Which advertising costs can I claim in my tax return?
October 31, 2023 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Zofia Schulz
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am in the process of preparing my tax return for the past year and I am unsure about which work-related expenses I can claim. I work in an office job as an employee and have various expenses related to my professional activities.
Some of the costs I would like to deduct include my commuting expenses to work, as I drive to work daily. I have also attended training courses to enhance my professional skills and I am wondering if these can also be claimed as work-related expenses. Additionally, I have purchased work-related items such as office supplies and a laptop.
My concern is to determine which work-related expenses I can include in my tax return in order to reduce my tax burden. I am worried that I may forget or incorrectly report expenses and miss out on tax benefits.
Could you please provide me with a list of work-related expenses that I, as an employee in an office job, can claim? Are there specific documents or receipts that I need for claiming these expenses? I would greatly appreciate your help and support in optimizing my tax return.
Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Christiane Schröter
Dear Mrs. Schröter,
Thank you for your question regarding the deductibility of business expenses in your tax return. As an employee in an office job, you indeed have various expenses that you can deduct for tax purposes to reduce your tax burden.
Some of the business expenses you can declare in your tax return include commuting costs to work. You can either claim the actual costs of your commutes or the flat-rate deduction of 0.30 euros per kilometer for the one-way trip to work. Additionally, you can also deduct the costs of further education as business expenses, as long as they are related to your professional activities and serve to enhance your professional skills.
Furthermore, you can declare the costs of work-related items such as office supplies and a laptop as business expenses if you use them for work. It is important that these expenses can be verified, for example through invoices or receipts.
To provide you with a better overview of deductible business expenses, I recommend creating a list of your expenses and categorizing them accordingly. In addition to the examples mentioned, business expenses also include other costs such as professional literature, telephone expenses, or work clothing.
For the deduction of business expenses, you generally need appropriate evidence and receipts. It is advisable to carefully keep and organize all receipts to be able to present them in case of an audit by the tax office.
I hope that this information will help you optimize your tax return. If you have any further questions or need assistance, I am happy to help.
Best regards,
Zofia Schulz
Tax Advisor
