an enrollment certificate as proof of my PhD, or is a letter from my supervisor sufficient?
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry, which I am happy to answer taking into consideration your contribution and the rules of this platform.
Please note that my explanation is based on the information provided, and that adding, omitting, or changing details can alter the tax result.
Based on your information, I assume that your promotion is further education (e.g. studies after completing a university degree) and is sufficiently related to future income generation. Therefore, the expenses for your promotion could be considered either as business expenses for your employed activity or as operating expenses for your self-employed teaching activity.
According to § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6b in conjunction with § 9 Abs. 5 of the Income Tax Act (EStG), expenses for a home office are generally not deductible as business expenses. However, the deduction of expenses for a home office is still allowed if the home office is the center of the entire business and professional activity. This is the case when the taxpayer does not have another workplace available for their business or professional activity. In this case, the expenses up to the amount of €1,250 per year are deductible as business expenses. The amount of €1,250 is a maximum amount per object, which should be allocated to different activities.
1. Consideration of a home office as business expenses for employed activity:
For your employed activity as an employee, I assume that you have a workplace provided by your employer. In this case, the center of your professional activity would be there.
2. Consideration of a home office as operating expenses for self-employed teaching activity:
In the case of teaching activities, the center of the business activity is usually not considered to be in the home office if the "characteristics of the profession" are not mainly provided in the home office. If the main pre- and post-processing of the teaching is done in the home office, the expenses for the home office are only partially deductible. If you use your home office for both employed and teaching activities, you can deduct the proportional maximum amount as business expenses.
As proof for your promotion, a confirmation from the department or your doctoral supervisor is sufficient. If you pay enrollment fees, these are deductible as business expenses. The enrollment certificate should be provided as proof.
I hope this helps you gain an overview.
If there are still uncertainties, please feel free to use the follow-up function.
Best regards,
Dr. Yanqiong Bolik
Tax consultant
Bildstöckle 6, 70567 Stuttgart
Tel: +49 (0)711 / 9332 2657
Email: info@zdbz.de
