The amendment to the double tax treaty between Germany and the Netherlands has been in force since 1 January 2026. Cross-border commuters can now work from home for up to 34 days per year without suffering changes with respect to their personal income tax status. For many employees and employers, this means more transparency, less bureaucracy, and additional planning security in their everyday cross-border working lives.
In a most recent decision, the Supreme Tax Court held that expenses incurred by the taxpayer for moving to another home to set up a separate workplace (for the first time) are not deductible as income-related expenses. This also applies if the taxpayer is forced to work from home - as in times of the coronavirus pandemic - or tries to reconcile work and family life by working from home.
The Supreme Tax Court decided that an unannounced inspection of an apartment by an official of the tax investigation department to check the taxpayer's information regarding the claim for home office is not justified and against the law if the taxpayer cooperates in clarifying the facts.
The Supreme Tax Court has doubts as to whether EU law precludes national case law which states that the decision to allocate an asset to private or business use must be submitted to the tax office by the end of the statutory period for submission of the annual VAT return. Accordingly, in a ruling of 18 September 2019 ( XI R 3/19 published on 30 January 2020) it has requested clarification from the European Union Court of Justice (ECJ).
The grand senate of the Supreme Tax Court has held that a tax acceptable home office must be a separate room in the taxpayer’s home not used for any other purpose.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that if a pooled work space can lead to an employee’s being forced to work from home, he can become entitled to a home office deduction.
