Can I deduct internet expenses from my gross revenue if I use it for personal purposes too?

Hi, I am a freelance software developer and I have an internet connection for which I pay Rs. 1000 every month. I use this for both professional and personal purposes, can I deduct this amount from my gross revenue?

Replies (7)
Quick Summary
As a freelance software developer, you're asking if you can deduct your monthly internet expenses from gross revenue, given you use it for both professional and personal purposes. While you can claim business-related expenses, the deduction for costs shared between business and personal use must be proportional. There's no fixed percentage; you'll need to use your judgement based on facts and documentation to justify the business portion, potentially considering your work hours as a basis for the ratio. Consulting Section 14A of the IT Act and relevant case law is advised.

Yes claim As exp fully

Thank you Rupesh for your answer, what about other common expenses like electricity?

All the expenses which are partly for business purpose and partly personal should be claimed proportionally..

Thank you for your reply Rohit-ji, how should we calculate the portions? Is it a simple 50/50 divide? If you know the relevant law sections etc., please cite them here.

There is no percentage. It is your judgement based om facts and documents to prove your claim.
Suppose your work for 8hrs, automatically it will be 1:2 work to personal ratio. further, please refer to section 14a of IT act and case law Maxopp Investment Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income Tax,

Thank you for your replies Raj Doshi-ji and Rohit-ji.

The most objective approach would be to use separate internet connection for business and personal purposes, but since I am just a single person this is not a good option as I have no established work place. So in this case I may determine a reasonable proportion of the costs that go towards professional usage.

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