A self-employed sports instructor shoots instructional videos from her living room during coronalockdown. She deducts part of the rent of her flat from her profits. The inspector refuses the deduction because the living room is not an independent working space. The entrepreneur argues that traffic perceptions have changed due to the corona crisis: after all, working from home has become normal. Is she entitled to a deduction of the rental costs?
Living room
A woman rents a flat for €700 a month. The flat has one toilet and one bathroom. The rooms can be separated by interior doors. The woman has a one-man business through which she teaches zumba, yoga, barre and pilates at various gyms. She also runs cooking workshops. In 2020, she makes instructional videos and podcasts from her living room during coronalockdown. She deducts €5,400 in rental costs from her business profits. The inspector corrects this deduction.
Workspace
Expenses of a workspace in one's own home are deductible only if the space constitutes an independent part according to traffic standards. The entrepreneur argues that her living room meets this requirement. The room has its own door and functions as a studio space. She says she lives in the kitchen and bedroom. Moreover, traffic perceptions changed with the corona crisis, when working from home became the norm. The inspector disputes that the living room is self-contained.
Independence
The court ruled that the living room was not an independent part of the flat. Independence requires that the room be clearly distinguishable by external features, for example by its own entrance and sanitary facilities. The toilet and bathroom belong to the apartment as a whole and not to the living room. Without its own toilet, the living room has insufficient independence to qualify as a separate working space. The fact that more work was done at home during the corona crisis does not change traffic perceptions such that the need for own sanitary facilities has become less important. Rental costs are not deductible.