> 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/10024300-bueroeinrichtung-moebel-schreibtische-stuehle-etc.md). # Office furnishings (furniture, desks, chairs, etc.) Help on the Immodio entry item Office furnishings (furniture, desks, chairs etc.).
Use this category for **durable office furniture and furnishings** that you use for managing your let properties and whose acquisition costs are above the limit for low-value assets. Typical examples are a desk, office chair, filing cabinet, bookcase or other office furniture used over a longer period. {% hint style="warning" %} Where an independently usable piece of office furniture costs less than €800 net, use the separate category in Immodio: **"**[**Low-value assets**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10066400-geringwertige-wirtschaftsgueter.md)**"** {% endhint %} ### What can be entered here? This category is intended in particular for durable office furnishings that you use for your letting activity, for example: * desks, * office chairs and working chairs, * filing cabinets, * bookcases, * shelves for letting and administration documents, * mobile pedestals, * meeting tables, * meeting chairs, * other durable office furniture. {% hint style="info" %} What is decisive is that the item actually serves your **letting activity**. Only expenditure connected with acquiring, securing or maintaining the income concerned is income-related expenditure. {% endhint %} ### Example: a desk for the property management You buy a high-quality desk that you use exclusively for managing your let properties. The desk costs: **€1,200 net**\ **€228 VAT**\ **€1,428 gross** As the acquisition costs are above €800 net, it is not a low-value asset that can be written off immediately. The acquisition is therefore first recorded under **"Office furnishings"**. It is then in principle taken into account for tax through depreciation according to the useful life. Section 9 (1) no. 7 EStG expressly permits depreciation as income-related expenditure. ### The €800 limit for low-value assets An independently usable movable asset can be written off immediately under the statutory conditions where its relevant acquisition or production costs **do not exceed €800**. Through Section 9 (1) no. 7 EStG this rule also applies to income-related expenditure and therefore in principle to letting and leasing as well. With an invoice including 19% VAT the following applies: **€800 net = €952 gross** {% hint style="info" %} In the past the Federal Ministry of Finance expressly made clear that the price of the goods **excluding VAT** is decisive for assessing the limit for low-value assets. For the value limit it makes no difference whether the taxpayer may actually deduct the input VAT. {% endhint %} ### Do not use this category below the limit Where an independently usable piece of office furniture costs at most €800 net, in Immodio you should in principle use the separate category: **"**[**Low-value assets**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10066400-geringwertige-wirtschaftsgueter.md)**"** #### Example An office chair costs: **€650 net + €123.50 VAT = €773.50 gross** As the office chair is independently usable and the net value is below €800, it should in principle not be recorded in **0420 00 Office furnishings** but through the Immodio category **"**[**Low-value assets**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10066400-geringwertige-wirtschaftsgueter.md)**"**. The €800 limit relates to the **individual asset** and not simply to the total amount of an invoice. Section 6 (2) EStG expressly refers to the individual asset. #### Example On one invoice you buy: **a desk: €700 net** **an office chair: €500 net** The total invoice: **€1,200 net** The mere fact that the invoice is over €800 in total does **not** automatically mean that both items have to be capitalised as "office furnishings". Where the desk and the office chair are each independent, independently usable assets, the limit for low-value assets is in principle to be assessed separately for each item. ### What does independently usable mean? {% hint style="warning" %} For immediate write-off a low purchase price alone is not sufficient. The item also has to be **independently usable**. {% endhint %} Under Section 6 (2) EStG an asset is in particular not independently usable where, according to its intended purpose, it can only be used together with other assets technically matched to it. With classic office furniture such as an office chair, desk or filing cabinet, independent use is regularly obvious. ### The useful life of office furniture Where the acquisition is above the limit for low-value assets, the item is in principle depreciated over its customary operational useful life. The Federal Ministry of Finance's official depreciation table provides for: **office furniture → 13 years** . With straight-line depreciation that in principle corresponds to about: **100% ÷ 13 years = 7.69% per year** The depreciation table is an official guide for estimating the customary operational useful life. ### An example of depreciating a desk A desk has relevant acquisition costs of €1,300. With a useful life of 13 years, straight-line depreciation gives: **€1,300 ÷ 13 years = €100 of depreciation per year** Where the desk is only acquired in July, for example, the straight-line depreciation in the first year is applied pro rata by time. Section 7 (1) EStG reduces the annual depreciation by one twelfth for each full month before the month of acquisition. In the example the following would therefore in principle be applied in the first year: **€100 × 6/12 = €50** . ### Office furnishings in the home office An important point for landlords: a desk or office chair can be **working equipment** for tax purposes. Working equipment has to be distinguished from the special restrictions on deduction for a study at home. In the past the Federal Ministry of Finance expressly made clear that expenditure on working equipment is not part of the expenditure on a study at home. That also applies where the annual flat rate is used instead of the actual costs of a study. That means, for example: * You manage your properties from a working corner in your apartment and do not have a study at home recognised for tax. * A desk or office chair used exclusively for your rental management can nevertheless be taken into account for tax as working equipment where the general conditions are met. ### Note partial private use The office furnishings have to serve your letting activity. Where a desk is used both for the property management and for considerable private purposes or another professional activity, for example, the whole expense for tax should not automatically be attributed to the income from letting and leasing. Income-related expenditure has to be attributable to the type of income in respect of which it arose. Where there are several types of income in particular, the use should be documented comprehensibly. ### Do not enter office supplies here Consumables are likewise not part of office furnishings. Paper, printer cartridges, toner, files or pens belong in the category dealt with earlier: **"**[**Office supplies (printer cartridges, paper, etc.)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10024200-buerobedarf-druckerpatronen-papier-etc.md)**"** Office furnishings, on the other hand, concern durable items used over a longer period. ### Enter computers and printers separately Technical devices should also not simply be recorded under office furnishings, as Immodio offers a special category for them. Enter these technical devices in the category "[**Computer, laptop, PC, tablet, smartphone and printer**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10024400-computer-laptop-pc-tablet-smartphone-drucker.md)". ### Which documents should you keep? Keep in particular the invoice and proof of payment. The date of acquisition, the exact description of the piece of furniture, the acquisition costs, the VAT, the start and purpose of the use and the useful life applied should also be documented comprehensibly. With mixed use it should also be documented which share was attributed to the letting activity.