Only 40% of remote workers say their employer paid for office furniture such as desks and chairs, compared with 64% who had hardware like monitors and mice covered (Buffer, State of Remote Work 2023). The rest of the bill lands on employees: in the pandemic’s first year, the average US worker reported spending $561 and 15 hours on investments that made working from home possible, equal to 0.7% of annual GDP in aggregate (Barrero, Bloom and Davis, NBER Working Paper 28731, 2021). Governments are pulling back too: the UK ended employee tax relief for working from home from April 2026 after HMRC found over half of checked claims ineligible, while US employees have no federal deduction for a home office at all. Policy pressure to return to desks is covered in our hybrid work mandate compliance statistics. We aggregated data from Buffer, Owl Labs, the NBER, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the IRS, HMRC, Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners, Germany’s income tax act, the Australian Taxation Office, the Canada Revenue Agency, Spain’s Boletin Oficial del Estado, SEC EDGAR filings, published company handbooks and peer-reviewed ergonomics research.
TL;DR
- 64% of remote workers say their company pays for hardware, 40% for desks and chairs, 28% for home internet (Buffer, State of Remote Work 2023).
- Workers spent an average of $561 and 15.0 hours setting up to work from home in 2020-2021 (NBER Working Paper 28731).
- GitLab gives new hires a 1,500 USD home office stipend plus a 500 USD yearly refresh (GitLab Handbook 2026).
- 19% of US workers rank work-from-home benefits or stipends among the most appealing perks at a new employer (Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025).
- An office day costs $55 on average versus $18 for a day at home (Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025).
- 21.9% of people at work in the US teleworked in September 2026 (BLS, Current Population Survey).
- US employees cannot deduct home office expenses; the self-employed simplified method caps at $1,500 a year (IRS Publication 587, 2025).
- The UK removed employee working-from-home relief from 6 April 2026, affecting an estimated 300,000 people (HMRC policy paper, November 2025).
- UK employers can still pay £6 a week (£26 a month) tax-free for household costs (GOV.UK, Expenses and benefits: homeworking).
- Ireland lets employers pay €3.20 a day tax-free, and employees can claim 30% of utility costs (Revenue, Remote Working Relief).
- Germany allows €6 per home-office day, up to €1,260 a year (Einkommensteuergesetz, section 4).
- Poorer home workstation setups doubled the odds of new neck or upper back pain (odds ratio 2.02) in a study of 1,064 computer workers (JOEM 2025).
1. Who Pays for the Home Office: Hardware Usually, Furniture Less Often
The pattern in employer support is clear: companies pay for what plugs into the laptop and are far less likely to pay for what the worker sits at. In Buffer’s survey of 3,000 remote workers, 64% said their company paid for hardware such as monitors and mice, but only 40% said it paid for office equipment such as desks and chairs (Buffer, State of Remote Work 2023). Home internet, a cost every remote worker carries, was covered for only 28%.
The unmet demand is large. 38% of respondents wished their company would cover furniture and 44% wished it would cover home internet, which means the gap is not indifference but cost shifting. The scale of that shift showed up early: workers surveyed from July 2020 to January 2021 reported an average of 15.0 hours and $561 in at-home investments to enable working from home, which the authors estimated at 0.7% of annual GDP (Barrero, Bloom and Davis, NBER Working Paper 28731, 2021).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Companies paying for hardware (monitors, mice) | 64% (25% wish they would) | Buffer, State of Remote Work 2023 |
| Companies paying for office equipment (desks, chairs) | 40% (38% wish they would) | Buffer, State of Remote Work 2023 |
| Companies paying for home internet | 28% (44% wish they would) | Buffer, State of Remote Work 2023 |
| Companies paying for coworking memberships | 22% (38% wish they would) | Buffer, State of Remote Work 2023 |
| Average worker investment to enable WFH, 2020-2021 | $561 and 15.0 hours | NBER Working Paper 28731 |
| Aggregate WFH investment | 0.7% of annual GDP | NBER Working Paper 28731 |
| Expected share of full workdays from home after the pandemic | 20% (vs 5% before) | NBER Working Paper 28731 |
Context note: Buffer surveyed 3,000 remote workers between October 10 and November 28, 2022, with Nomad List and Remote OK, so its sample skews toward people already working remotely. Most recent available data: Buffer, 2023 report (2022 fieldwork). The NBER figures cover more than 30,000 Americans across multiple survey waves.
