For the case of a homeowner that is still paying off their home, I would consider their mortgage payment as the monthly amount.
For a homeowner that has finished paying off their house, it might be reasonable to use a value equal to what the payment would be if they took out a 30yr mortgage to pay an amount equal to 80% of the cost of the house (ie, if they had a "standard" mortgage).
For the case of someone not paying for the place they live (living with a relative, etc), I don't have a good answer. I would guess try to determine what the rent _would_ be if they were? Presumably the amount they make helps contribute to the total household expenses, so the fact that it's not specifically billed to "rent" doesn't make a big difference.
Honestly, I think looking for a perfect answer in every case isn't a realistic goal. Instead, aim for as good as possible in as many cases as possible, and good enough in the rest.
But then why not just treat it as the company renting (say) a room in the employee's apartment (like a normal rent or sublet)? It seems to be what's actually going on fundamentally anyway, and it bypasses the need to think about any third parties that may be involved in the employee's living arrangement.
The general idea is that an employee working from home saves the company money and generally costs the employee money (or, more generally, the employee's household). The specifics of how it costs them money are just a thought exercise; I was merely presenting one way to look at it (the way I look at it).
For a homeowner that has finished paying off their house, it might be reasonable to use a value equal to what the payment would be if they took out a 30yr mortgage to pay an amount equal to 80% of the cost of the house (ie, if they had a "standard" mortgage).
For the case of someone not paying for the place they live (living with a relative, etc), I don't have a good answer. I would guess try to determine what the rent _would_ be if they were? Presumably the amount they make helps contribute to the total household expenses, so the fact that it's not specifically billed to "rent" doesn't make a big difference.
Honestly, I think looking for a perfect answer in every case isn't a realistic goal. Instead, aim for as good as possible in as many cases as possible, and good enough in the rest.
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