Home office expenses - New flat-rate indemnity

In its new "Administrative instructions 2015/2", the NSSO has now set the maximum indemnity for home office expenses at 119,61 EUR per month.

This indemnity can only be allocated to employees who, given their function, structurally and regularly execute a part of their work at home and who dispose of a place to execute their work at their domicile.

According to the NSSO, this indemnity will not be accepted for employees subject to the Act of Working Time if they execute the maximum working hours determined by law quasi exclusively at the work place at the employer.

The home office expenses targeted by the instructions are the electricity, heating, maintenance of the work place, the furnishing of the office, office equipment, etc.

From the point of view of the NSSO, this flat-rate indemnity, which falls at the expense of the employer, is considered not to be remuneration and, therefore, is exempted from social security contributions.

From a tax point of view, such a flat-rate indemnity can also be qualified as non-taxable expenses incurred for the account of the employer. In principle, the flat-rate amount accepted by the tax authority amounts to between 100 and 120 EUR per month.

Please note that, in theory, the employer has the possibility to allocate a flat-rate indemnity higher than the above-mentioned limit. However, in that case he has to be able to prove the reality of the costs incurred by his employees. In the absence thereof, the difference can be qualified as an advantage subject to social security contributions and taxes.

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From now on, you can take into account the new flat-rate amount of 119,61 EUR per month as determined by the NSSO for the reimbursement of home office expenses. The amount will also be justifiable from a tax point of view.