Tax deductions related to remote work

28.01.2021 | News, SAVALnews

artikkelikuva

You can claim a workspace deduction even if your employer also has a workspace or room for you to work in.

According to the guidelines of the tax authorities, all employees with wage income are automatically granted a €750 deduction for the production of income. This includes e.g. workspace costs, furniture expenses and data connection fees. If your expenses exceed this amount, you can report them as expenses for the production of income on your tax return form or by requesting a change of your tax rate during the tax year.

You can claim a workspace deduction even if your employer also has a workspace or room for you to work in. In the 2019 tax assessment, the workspace deduction was €900 if you worked from home more than 50% of the total number of workdays. If you worked from home no more than 50% of the total number of workdays, the workspace deduction was €450. If you work from home less than 50% of the total number of workdays, the standard €750 deduction for the production of income will cover your workspace costs and thus there is no need to separately request a workspace deduction (unless there are other costs to deduct that exceed the €750 standard deduction). The standard workspace deduction covers the rent for your workspace and the cost of its furniture (e.g. desk and chair), lighting, electricity, heating and cleaning.

If your work involves a substantial amount of work from home, you can choose to deduct the actual expenses related to your workspace instead of claiming the standard workspace deduction. For example, you can deduct the rent for the workspace and its lighting, heating and furniture expenses. If you purchase the furniture yourself and use it mainly for work, you can deduct the acquisition and repair costs as expenses for the production of income. If the acquisition cost is no more than €1,000 / piece of furniture, you can claim the expenses in one go during the year of purchase. If the acquisition cost is more than €1,000, you can deduct 25% of the cost every year as depreciation.

If you purchase your own work tools (e.g. monitor, keyboard, computer), you can deduct the costs as expenses for the production of income. If the acquisition cost is no more than €1,000 / tool, you can claim the expenses in one go during the year of purchase. If the acquisition cost is more than €1,000, you can deduct 25% of the cost every year as depreciation. The deductible amount is 100% of the cost of your tools if you use them mainly for work. If the tools are also in your private use, the deductible amount is 50% of the costs. Data connection fees can also be deducted as expenses for the production of income. The deductible amount is 50% of the data connection fees if you use the connection partly for work and 100% of the data connection fees if you use the connection mainly for work. If your employer provides you with a data connection for work purposes, you do not have to pay tax on it regardless of whether the connection is in work use or private use.

It is the employer’s responsibility to provide the employee with the necessary work tools and suitable working conditions, even when working remotely. According to the tax authorities’ guidelines, if you borrow furniture from your employer, i.e. your employer still owns the furniture, you are not considered to have received a taxable benefit. If your employer buys you furniture that you can then keep as your own, you are considered to have received an amount equal to the fair market value of the furniture as wages. Your employer reports this amount to the Incomes Register.
The tax authorities state that if you work remotely for a part of the week, you can deduct commuting expenses for the days when you go to your workplace. The personal liability threshold for commuting expenses is €750. If you wear a face mask on public transport during your commute and you buy the masks yourself, you can deduct them as part of your commuting expenses. The tax deduction is a standard amount of €2 per day for each day when you have travelled between your home and work after 13 August 2020 when the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare recommended wearing face masks when using public transportation.

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