Home Office Expenses

[drewalexis]

With COVID-19 still with us, employees may themselves now exclusively working from home.  Has anyone developed home office expense policies to reimburse employees for the monthly services incurred to operate a home office?  Employees may find that their electricity, gas and other such monthly services increase in costs now that they are working from home.  Even if they pay a flat fee (for things like cell phone and home internet) some portion of that is now being used in connection with operating their home office.  What are other employers doing in this regard?  If reimbusing a set amount per month, what amount are employers approving? 

[Munari_alEXPert]

Dear user,

this is a very interesting question and hot topics within companies. I have updates from various organizations and it still a difficult reimbursment to include all employees on this "benefits". To also consider that in some countries it would represent a benefit in kind so to be declared on individual tax returns.

Most likely some employees in each medium sized organization have reimbursment for home internet/phone. To enlarge this to a more vast group, it is something that should be taken up to the HR department and Head of Finance. I guess you are not the only employees within your organization asking for this. Personally a fair situation would be to reimburse half of internet provider fees up until the Covid situation is finished but since is impacting tax regulations is probably one of the reason companies postpone those decisions.

I would like to hear other opinions too.