During Covid-19, many employees have become accustomed to working from home. Working from home has opened up many opportunities for the future, and many have in this connection been provided with computer screens for working from home. The question is whether computer screens for use in the home office are considered a taxable personal benefit. In a new binding answer, the Tax Council decided the question and ruled that it depended on the size of the screen.
The Tax Council initially ruled that a computer screen for use in the workplace was tax-free regardless of the size of the screen, as it is a work tool and not a personal benefit.
The question was then whether an employee who regularly worked from home could receive a computer screen as an accessory to an employer-paid computer for use at the home office free of tax. The decisive question was then whether the monitor could be considered a “usual accessory”. The Tax Council ruled that the size of the monitor had to be decisive. For the purpose of determining how large a screen had to be in order to be considered a “usual accessory”, the Tax Council obtained data from the National Purchasing Centre regarding the actual use of different screen sizes in connection with work-related use. The Tax Council then found that computer monitors in sizes up to 32″ could be considered as usual accessories. However, the Tax Council pointed out that this is a starting point and that specific circumstances may mean that an employee can be provided with a larger screen free of tax.
Finally, the Tax Council stated that an extraordinary situation such as Covid-19 does not in itself entail changes to the general rules on taxation or tax exemption. Therefore, it makes no difference whether the employee works from home due to Covid-19 or not.
Based on the Tax Council’s decision, it can be concluded that an employee can receive a screen smaller than 32″ tax-free, whereas the receipt of screens larger than 32″ requires a specific justification for why the screen is acquired for use in the workplace.
At Bachmann/Partners Law Firm, we always make sure to stay updated on changes in applicable law, and you are therefore always sure to get the correct assessment and advice if you need help with tax law issues. We also have extensive experience and success in conducting tax cases.
For further information, please contact Christian Bachmann on tel. +45 30 30 45 21 / chb@bachmann-partners.dk, Ann Rask Vang on tel. +45 20 94 78 21 / ava@bachmann-partners.dk or Peter Hansen on tel. +45 40 32 35 35 35 / pha@bachmann-partners.dk.