2. Stipend Budgets in Practice: Policies, Perks and Disclosures
Because no government agency tracks stipend sizes, published company policies are the most reliable evidence of what a home office allowance looks like. GitLab gives new hires a 1,500 USD stipend to set up a home office and existing staff a 500 USD yearly refresh, resetting each January 1, with approved furniture limited to a desk or work table, an ergonomic chair, a footrest and a laptop stand (GitLab Handbook, Global Travel and Expense Policy). Internet claims above 100 USD are not reimbursed, and coworking is capped at 700 USD a month or 100 USD a day within about 50 km of home. Buffer advertises 1,000 USD to set up a home office on its careers page.
Employees value these benefits, but they do not top the list. 19% of US workers named work-from-home benefits or stipends among the most appealing perks at a prospective employer in 2025, down from 22% in 2024, behind flexible hours and a four-day week (Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025). In public company filings the phrase is rare: an EDGAR full-text search returns 69 filings mentioning a “home office stipend”, 14 of them annual reports on Form 10-K, and 48 filings mentioning a “remote work stipend”, 20 of them proxy statements where the benefit appears in executive pay disclosures (SEC EDGAR full-text search).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| GitLab new-hire home office stipend | 1,500 USD (first year) | GitLab Handbook 2026 |
| GitLab yearly refresh for existing staff | 500 USD per year | GitLab Handbook 2026 |
| GitLab internet and coworking caps | 100 USD internet; 700 USD per month or 100 USD per day coworking | GitLab Handbook 2026 |
| Buffer home office setup budget | 1,000 USD | Buffer careers page 2026 |
| Workers who find WFH benefits or stipends appealing at a new employer | 19% in 2025 (22% in 2024) | Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025 and 2024 |
| SEC filings mentioning “home office stipend” | 69 (14 on Form 10-K) | SEC EDGAR full-text search, October 2026 |
| SEC filings mentioning “remote work stipend” | 48 (20 proxy statements, DEF 14A) | SEC EDGAR full-text search, October 2026 |
Context note: EDGAR full-text search counts documents, not companies, so one issuer can account for several hits; the counts measure disclosure, not prevalence. Company policies are as published at the time of research and can change.
3. How Many People Work From Home, and What Each Day Costs
The audience for stipends is large but not universal. 21.9% of people at work in the US teleworked in September 2026: 10.7% for all of their hours and 11.2% for some (BLS, Current Population Survey Table A-41). Australia’s share is higher, with 36% of employed people usually working from home in August 2025, including 59% of managers and professionals against 21% in all other occupations (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Working Arrangements, August 2025).
The money argument cuts both ways. Owl Labs found an office day cost US hybrid workers $55 on average in 2025 versus $18 for a day at home, so each home day saves about $37 (55 minus 18) in out-of-pocket costs that never show up on a payslip (Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025). Those savings help explain why employees treat flexibility itself as pay: in the same survey, 22% said they would expect a raise if remote or hybrid work were taken away. Office layouts that greet returning workers are covered in our desk booking and hot desking statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US people at work who teleworked, September 2026 | 21.9% (34.7 million of 158.5 million) | BLS, CPS Table A-41 |
| Share of US paid workdays from home, September 2026 | About 26% | WFH Research, SWAA October 2026 |
| Australians who usually work from home, August 2025 | 36% (59% of managers and professionals) | ABS, Working Arrangements 2025 |
| Great Britain workers in hybrid arrangements, 2024 | 28% (42% with a degree) | ONS, Who are the hybrid workers? 2024 |
| Cost of an office day, US hybrid workers | $55 ($15 commute, $9 parking, $13 breakfast or coffee, $18 lunch) | Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025 |
| Cost of a day working from home | $18 (2025); $19 (2024) | Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025 and 2024 |
| Cost of an office day in 2024 | $61 | Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2024 |
| Workers who would expect a pay increase if flexibility were removed | 22% (40% would look for another job) | Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025 |
Context note: WFH Research also finds 62% of US full-time employees fully on-site, 26% hybrid and 12% fully remote over the past year (WFH Research, SWAA October 2026 update). The ONS hybrid share comes from Who are the hybrid workers? (November 2024). Owl Labs surveyed 2,000 US full-time workers in July 2025 and July 2024.
4. The US Rulebook: No Employee Deduction, So Reimbursement Is the Only Route
For US employees, a home office stipend is not just a perk; it is the only way most of the cost is ever recovered. IRS Publication 587 states plainly: “If you are an employee, you cannot deduct expenses for the business use of your home” (IRS Publication 587, 2025). Self-employed taxpayers can use the simplified method of $5 per square foot on up to 300 square feet, a maximum of $1,500 (5 x 300) a year.
