Activity in the apartment - accounting for energy costs

When starting their own business, many entrepreneurs decide to locate it in their apartment.In this case, they are guided not only by convenience, but also by the possibility of savings, because the rental fees are not the smallest. Running a business in your own home involves the use of energy, internet, etc. also for business purposes. As a rule, the taxpayer may include them in tax costs because they meet the basic requirements for recognizing an expenditure as a tax cost, set out in Art. 22 sec. 1 of the Personal Income Tax Act. They were incurred in order to generate income or to preserve or secure the source of income, but they were not included in the catalog of non-tax deductible costs (so-called NKUP).

Activities in the apartment - a separate meter

In a situation where a taxpayer decides to install an additional meter in his own apartment or house to measure energy consumption in premises intended for activity, the matter is simple. Then the invoice is entirely tax-deductible - in the net amount in the case of active VAT payers, in the gross amount in the case of entities benefiting from VAT exemption.

Sheep VAT can additionally deduct VAT from the invoice issued by the energy supplier. It must contain the necessary data of the entity (including NIP).

Important! A taxpayer may deduct VAT from a purchase invoice to the extent that the goods and services are used to perform taxable activities.

Activity in the apartment - no separate meter

In practice, it may turn out that it is impossible to install an additional electricity meter. How to proceed then? As it results from the positions of the tax authorities, then the estimation method should be used. Due to the fact that electricity is certainly not 100% used for business purposes, the taxpayer is obliged to appropriately divide the costs into private and corporate.

The first and most frequently used form of division is proportion, i.e. the ratio of the area used for business purposes to the total area of ​​an apartment or house. The use of this type of solution is possible in a situation where a specific room with specific size parameters will be allocated to the activity. Such a position was confirmed by the Director of the Tax Chamber in Bydgoszcz in the individual ruling of March 7, 2012, ref. No. ITPB1 / 415-1175 / 11 / WM stating: “(...) In the case of using one room in a flat in non-agricultural business activity, there is undoubtedly a cause-and-effect relationship between the expenses related to the use of the premises (operation, e.g. rent, utilities) (...) and the conducted activity (. ..). Therefore, these expenses may, in principle, constitute tax deductible costs for this activity.

Therefore, when determining the expenses for the operation of one room in a dwelling, which may be included in the tax deductible costs of the business activity conducted in that room, it is necessary to determine what amount of these expenses relates to the part of the dwelling attributable to business activity.

If a part of a dwelling is used for the purposes of business activity, then to this extent - expenses related to its operation may constitute tax deductible costs of the (...) non-agricultural business activity. "

Important! If a part of the apartment (e.g. a kitchen) is used for corporate purposes and business purposes, then it is not possible to include the costs of the electricity consumed, calculated on the basis of the proportion. (interpretation of the Director of the Tax Chamber in Katowice of June 25, 2012, reference number IBPBI / 1 / 415-379 / 12 / ZK).

Importantly, apart from the proportion, the tax authorities allow the use of other calculation methods, e.g. on the basis of data on standard electricity consumption by electrical equipment used in business activities. This approach was confirmed by the Director of the Tax Chamber in Poznań in the individual ruling of November 4, 2011, ref. No. ILPB1 / 415-968 / 11-3 / AG.