Can I claim if I work from my bedroom?

Not if you also sleep there. Exclusive use is the usual failing test.

We split rent three ways. Whose percentage?

Your claim is your costs × (office m² ÷ total flat m²). Not the whole house’s rent.

Deductions · 7 min

Home Office in a Shared Flat — Exclusive Use Still Means Exclusive

Three flatmates and a kitchen table is not a study. A closed room can be.27 September 2026 All articles

The exclusive-use test

Section 23(b) wants a part of your home used regularly and exclusively for trade. A bedroom you sleep in fails. A dining table that becomes supper fails. A closed room used only as an office can pass — including in a rented Rosebank or Observatory flat — if the facts are real.

Floor area in a share

Measure the office square metres and the whole dwelling you pay for (your flat, not the whole block). Claim that percentage of qualifying costs: your share of rent, rates if you pay them, electricity, and cleaning of that room. Do not use the building’s total floor. Employees: Interpretation Note 28 keeps mortgage interest out of an employee home-office claim from the 2023 year of assessment. Renters do not have bond interest anyway.

Who may claim at all

Commission earners and people with a trade have the cleaner path. Salaried employees need the employment to require home work and typically no employer office. Section 23(m) still sits on a salary-only year. A “WeWork vibe” in the lounge is not exclusive use.

Proof

Photos, a simple floor sketch with measurements, the lease, and municipal or rental statements. Taxzi can store a home-office percentage you typed. We do not invent exclusive use. Confirm IN 28 on sars.gov.za.

Questions

Can I claim if I work from my bedroom?: Not if you also sleep there. Exclusive use is the usual failing test.
We split rent three ways. Whose percentage?: Your claim is your costs × (office m² ÷ total flat m²). Not the whole house’s rent.

Disclaimer: This is general guidance based on the South African Income Tax Act and published SARS Interpretation Notes as at the 2026/2027 year of assessment (1 March 2026 – 28 February 2027). It is not professional tax advice. Deductibility depends on your facts. Confirm current figures on sars.gov.za before you file.

Find the home office claims in your bank statements

Upload bank statements. Taxzi flags lines that may qualify under SARS rules. Mixed shops stay out until you say what they were. You confirm every claim. This is guidance — not a filed return.

Works with FNB, Standard Bank, Absa, Nedbank, Capitec, Investec and Discovery Bank PDF statements.

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