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Comment by erik_seaberg | Hacker News Reader

Office space is a computer desk, a decent chair, power, network, coffee. I expect I’ll always have that stuff at home, working or not. I even have a B&W laser (though only my gaming PC has a driver).

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When the pandemic hit I was in a 500sqft studio across the street for the (soon to be) closed office. I actually did not own a desk or monitor or anything. I had to move when the lease was up to a bigger apartment. Now that I live with my partner, they need space for an office at home. Now we have ~1000sqft and live in a less dense neighborhood to compensate on cost.

I would prefer a smaller apartment (less to clean, less stuff, etc) in a high rise. But now I can’t afford that since I need 2 desks at home. Our employers didn’t pay us more and now there’s no office to go to if we didn’t want to work at home.

It is clear that the tax system does not work properly for work from home. All those office expenses are pre-tax for the employer but post-tax for the employee. Makes no sense, they are the same expenses for the same purpose.

This is also why I’ve been advocating for more companies to take the google approach to perks - instead of more salary, provide a good lunch. A $10 lunch to me costs $18 pre tax to the company via salary (in CA). But that also includes profit margin on the lunch provider, so might only cost the company $8 to provide.

This is also why I have advocated for a “net worth” tax (kinda like property tax but for all net worth) instead of income tax. If you spend money on an experience or disposable item (good for the economy) you aren’t taxed on that money.

There should be a tax form you can get from your employer that states you work primarily from home, and then home office items/broadband costs should be deductible on it.

Except nothing is deductible if you don't surpass the standard deduction, so unless you can find $12k of other various deductions, nothing is ever deductible for the individual player.

Office space is space - a dedicated room or at least a quiet, out-of-the-way section of one's home, where your concentration won't be interrupted by other family members, where you won't have anyone moving around in your video background during your meetings, and where your typing noise and bright monitor won't be keeping anyone from going to sleep.

In cities with small apartments, such space is a luxury. Often unaffordable luxury when you have children who also need space to sleep and play and do homework.

Meanwhile, you cannot achieve it in the modern open corporate office space … “where your concentration won't be interrupted by other workers, where you won't have anyone moving around in your video background during your meetings, and where your typing noise and bright monitor won't be keeping anyone from concentrating.”

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