> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.immodio.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.immodio.app/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10011900-arbeitszimmer-homeoffice.md). # Study, home office Help on the Immodio entry item Study, home office.
Use this category for **expenditure on a study at home that is deductible for tax** and that you use for your letting activity. This does not cover all the activities you carry out at home for your properties in general. For this category there actually has to be a **study at home** for tax purposes and it has to meet the conditions for deduction under Section 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6b in conjunction with Section 9 (5) EStG. ### When is there a study at home? A study at home is in principle a **separate room within your apartment or house** used predominantly for office, administrative or organisational activities. The room has to be used exclusively or almost exclusively for professional purposes or to generate taxable income. Private use of less than 10% is harmless under the tax authorities' requirements. For landlords the following activities, for example, can be carried out there: * preparing and administering rental agreements, * dealing with correspondence with tenants, * checking invoices and receipts, * recording income and expenditure, * preparing operating cost statements, * communicating with tradesmen or property managers, * preparing documents for the tax return, * managing letting advertisements and new lettings. A working corner in the living room, a desk in the bedroom or a room also used privately to a considerable extent, on the other hand, does **not** count as a study at home. ### Particularly important for landlords: the centre of the whole activity Since 2023 the actual costs of a study at home can in principle only be deducted where the study is the **centre of the taxpayer's entire business and professional activity**. What matters is not only how many hours you spend there. What is decisive above all is where the qualitative focus of your entire professional and business activities lies. That is important for private landlords who, alongside their letting, also have employed work, for example. #### Example You work full time five days a week for a company and additionally manage two let apartments from your study at home. The fact that you deal with all letting matters in this room does not automatically mean that the study is the centre of your **entire** professional and business activity. Where there are several activities, the tax authorities generally consider the taxpayer's overall activity. Where the study is the centre for only one individual activity but not for the others, the centre of the overall activity is regularly not in the study at home. In such a case the **daily flat rate for activities in the home** often comes into consideration instead of the actual costs of a study. For that, use the separate category in Immodio: **"**[**Home office flat rate, the daily flat rate for activities in the home**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10076900-homeoffice-pauschale-tagespauschale-fuer-die-taetigkeit-in-der-haeuslichen-woh.md)**"** ### Which costs can be taken into account here? Where the conditions for a study at home recognised for tax are met, the costs attributable pro rata to the study in particular can be taken into account. Under the Federal Ministry of Finance's requirements these include, for example: * rent, * building depreciation where you own the property, * debt interest for financing the apartment or house, * electricity and heating costs, * water, * cleaning costs, * property tax, * refuse charges, * chimney sweep costs, * building insurance, * the costs of renovating the study. Costs relating exclusively to the study can in principle be included in full in the calculation of the study costs. Costs for the whole apartment or the whole building, on the other hand, are regularly taken into account pro rata. For this the tax authorities generally use the ratio of the area of the study to the total living space. #### Example Your apartment has 100 m² of living space. The room used exclusively as a study has 10 m². The following is therefore in principle attributable: **10 m² ÷ 100 m² = 10%** of the general apartment costs that can be taken into account for the study. Whether this share is then actually deductible for tax depends on whether the statutory conditions for the study are met. ### An alternative: the annual flat rate of €1,260 Where the study at home is the centre of your entire business and professional activity, you can apply an **annual flat rate of €1,260** instead of the actual costs. For each full calendar month in which the conditions are not met, the annual flat rate is reduced by one twelfth. The annual flat rate applies **per person, not per property or activity**. It can therefore not be applied again for each let property. Actual study costs and the annual flat rate are alternatives. They are not applied alongside one another. ### The difference from the home office daily flat rate The terms "study" and "home office" are often used interchangeably in everyday language, but for tax purposes they are different rules. For the **daily flat rate** you do not need a separate study. The daily flat rate is **€6 per day and at most €1,260 per calendar year**. The Federal Ministry of Finance expressly names income from letting and leasing as a possible case of application. The Ministry even uses an example in which a taxpayer carries out activities for their letting in their home and applies the daily flat rate for it. The daily flat rate does **not**, however, belong in this entry category but in the separate Immodio category for the home office/daily flat rate. Study costs or the annual flat rate and the daily flat rate cannot be claimed at the same time for the same period. ### Working equipment is not part of the study costs An important difference applies to items that are themselves working equipment. The following, for example, are not part of the expenditure on the study at home itself: * computers and laptops, * a monitor, * a printer, * a smartphone used professionally, * a desk, * an office chair, * a bookcase, * telephone and internet costs. Such working equipment can be taken into account for tax independently of the special conditions for a study at home, as far as it is occasioned by the letting activity. That also applies where there is only a working corner or where the daily flat rate is used. Use the more suitable Immodio category for that, for example for computers, office furnishings or telephone and internet. ### Assignment in Immodio For the assignment select **"Owner"** and then the owner to whom the expenditure is attributable for tax. ### Do not enter here Do not use this category in particular for: * a desk in the living room or bedroom without a separate study, * a computer, laptop or printer, * a desk or office chair, * telephone and internet costs, * private housing costs without a study recognised for tax, * costs that can be assigned directly to an individual rental property and for which a more specific category exists. ### Which documents should you keep? Where you claim the actual costs of a study at home, you should document in particular: * the size of the study, * the total living space, * the exclusive or almost exclusive professional use, * the calculation of the share of the area, * the rental agreement or ownership documents, * annual statements and ancillary costs, * electricity and heating costs, * property tax and insurance, * renovation invoices, * the calculation of the costs attributable to the study, * the activities for which the study is used. Where professional or business activities other than the letting are carried out as well, it should also be comprehensible why the study is the centre of the entire professional and business activity, where applicable.