How the employer pays determines the tax result. Under an accountable plan the expense must have a business connection, be substantiated within a reasonable period and any excess must be returned; IRS guidance treats 60 days to account and 120 days to return excess as reasonable. Reimbursements that fail those rules “are treated as wages subject to withholding and employment taxes” and reported on Form W-2 (IRS Publication 463, 2025), which is why a flat monthly stipend paid without receipts is usually taxable income. Equipment the company provides can instead qualify as a working condition fringe benefit when the cost would have been deductible as a business expense had the employee paid it (IRS Publication 15-B, 2026).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Home office deduction for employees | Not allowed | IRS Publication 587 (2025) |
| Self-employed simplified method rate | $5 per square foot | IRS Publication 587 (2025) |
| Simplified method area cap and maximum | 300 square feet; $1,500 a year | IRS Publication 587 (2025) |
| Accountable plan rules | 3 (business connection, substantiation, return of excess) | IRS Publication 463 (2025) |
| Reasonable period under IRS guidance | 60 days to substantiate; 120 days to return excess | IRS Publication 463 (2025) |
| Tax treatment of nonaccountable allowances | Wages on Form W-2, subject to withholding and employment taxes | IRS Publication 463 (2025) |
| California employer duty | Indemnify all necessary expenditures; awards carry judgment-rate interest from the date incurred | California Labor Code section 2802 |
Context note: Publication 463 lists narrow exceptions for unreimbursed employee expenses (Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis officials and employees with impairment-related work expenses). California’s reimbursement duty applies to “all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties” (California Labor Code section 2802); state laws differ, and this is not tax or legal advice.
5. UK and Ireland: Relief Shrinks for Employees, Employer Payments Stay Tax-Free
The UK is the clearest example of a government retreating from home-working relief. From 6 April 2026, employees can no longer claim tax relief for working from home, a change HMRC estimated would affect about 300,000 individuals, with an average loss of £62 for basic rate and £124 for higher rate taxpayers (HMRC, Removal of tax relief on non-reimbursed homeworking expenses, November 2025). The stated reason was compliance: “after checking claims, over half have been deemed to be ineligible.” The old relief was worth little per head; at the 20% basic rate, £6 a week produced £1.20 a week in relief (GOV.UK, Claim tax relief for working at home).
What survives is the employer route. UK employers can still reimburse up to £6 a week (£26 a month) of additional household costs without reporting or tax, and equipment used only for work, or with insignificant private use, stays exempt (GOV.UK, Expenses and benefits: homeworking). Ireland runs both tracks: employers may pay €3.20 per day tax-free, and employees can claim 30% of electricity, heating and broadband costs for each remote working day (Revenue, Allowance paid by your employer).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UK employee WFH relief | Ended from 6 April 2026 | HMRC policy paper, November 2025 |
| Individuals affected | About 300,000 | HMRC policy paper, November 2025 |
| Average annual impact | £62 basic rate; £124 higher rate | HMRC policy paper, November 2025 |
| Exchequer yield | +£10m (2026-27), +£30m (2027-28), +£25m a year (2028-29 to 2030-31) | HMRC policy paper, November 2025 |
| UK tax-free employer reimbursement | £6 a week or £26 a month (from 2020; £4 or £18 before) | GOV.UK, Expenses and benefits: homeworking |
| Ireland tax-free employer payment | €3.20 per day | Revenue, Remote Working Relief |
| Ireland employee relief on utilities | 30% of electricity, heating and broadband, per remote day | Revenue, Remote Working Relief |
| Ireland benefit-in-kind on employer-provided furniture and IT | Exempt where private use is minimal | Revenue, Remote Working Relief |
Context note: Revenue’s worked example for 2024 shows two workers sharing €1,560 in utility bills over 181 remote days, each claiming €116.03 of allowable costs and receiving €46.41 of relief at the 40% rate (Revenue, How to calculate allowable remote working costs). Employer-provided items in Ireland include computers, printers, phones, broadband and office furniture (Revenue, Provision of computers and equipment).
6. Germany, Australia, Canada and Spain: Day Rates, Hour Rates and Employer Duties
Outside the US and UK, the trend is toward simple flat rates for workers and firmer duties for employers. Germany allows a €6 deduction for each day worked mainly at home, capped at €1,260 a year, which covers 210 home-office days (1,260 / 6) (Einkommensteuergesetz, section 4(5) no. 6c). Australia uses an hourly rate: 70 cents per hour worked from home from 1 July 2024, up from 67 cents in 2022-23 and 2023-24, covering energy, internet, phone and stationery but not furniture or computers, which are depreciated separately (Australian Taxation Office, PCG 2023/1).
