Are the utility bills deductible if you work from home?

One of the most common questions asked by our clients, self employed people or limited companies, who work from home is if it is possible to deduce through  the accounting activity costs such as electricity, water bill ... While we have already discussed this in the past, today we bring other solutions following recent consultations with the administration .

The law states that if you are an entrepreneur or individual career and develop your business in your own home, you can deduce a portion of the costs ( IBI , community, insurance , depreciation, interest on loans for the purchase , etc.). .Take an example, which always helps. If your property has an area of 100 square meters and 25 use in your activity (in an office you have conditioned for that purpose ) , then you can deduce the  25% of these costs.

However, as we have noted elsewhere , the Tax Authorities is restrictive when applying this proportionality expenses (water , electricity, gas , telephone ... ) and the difficulty of proving what portion of these expenses are really because of the activity, and which are not considered attached to the activity has caused the Tax Office to consider that are not deductible in any percentage.

Well, this criterion seems to be opening up a bit. The Tax Office itself, in a recent inquiry regarding a taxpayer it operated at home through a SL, has agreed to be charged to the company a proportion of consumption , so they are an expense to the SL . Also would work for a self-employed person..

The best way therefore to act in this situation to deduce  the proportion of supplies is:

■ 1 . The use of electric and water meters. You can avoid conflicts having individual meters and separate lines.
■ 2nd . If you cannot separate counters, show the tax inspector the average consumption before exercise activity and considered deductible the excess over these averages . It is reasonably justify those expenses are directly related to income, although the Tax Inspectors could not be flexible , courts do accept criteria of reasonableness and proportionality.

For further information do not hesitate in contact us.