Since 1 September 2026 you may pay an employee who works from home on a structural basis an office allowance of up to € 164.21 a month, free of NSSO contributions and withholding tax. Until the end of August it was € 160.99. You may also pay € 20 a month for internet and € 20 for an own computer, part-time staff included.
The new home working allowance amounts from September 2026
For home working the NSSO follows tax circular 2021/C/20 of the FPS Finance, so the same amounts apply for social security and for tax. These are the maximums per employee per month.
| Allowance | Maximum per month |
|---|---|
| Office allowance (office costs and furniture) | € 164.21, until the end of August € 160.99 |
| Internet connection and subscription | € 20 |
| Own computer with peripherals | € 20 |
| Or, without own computer: own screen, printer or scanner | € 5 per device, together at most € 10, for at most 3 years |
These are maximums. You may pay less. Someone who receives everything gets 204.21 euros a month free of NSSO contributions and tax, or 2,450.52 euros a year.
Who qualifies? Structural home working from one day a week
The office allowance is meant for employees who work from home structurally and regularly. The NSSO sets the threshold at the equivalent of 1 working day a week, for full-time and part-time staff. You may organise this per month in four ways:
- one calendar day a week;
- two half working days a week;
- two hours a day in a five-day week;
- one full week a month.
A part-time employee who reaches that threshold may receive the full maximum. You do not have to reduce the amount in proportion to their working time. Home working means work at the employee's own home that could also be done at your premises, on normal working days and during normal hours.
Keeping the home working allowance free of NSSO: what you need in writing
The NSSO may ask why you pay a flat rate. You justify it with a written document: the work rules, an internal memo or an annex to the employment contract. For structural home working, collective bargaining agreement (CBA) No. 85 requires a written agreement per employee, stating at least:
- how often the employee works from home and, if relevant, on which days;
- when and through which channel they must be reachable;
- when they can ask for technical support;
- how you reimburse costs;
- how they return to the workplace and with what notice period.
State in that document too that you do not reimburse the same cost twice. An employee who receives the office allowance gets no reimbursement on receipts for those same costs.
An employee who only works from home now and then
An employee who works from home two days a month does not reach the threshold of 1 day a week. The flat-rate office allowance is not meant for them: you reimburse office costs on the basis of receipts. The NSSO expense table does not link the flat rates of € 20 for internet and € 20 for an own computer to that threshold. If they work from home incidentally and not on a regular basis, this is occasional telework, governed by the Act of 5 March 2017. If it is a fixed arrangement, CBA No. 85 applies, even below the NSSO threshold. For occasional telework, you agree with the employee whether you provide equipment and whether you reimburse costs. You can also set the rules for occasional telework in your work rules.
Home working days also affect the commuting allowance: for the own car, many sectors calculate per day the employee actually travels to work. More in our blog on the commuting allowance.
What Business Centrum does for you
Business Centrum processes the office, internet and PC allowances in your payroll, together with Acerta, and adjusts the maximum as soon as it changes. We check whether each employee reaches the structural home working threshold and draft the written home working agreement or the annex to the employment contract for you.