Home Office Tax Deduction in South Africa: Who Qualifies (2026/2027)

1. The Short Answer

An employee can claim home office expenses only if the room is used regularly and exclusively for work, is specifically equipped as an office, and you do more than half of your work there. If you pass, you can claim a share of your rent, rates, electricity, cleaning and repairs based on the office's floor area, plus wear and tear on office equipment.

Most people who try do not pass. Academic research on SARS data found that SARS disallowed about 62% of the value of home office deductions claimed, mostly because the exclusive-use or more-than-50% test was not met. If you claim, expect SARS to ask for proof.

2. The Tests You Must Pass

Test 1: the room

• It must be a separate part of the home that is specifically equipped for your work: a desk, a computer, filing, the tools your job needs.
• It must be used regularly and exclusively for work. A spare bedroom that guests use at Christmas, a dining table, or a corner of the lounge does not qualify.

Test 2: where your work is done

This depends on how you are paid:

The test is about fact, not your contract. A letter from your employer confirming that you work from home most of the time is strong evidence, but SARS can still look at what actually happened.

3. Which Expenses Count

For employees the list is limited by section 23(m) of the Income Tax Act. SARS's guidance allows:

• Rent on the home
• Repairs to the premises
• Rates and taxes
• Cleaning
• Electricity
• Wear and tear on office equipment, furniture and fittings used for work, and repairs to them

The premises costs (rent, rates, repairs, cleaning, electricity) are claimed only in proportion to the office's floor area. SARS's current home office page says bond interest is no longer deductible for employees from 2023, so homeowners can claim rates, electricity, cleaning and repairs, but not their bond.

You cannot claim the cost of buying equipment outright as an expense; it is claimed as wear and tear over its useful life. SARS's guidelines (Interpretation Note 47) allow, for example, three years for a computer or laptop and six years for office furniture. Items costing less than R7,000 each can be written off in full in the year you buy them.

4. Working Out the Claim

SARS uses a simple floor-area formula:

Measure both areas in square metres. The total floor area is the whole home, not just the rooms you use. Then add wear and tear on equipment separately; it is not apportioned by floor area, but by how much you use the item for work.

If you only meet the tests for part of the year, for example if you started working from home in September, claim only for those months.

5. Worked Example

Zanele is a software tester employed by a Johannesburg company. Since 2025 she has worked from home four days a week and goes to the office once a week. She rents a 200 m² townhouse and uses a 20 m² second bedroom only as her office. Her taxable income is R450,000.

At her marginal rate of 31%, the deduction is worth about R8,090 in tax. She passes the tests because the room is used only for work and she works at home on four of five working days. If the room doubled as a guest room, she could claim nothing.

6. Hybrid Work and Other Grey Areas

• Three days at home, two at the office: that is more than half of your working days, so you can pass the duties test if the room also meets the exclusive-use test. Two days at home and three at the office fails.
• Your employer provides an office you do not use: SARS looks at where your duties were actually performed. A clear employer letter about your work-from-home arrangement matters most here.
• A garden cottage or outbuilding: it can qualify if it is used exclusively as an office. Include its floor area in the home's total.
• Selling the home later: the part of a home you own and used for work can fall outside the primary residence exclusion for capital gains tax. With the exclusion at R3 million from 1 March 2026, this rarely creates tax for an average home, but it is worth knowing. See our property CGT guide.

7. Records SARS Will Ask For

Home office claims are routinely selected for verification. Have these ready before you file:

1. A letter from your employer confirming you worked from home, the period, and how many days a week
2. A floor plan or simple sketch with measurements, showing the office and the total area
3. Photos of the office showing it is equipped and used only for work
4. The lease agreement or municipal rates account, and electricity bills
5. Invoices for cleaning, repairs and any equipment you claim wear and tear on
6. Your calculation, showing the floor-area percentage and each cost

The claim is made in the home office section of your ITR12 on eFiling. If you were auto-assessed, the home office deduction will not be included; you must file a corrected return to claim it.

8. If You Are Self-Employed

Freelancers and sole proprietors are not limited by section 23(m), so the list of deductible costs is wider. The room must still be specifically equipped and used regularly and exclusively for the business, but there is no more-than-50% test in the same form. Self-employed people are usually provisional taxpayers; see our provisional tax guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Every figure on this page was checked against these official sources on 1 November 2026:

• SARS: Home office expenses
• SARS: Interpretation Note 28, home office expenses
• SARS: Rates of tax for individuals (2027 tax year)
• Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal: SARS home office deduction study