# Can I claim Homeoffice-Pauschale (Home Office) as a business expense in Germany?

**Yes, fully claimable.** Yes: Germany allows a flat-rate home office deduction of €6 per day worked from home, up to a maximum of €1,260 per year (210 days). No separate study room is required. Alternatively, actual costs of a dedicated room can be claimed if it is exclusively used for work.

Typical amount: €6/day flat rate, max €1,260/year (210 days). Actual room costs (proportional rent/utilities) often higher for high-earners in expensive cities.

## What Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) & Finanzämter says

§4 Abs. 5 Nr. 6b EStG (Homeoffice-Pauschale, introduced 2020, made permanent from 2023). The flat rate is €6/day up to 210 days.

## When you can claim

- Any day you work exclusively from home: applies even without a dedicated home office room
- Part-day home working counts as a full home-office day if no other workplace was used that day
- Actual costs (rent, utilities, heating) for a room used exclusively and permanently as a home office (Arbeitszimmer), up to unlimited deduction if the home office is the primary workplace

## When you cannot claim

- Days when you also visited a business premises, client, or co-working space: those days cannot also be claimed as home-office days under the Pauschale
- Home office costs above €1,260/year under the flat-rate method: must switch to actual cost method for higher claims
- Rooms that are not exclusively used for work (e.g., a kitchen table) under the actual-cost method

## Good to know

**Pro tip:** Track your home-office days in a calendar app throughout the year. If your total home-working days exceed 210 but your actual room meets the Arbeitszimmer test (used exclusively for work, the main workplace), switch to the actual-cost method which has no cap.

**Important:** The €1,260 cap is per taxpayer: for sole traders claiming as a Betriebsausgabe and employed individuals claiming as Werbungskosten, the same cap applies. Spouses working from home can each claim up to €1,260.

Source: https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/FAQ/2020-11-17-homeoffice-pauschale.html

## Related expenses

- [GWG und Computer (Equipment and Computers)](https://accounts-os.com/de/expenses/equipment-computers-de)
- [Büromiete (Office Rent)](https://accounts-os.com/de/expenses/office-rent-de)