Teleworking is now part of everyday life, with its practical advantages… and its effects on the tax form. As long as you know where to look.
Teleworking isn’t just a day spent at home with a computer open between laundry. It is a way of organizing one’s work with the agreement of the employer, and which entails expenses for the employee. Among these expenses, there are “real costs”, i.e. the real expenses incurred by working remotely. In this case, from a tax point of view, each employee automatically benefits from a 10% reduction intended to cover their professional expenses. But, you can refuse this automatic rule and declare your expenses one by one, if you consider that this better reimburses everything that teleworking costs on a daily basis. It’s a personal choice: either you keep the classic deduction, or you favor real expenses.
Another element to consider: the teleworking allowance paid by the company. In fact, each company grants compensation to its teleworking employees and this is only imposed if it exceeds the limit set by the State. In other words, as long as it covers your expenses, you don’t have to declare anything. And if it only covers a part, it remains possible to deduct the difference in actual costs, as long as the expenses incurred have a clear link with the professional activity. This logic also applies to electricity, heating, home insurance or any other expense that is shared between private life and professional activity. As soon as part of the consumption is linked to work, this part can be included in professional expenses. This sometimes requires finding a few invoices, but the rule remains very accessible. Above all, the tax authorities check that the amounts declared correspond to reality and not to expenses unrelated to the activity.
Added to this are the most widespread and generally already known costs: communication costs used to work, essential computer equipment, office supplies or even the software you need to carry out your activity. They are often the first that come to mind, and they enter without difficulty into the calculation of real costs as long as they are used for professional tasks. But there is a less visible aspect, yet perfectly accepted and often much more advantageous. Teleworking can also make it possible to deduct certain investments linked to the home working environment. This is the case, for example, of setting up a space intended for teleworking, of purchasing furniture really intended for work such as a desk, a chair, a storage cabinet, or even certain work carried out to create an identifiable professional corner.
It is precisely these lesser-known expenses that really tip the choice towards real costs. And it is these, much more than the small everyday bills, which sometimes allow you to reduce taxes quite significantly when you telework regularly. In short, information to remember to start the year 2026 with great savings and a brand new work space at home.
