Relocation for home office: no tax advantage
No deduction of income-related expenses when moving for a study – BFH sticks to its clear line
More and more people are working from home and, since the coronavirus pandemic at the latest, this has become part of everyday life for many. But what if someone moves to a larger apartment specifically for a home office? Can the relocation costs then be claimed for tax purposes? The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) has now once again drawn a clear line in the sand.
The case:
In the case in dispute, a taxpayer had changed her home in order to be able to set up a home office in her new accommodation for the first time. She claimed the relocation costs incurred as income-related expenses, without success. The BFH (ruling of February 5, 2025, case no. VI R 3/23) clarified that such expenses are generally attributable to private living expenses and are therefore not tax-deductible.
The reasoning of the BFH:
The home is generally part of private life. Costs associated with a change of residence are generally subject to the tax deduction prohibition of Section 12 no. 1 sentence 2 EStG. According to the BFH, an exception only applies if the move is clearly and almost exclusively motivated by professional reasons. This is the case, for example, if the move significantly shortens the daily commute to work (at least one hour a day) or if the workplace is changed.
According to the court, the mere fact that a study can be set up in the new home, which may make it easier to work from home, is not sufficient. Even if work is done at home due to the pandemic or to better reconcile work and family life, this does not change the fundamental nature of the change of residence as a private decision.
Conclusion and recommendation for action:
Anyone planning to relocate in order to create better conditions for working from home cannot claim the associated costs as income-related expenses – unless the move is motivated almost exclusively by objectively comprehensible professional reasons. Simply setting up a study is not enough.
