Two routes, depending on where your work happens
If you are self-employed, you have two options. The home office flat rate, in the law the daily flat rate (Tagespauschale), gives you €6 for each day you work mostly at home, at most €1,260 a year. If the center of all your work is a home study, you deduct its actual costs instead, or an annual flat rate of €1,260. The amounts for 2026 are the same as since 2023.
| Feature | Daily flat rate | Home study as center of work |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6c EStG | § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6b EStG |
| Separate room needed | no | yes, a separate room for work |
| Amount | €6 a day, at most €1,260 | actual costs or €1,260 a year |
| Typical for | work at home and at customers | work almost only at home |
The daily flat rate: €6 a day
You get the flat rate for each calendar day on which you do your work mostly in your home and do not go to a first place of business outside it (§ 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6c Satz 1 EStG). Under the BMF letter of 15 August 2023, mostly means more than half of your actual working time that day. You do not need a room of your own. The desk in the bedroom or the kitchen table is enough.
You reach the cap of €1,260 with 210 days. An example: you work at home three days a week for 46 weeks a year. That is 138 days, so 138 × €6 = €828. If you work at home five days a week, you get to 230 days, but at most €1,260 counts.
The flat rate covers the costs of your home, such as a share of rent, electricity and heating. Work equipment such as a laptop, monitor or office chair is a business expense on top (§ 4 Abs. 4 EStG), as is the business share of phone and internet.
The day rule
Normally a day only counts if you work mostly at home that day and are not at your office. There is one important exception: if no other workplace is permanently available for your work, the day counts even if you also work away or at your first place of business that day (§ 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6c Satz 2 EStG). If you can use a workplace elsewhere even on some days or weeks, such as a shared coworking desk, it is not permanently unavailable under the BMF letter of 15 August 2023.
| Your day | Does it count? |
|---|---|
| Whole day at your desk at home | yes |
| Morning at home, two hours at a customer in the afternoon, no office of your own | yes, under the day rule |
| Whole day on site at a customer | only if you also work at home that day and no other workplace is permanently available |
| Whole day in your own office or at a fixed coworking desk | no |
If you drive to a customer on a home office day, you deduct the trip on top as travel costs. How that works is in the guide to travel expenses.
The home study as center of your work
If you have a separate room you use only or almost only for work, and it is the center of your entire professional activity, § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6b EStG applies. The center lies where you do the work that defines your profession. For a copywriter who works almost entirely at a desk, that tends to be at home, for a trainer who teaches courses on site, it tends to be at the customer.
You then have the choice:
- Actual costs: the room’s share of rent or building depreciation, utilities, electricity, heating and cleaning, usually split by floor area, plus the furnishing of the room.
- Annual flat rate: €1,260 a year without itemizing (§ 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6b EStG). For each full month in which the conditions are not met, it drops by one twelfth.
Actual costs pay off mainly with high rent or a large room. Work out both once before you decide. If the center of your work is not the home study, you can no longer deduct room costs since 2023, even if you have a room of your own. The daily flat rate remains.
Not both for the same period
If you deduct the costs of the home study or the annual flat rate for a period, the daily flat rate is excluded for that period (§ 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6c Satz 3 EStG). If your situation changes during the year, for example because you rent an office from July, you can handle the months before and after differently.
Record your days
Under the BMF letter of 15 August 2023, you record the days for which you claim the flat rate in a suitable form and make them credible. No particular form is prescribed. The simplest is a list or calendar in which you note where you worked each day. Appointments at customers, trips and holidays show up there anyway. Keep the list with your records for the EÜR profit statement.
This guide explains the rules in general and is not tax advice.
Common questions
Do I need a separate study for the home office deduction?
No. The daily flat rate of €6 also applies to a workplace at the kitchen table or in a corner of the living room. You only need a room of your own to deduct room costs under § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6b EStG.
Can I deduct a share of my rent if I also work at customers?
Only if the home study is still the center of your entire work. Otherwise the daily flat rate replaces the room costs. You deduct work equipment and the business share of phone and internet in both cases.
Does a day count if I work at home in the morning and at a customer in the afternoon?
If you have no office of your own and so no other workplace permanently available, yes. Otherwise the day counts if you worked mostly at home and did not go to a place of business.
Where do I enter the home office deduction?
In the Anlage EÜR of your income tax return, among the business expenses, on the line for the daily flat rate for work in the home (Tagespauschale für die Tätigkeit in der häuslichen Wohnung). The line number changes from year to year. If you have a tax advisor, give them the number of your home office days and your list.