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Home Office Deduction Calculator

Work out your home office deduction both ways — the flat simplified rate and the actual share of your home costs — and see which one leaves you better off.

Same unit as below (sq ft or m²).

$

Rent/mortgage interest, utilities, insurance.

Max area the simplified rate applies to.

$

Estimate — rules vary by country

The simplified rate, area cap, and what counts as a home cost differ by jurisdiction and year. Use this to compare the two methods, then confirm the figures that apply to you.

Recommended deduction

$2,400.00

Actual-cost method wins

Simplified method$750.00
Business-use share10%
Actual-cost method$2,400.00
Recommended$2,400.00

Two ways to claim, and they rarely match

There are two routes to a home office deduction, and they answer the same question with very different maths. The simplified method multiplies your office floor area, capped at a set number, by a flat rate per unit of area — quick, and it needs no receipts. The actual-cost method works out what fraction of your whole home the office takes up, then applies that fraction to your real running costs: rent or mortgage interest, utilities, insurance, and repairs.

This calculator runs both at once from the same inputs and shows you the larger figure. A small office in an expensive home usually does better on actual costs; a large office with modest bills often does better on the simplified flat rate. Seeing both side by side is the whole point — the bigger number is the one worth claiming.

Every rate and cap is an input, not a rule

The flat rate per unit of area and the area cap differ by country and change over time, so this tool never asserts them — they are editable fields defaulted to common figures you should confirm against current guidance for where you file. Enter the rate and cap that actually apply to you and the comparison stays honest.

The business-use fraction is simply your office area divided by your total home area, and it can never exceed 100%. If your office is 150 of 1,500 square units, that is 10%, so 10% of a 24,000 home-costs bill is a 2,400 actual-cost deduction — against 150 multiplied by a 5 flat rate, which is only 750. Here the actual method wins by a wide margin. Change the numbers and the winner can flip.

Frequently asked questions

Should I use the simplified or actual method?
Whichever gives the larger deduction for your situation — this calculator computes both and highlights the bigger one. The simplified method needs no receipts and suits a large office with modest bills; the actual method usually wins for a small office in a home with high rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. For example, a 150 sq ft office in a 1,500 sq ft home with 24,000 in annual home costs gives 2,400 on the actual method versus 750 on a 5-per-sq-ft simplified rate.
What counts as total home running costs?
For the actual method, include the costs of keeping the whole home: rent or mortgage interest, utilities, home insurance, and general repairs, over the period you are claiming. The calculator applies your office's share of the floor area to that total. Rules on which costs qualify vary by country, so confirm what is allowable where you file — this tool is an estimate, not tax advice.
What rate and area cap should I enter?
The flat rate per unit of area and the cap on claimable area are set by your tax authority and change over time, so they are editable inputs here rather than fixed numbers. The defaults reflect a common simplified scheme, but you should replace them with the current figures for your country before relying on the result.
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Last updated 2026-06-02.