Canada tightened after the pandemic. The temporary flat rate of $2 per day (maximum $400 in 2020 and $500 in 2021 and 2022) does not apply from 2023, and employees now need a signed Form T2200 and must work at home more than 50% of the time for at least 4 consecutive weeks (Canada Revenue Agency, Eligibility criteria, detailed method). Salaried employees cannot claim furniture, computers, monitors, headsets or webcams. Spain went furthest the other way: under Law 10/2021, remote work counts as regular at 30% of working time over a three-month reference period, and the employer must provide and maintain all necessary equipment and cover the related costs (BOE, Ley 10/2021 de trabajo a distancia).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Germany home-office day rate | €6 per day, maximum €1,260 a year | Einkommensteuergesetz, section 4 |
| Australia fixed rate per hour worked from home | 70 cents from 1 July 2024 (67 cents in 2022-23 and 2023-24) | Australian Taxation Office, PCG 2023/1 |
| Canada temporary flat rate (2020-2022) | $2 per day; maximum $400 (2020), $500 (2021, 2022) | Canada Revenue Agency |
| Canada eligibility threshold, detailed method | More than 50% of time for at least 4 consecutive weeks, plus Form T2200 | Canada Revenue Agency |
| Canada items salaried employees cannot claim | Furniture, computers, monitors, headsets, webcams | Canada Revenue Agency |
| Spain threshold for regular remote work | 30% of working time over 3 months | BOE, Ley 10/2021 |
| Spain employer obligation | Provide equipment and pay or compensate remote-work costs | BOE, Ley 10/2021, articles 11 and 12 |
Context note: the Canada flat-rate history and the list of non-claimable items come from the CRA pages on work space use and expenses you can claim. The German day rate cannot be combined with a deduction for a dedicated home study.
7. Why Furniture Allowances Matter: Ergonomics and Pain
The research case for paying for chairs and desks, not just laptops, is getting stronger. Among 1,064 computer workers surveyed from September 2023 to April 2024, poorer home workstation setups raised the odds of new neck or upper back pain (odds ratio 2.02, 95% confidence interval 1.08-3.76), and working from home compared with office-only work showed a trend of increasing pain (Casjens et al., Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2025). Early pandemic data were starker: 51% of university faculty and staff reported increases in existing discomfort and 24% reported new discomfort after moving to telework (McAllister et al., Applied Ergonomics 2022).
Intervention studies point to the combination, not the single item. Employees given an adjustable desk, an adjustable chair and ergonomics training had significantly greater odds of reporting improved comfort (Nguyen et al., JOEM 2026). Yet support is unevenly distributed: in 1,162 teleworkers at small and medium enterprises, receipt of training depended on gender, enterprise size and union presence, and receipt of equipment on supervisory role (ps ≤ .05) (Prairie et al., Work 2026). The input devices on those desks are covered in our ergonomic vertical mouse and trackball statistics, and the clinical end point in our occupational carpal tunnel syndrome statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Odds of new neck or upper back pain with poorer workstation setup | 2.02 (95% CI 1.08-3.76) | Casjens et al., JOEM 2025 |
| Study sample (working from home) | 1,064 computer workers (968 working from home) | Casjens et al., JOEM 2025 |
| Teleworkers reporting increased existing discomfort | 51% | McAllister et al., Applied Ergonomics 2022 |
| Teleworkers reporting new discomfort | 24% | McAllister et al., Applied Ergonomics 2022 |
| Adjustable desk + adjustable chair + training | Significantly greater odds of improved comfort | Nguyen et al., JOEM 2026 |
| SME teleworkers studied for ergonomic support | 1,162; support varied by gender, firm size, union presence and supervisory role | Prairie et al., Work 2026 |
| Home office temperatures and lighting, Brazil | 25-30 degrees C and 11.20-290 lux for 6-8 hours a day | Silva et al., IJERPH 2024 |
Context note: these are observational and survey studies, so they show association rather than proof that a stipend alone prevents pain. The Brazilian study measured home offices in heat-island neighborhoods of Joao Pessoa (Silva et al., International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2024) and concluded they did not meet ergonomic standards. McAllister et al. reflects the 2020 transition. This is not medical advice.
