{"id":14235,"date":"2026-08-24T15:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T13:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accountable.de\/help-center\/using-your-home-as-a-professional-space-deductions-depreciation-and-the-capital-gains-risk\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T03:30:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T01:30:44","slug":"using-your-home-as-a-professional-space-deductions-depreciation-and-the-capital-gains-risk","status":"publish","type":"help_center","link":"https:\/\/www.accountable.de\/en\/help-center\/using-your-home-as-a-professional-space-deductions-depreciation-and-the-capital-gains-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Using your home as a professional space: deductions, depreciation and the capital gains risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\ud83d\udccc <b>In short:<\/b> if you work from home, you can deduct part of your housing costs as a professional expense. But there is an important catch. When you later sell your home, you may have to pay tax on a portion of the profit. This article explains both sides clearly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<h1 class=\"font-degular\" id=\"h_homeoffice_method\">\ud83d\udca1 How do you calculate the professional part?<\/h1>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">It is simple: divide the surface area of your office by the total surface area of your home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\"><b>Example:<\/b> your home is 100 m\u00b2 and your office room is 12 m\u00b2 \u2192 professional use = 12%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">The space must be used <b>exclusively and permanently for work.<\/b> A dedicated office room is fine, but a corner of your living room is much harder to justify. The tax office typically accepts between 10% and 25%. Keep a floor plan with the measurements in case you are ever asked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<h1 class=\"font-degular\" id=\"h_homeoffice_deductible\">\ud83d\udccb What costs can you deduct?<\/h1>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">Apply your professional percentage to these costs:<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\"><b>Mortgage interest<\/b> (only the interest part, not the capital repayment)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\"><b>Property tax<\/b> (onroerende voorheffing)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\"><b>Home insurance<\/b><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\"><b>Heating, electricity and water<\/b><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\"><b>Renovation and maintenance costs<\/b><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\"><b>Depreciation of the building<\/b> (explained below)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<div class=\"intercom-interblocks-table-container\">\n<table role=\"presentation\" style=\"border: 1px solid #c6c9c0;border-radius: 6px;border-collapse: separate;border-spacing: 0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #feedaf80;padding: 8px\">\n<p class=\"intercom-align-center no-margin font-inter\">\u26a0\ufe0f <b>You cannot deduct rent on your own home.<\/b> You are both the owner and the occupant, so you cannot charge rent to yourself. Only homeowners can use this deduction.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<h1 class=\"font-degular\" id=\"h_homeoffice_split\">\ud83c\udfd7\ufe0f Land vs building: why it matters<\/h1>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">When you buy a home, you are buying both the land and the building. The <b>land cannot be depreciated,<\/b> only the building can. This is why you need to know how much of your purchase price relates to the building alone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">The building is typically depreciated over <b>33 years (about 3% per year).<\/b> You can find the land vs building split in your notarial deed, or estimate it using the official cadastral values.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<div class=\"intercom-interblocks-table-container\">\n<table role=\"presentation\" style=\"border: 1px solid #c6c9c0;border-radius: 6px;border-collapse: separate;border-spacing: 0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #feedaf80;padding: 8px\">\n<p class=\"intercom-align-center no-margin font-inter\">\ud83d\udca1 <b>Example:<\/b> your building is worth \u20ac300,000 and you use 10% professionally. Each year you can deduct: \u20ac300,000 \u00f7 33 \u00d7 10% = <b>\u20ac909 in depreciation.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<h1 class=\"font-degular\" id=\"h_homeoffice_capitalgains\">\u26a0\ufe0f The catch: capital gains when you sell<\/h1>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">Here is the part many people do not know about. Once you start deducting home costs as professional expenses, the professional portion of your home technically becomes part of your business. When you sell, the profit on that part is <b>taxable.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">Used professionally for <b>more than 5 years:<\/b> you pay <b>16.5% tax<\/b> on the profit.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">Used professionally for <b>less than 5 years:<\/b> taxed at your regular income tax rate (up to 50%).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<div class=\"intercom-interblocks-table-container\">\n<table role=\"presentation\" style=\"border: 1px solid #c6c9c0;border-radius: 6px;border-collapse: separate;border-spacing: 0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #fed9db80;padding: 8px\">\n<p class=\"intercom-align-center no-margin font-inter\">\ud83d\udea8 <b>Before selling a home you used partly for work, always check with your accountant first.<\/b> The tax bill can be significant and depends on how much depreciation you claimed.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<h1 class=\"font-degular\" id=\"h_homeoffice_desaffectation\">\ud83d\udca1 Can you avoid this tax?<\/h1>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">Yes. If you stop using the space professionally well before selling, and the sale is not directly linked to stopping your business, you may avoid the tax. There is no fixed waiting period, but the longer the gap between stopping work use and selling, the safer you are.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">This is a complex area, so talk to your accountant before making any decisions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<hr>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">Want to learn more? Join our upcoming webinar <b>&#8216;Claim it right: Top deductible expenses&#8217;<\/b>, hosted live by one of our tax coaches to answer your questions! <\/p>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<div class=\"intercom-container intercom-align-center\"><a class=\"intercom-h2b-button font-inter\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/app.livestorm.co\/accountable\/lunch-and-learn-top-deductible-expenses?push_in_helpcenterarticle\">Sign up for the webinar<\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">\n<p class=\"no-margin font-inter\">Questions about your home-office deduction? Our tax coaches are here to help in the chat or by email at <b><a href=\"mailto:support@accountable.eu\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"intercom-content-link font-inter\">support@accountable.eu<\/a><\/b> \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everything a self-employed sole proprietor needs to know about deducting home-office costs, splitting land from building, and the tax consequences when you eventually sell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","help_label":[392,368],"class_list":["post-14235","help_center","type-help_center","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Using your home as a professional space: deductions, depreciation and the capital gains risk | Accountable<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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