Specifics about tax-deductions for expenses in a home office

[csaavedra]

Hi,

I'm starting to work with my toiminimi at home, and I have a few doubts about what and how I will be able to deduct from my income as business expenses:

1. Rent: are there concrete and specific instructions to know how much of the rent of the flat can be deducted from the taxable income? m², room, etc.

2. Internet: since I work as a software freelancer and carry most of my work/business through the internet, I'm thinking of hiring the internet connection through the toiminimi and deduct it fully from my income. Is this OK from the Vero office point of view? For approx. 40 hours / week of work, I'd say it's its main use.

3. Other supplies (electricity): this is trickier, since it's hard to estimate how much is used for work.

Are there any guidelines on regard to the above? Thanks.

[Pursuivant]

Jos selvitystä suuremmista kustannuksista ei esitetä, työhuonevähennyksenä myönnetään yleensä seuraavat määrät:
1) niille, joille työnantaja ei ole järjestänyt työhuonetta ja jotka käyttävät työhuonetta pääansiotulonsa hankkimiseksi, kuten esimerkiksi freelancer-toimittajille; 700 euroa/vuosi.

So, basically you can try to find receipts that go over this that would be accepted.

[csaavedra]

Thanks for the reply. Could you please add the source of your citation for further reading?

[Upphew]

Thanks for the reply. Could you please add the source of your citation for further reading?

http://www.vero.fi/fi-FI/Yritys_ja_yhte ... 2812850%29

http://www.vero.fi/fi-FI/Yritys_ja_yhte ... 2819578%29

[Rosamunda]

It's one those grey areas where the accountants and the auditors use words like "reasonable" and "fair" and "justifiable".

Basically, you need to approach this like you would your car mileage. So, maybe some kind of a log book would be a good idea.

I remember going on one of the entrepreneur business courses at this place http://www.yrityshelsinki.fi/en/compone ... ittaejille and the lecturer was quite evasive when people started asking questions about deductions for home office use.

So I would err on the side of caution and conservatism but provided you can back up your claims with some reasonable calculations and a paper trail then I see no reason why you shouldn't book some of your costs as expenses.

If in doubt, call Vero and ask.