When you start out as a self-employed professional (ZZP'er), there are several important choices to make. Your workplace, for instance. Will you go for your own dedicated office? Split your time between home and flexible workspaces? Set up with your laptop at a café? Or make your big dream come true and create a beautiful home office? That last option might sound appealing, but whether it's tax-efficient is another matter. So when exactly is your home office actually tax-deductible?

Are there guidelines for the size of an office space?

Yes, there are. In NEN1824, the Dutch Standardisation Institute (NEN) has laid down the minimum requirements a workplace must meet. Workplace standards are determined based on the number of people, the tasks to be carried out, and the equipment required. For office work, this is relatively easy to calculate. NEN1824 specifies that at least 4 m² of space is required for each workstation that is generally used for more than 2 hours a day. Note, though, that this excludes furniture. So if you also want to fit a desk with a surface area of 2 m² and a filing cabinet of 1 m², you should count on 7 m² of office space for that person.

A home office: nice and cheap, but can you deduct it from your taxes?

Unlike an office outside the home, a home office doesn't cost you any extra rent. That's a plus, since as a self-employed professional you already have plenty of costs to cover. But the fact that you carry out your work from home doesn't mean you can simply treat part of your rent or mortgage as a business expense. Deducting costs for a home workspace comes with strict rules. To find out whether your home office is (partly) tax-deductible, ask yourself the following questions:

Is it a self-contained workspace?

In other words: is the workspace clearly distinct from the rest of the home? A home office can be considered a self-contained workspace if it has its own entrance and its own sanitary facilities (toilet and sink).

Could you rent the space out to a stranger as such?

Not that you'd want to... after all, it's meant to be your workspace! But if it would, in theory, be possible to rent the space out to someone unrelated to you, then you're entitled to deduct the costs for that workspace.

Is the space used intensively?

To make a home office tax-deductible, the space needs to be used intensively. The Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) requires that the space be used for your business more than 90% of the time. This percentage applies both to the time you spend there working on your business and to the number of square metres used for the business. If, for example, you have a study that also doubles as a guest room, laundry room, and/or walk-in closet, the space is not tax-deductible.

Do you earn sufficient income in or from the space?

By 'sufficient income,' the Belastingdienst means that you earn at least 30% of your total income in the workspace, and at least 70% in or from the workspace. Can you answer a confident 'yes' to all the questions above? Then you're not quite done yet. A home-based workplace for the self-employed has consequences for your tax returns.

The consequences for your tax returns

Do you rent your home? Then you need to declare the rental value of your home office, along with any housing benefit, as 'profit from business' on your income tax return. Do you own your home? Then you also need to declare the rental value as 'profit from business.' You should also bear in mind that, for tax purposes, the home-based workspace for the self-employed no longer counts as part of your own home. You must list the portion of the mortgage attributable to the workspace as a liability on your balance sheet, and the workspace itself as an 'asset.' If you sell your home, or stop using the workspace for whatever reason, you must declare any changes in value of that part of the home as 'result' on your income tax return.

In conclusion

As you can see, having a home office isn't always advantageous. Want to be certain your self-employed workspace is tax-deductible and save yourself a lot of hassle? Then opt for your own office outside the home, or rent a spot in a freelancer office. The costs of renting an office space outside the home are always eligible for deduction. The only condition is that the office space must be used for your self-employed activities. In our listings, you'll find interesting workspaces in all major (and smaller) cities. Browse our listings.