Summary: Work-From-Home Stipends by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Remote workers whose company pays for hardware | 64% | Buffer, State of Remote Work 2023 |
| Remote workers whose company pays for desks and chairs | 40% | Buffer, State of Remote Work 2023 |
| Remote workers whose company pays for home internet | 28% | Buffer, State of Remote Work 2023 |
| Average worker WFH setup investment, 2020-2021 | $561 and 15.0 hours | NBER Working Paper 28731 |
| GitLab home office stipend | 1,500 USD for new hires; 500 USD yearly refresh | GitLab Handbook 2026 |
| Buffer home office setup budget | 1,000 USD | Buffer careers page 2026 |
| Workers attracted by WFH benefits or stipends | 19% (2025) | Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025 |
| Cost of an office day vs a home day | $55 vs $18 | Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025 |
| US people at work who teleworked | 21.9% (September 2026) | BLS, CPS Table A-41 |
| Australians who usually work from home | 36% (August 2025) | ABS, Working Arrangements 2025 |
| US employee home office deduction | Not allowed | IRS Publication 587 (2025) |
| Self-employed simplified method maximum | $1,500 a year | IRS Publication 587 (2025) |
| UK employee WFH relief | Removed from 6 April 2026 (about 300,000 affected) | HMRC policy paper, November 2025 |
| UK tax-free employer payment | £6 a week / £26 a month | GOV.UK, Expenses and benefits: homeworking |
| Ireland tax-free employer payment | €3.20 a day | Revenue, Remote Working Relief |
| Germany home-office day rate | €6 a day, up to €1,260 a year | Einkommensteuergesetz, section 4 |
| Australia fixed rate | 70 cents per hour (from 1 July 2024) | Australian Taxation Office, PCG 2023/1 |
| Spain regular remote work threshold | 30% of working time over 3 months | BOE, Ley 10/2021 |
| Odds of new neck or upper back pain, poorer workstation | 2.02 | Casjens et al., JOEM 2025 |
Methodology and Sources
Every figure above was read during research for this article in a government publication, statute, company policy, regulatory filing search, peer-reviewed abstract or an organization’s published survey. Stipend sizes have no official national statistic, so we report published company policies as examples, not averages.
- Buffer: State of Remote Work 2023, careers page (home office budget)
- NBER: Barrero, Bloom and Davis, Why Working from Home Will Stick, Working Paper 28731 (2021)
- GitLab: Handbook, Global Travel and Expense Policy
- Owl Labs: State of Hybrid Work 2025, State of Hybrid Work 2024
- SEC: EDGAR full-text search, “home office stipend”, EDGAR full-text search, “remote work stipend”
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: CPS Table A-41, telework, September 2026
- WFH Research: SWAA monthly update, October 2026
- Australian Bureau of Statistics: Working Arrangements, August 2025
- Office for National Statistics: Who are the hybrid workers? (November 2024)
- IRS: Publication 587 (2025), Publication 463 (2025), Publication 15-B (2026)
- California Legislative Information: Labor Code section 2802
- HMRC and GOV.UK: Removal of tax relief on non-reimbursed homeworking expenses (26 November 2025), Claim tax relief for working at home, Expenses and benefits: homeworking
- Revenue (Ireland): Allowance paid by your employer, How to calculate allowable remote working costs, Provision of computers and equipment
- Germany: Einkommensteuergesetz, section 4
- Australian Taxation Office: PCG 2023/1, working from home fixed rate method
- Canada Revenue Agency: Eligibility criteria, detailed method, Work space use, Expenses you can claim
- Spain: Boletin Oficial del Estado, Ley 10/2021 de trabajo a distancia
- Peer-reviewed research via Europe PMC: Casjens et al., JOEM 2025, McAllister et al., Applied Ergonomics 2022, Nguyen et al., JOEM 2026, Prairie et al., Work 2026, Silva et al., IJERPH 2024
- Data watch: There is no government or audited dataset on how many employers pay home office stipends or how large they are; the SHRM 2026 Employee Benefits Survey covers flexible work but its figures are behind a member paywall and were not used, and Mercer and WTW survey results were not publicly reachable. Buffer’s equipment figures (2022 fieldwork) and the NBER investment estimate (2020-2021 fieldwork) are the most recent available data of their kind and predate the current return-to-office push. Owl Labs’ stipend appeal figures come from different annual samples (2024 and 2025) and are not a panel. EDGAR counts reflect search results as of October 2026 and include repeat filings by the same issuer. The Australian Taxation Office page was blocked to direct requests (HTTP 403) and was read through a plain-text mirror; the citation points to the original ATO document. The Netherlands and France also set tax-free working-from-home allowances, but their official pages could not be loaded, so their amounts were excluded. Nguyen et al. and Prairie et al. abstracts report associations without effect sizes. Tax rules summarized here are for information only and change by year; consult the linked official guidance.
Last updated: October 3, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly, and the next refresh is expected when Owl Labs publishes its State of Hybrid Work 2026 report and BLS releases October 2026 telework data in the Current Population Survey.