Access Leading Tax Experts And Technology
In Our Global Digital Marketplace

Please enter your input in search field.

Simplify And Modernize By Removing Exclusive Use For A Home Office Deduction

Yet more from the testimony I submitted for the written record of a Senate Finance Committee and Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee roundtable held June 7, 2023 (see my posts of 7/9/23 and 7/2/23 and 6/25/23). Another way to simplify tax rules for small businesses (such as ones operating out of the owner’s home) and modernize tax rules is to remove the exclusive use requirement for the home office deduction.

Modern life makes it unlikely that anyone uses a home office only for business activities. Most people, for example, have a smartphone in their hands and might get a personal call or text message or use a weather app while in their home office.

An alternative would be to allow a home office deduction only if the space is used over 50% for business and to reduce the deduction based on the percentage of personal use of the space, such as based on time. Offering a standard home office deduction, such as allowed by Rev. Proc. 2013-13, would be helpful, with the amount adjusted annually for inflation (and no exclusive use requirement, but adjusting the standard deduction for the percent of personal versus business use of the space based on an average week of use).

What do you think? Professor Annette Nellen, San Jose State University.

How Small Business Owners Can Deduct Their Home Office From Their Taxes

The home office deduction allows qualified taxpayers to deduct certain home expenses when they file taxes. To claim the home office deduction on their 2021 tax return, taxpayers generally must exclusively and regularly use part of their home or a separate structure on their property as their primary place of business.

Here are some details about this deduction to help taxpayers determine if they can claim it:

  • Employees are not eligible to claim the home office deduction.
  • The home office deduction, calculated on Form 8829, is available to both homeowners and renters.
  • There are certain expenses taxpayers can deduct. These may include mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs, maintenance, depreciation and rent.
  • Taxpayers must meet specific requirements to claim home expenses as a deduction. Even then, the deductible amount of these types of expenses may be limited.
  • The term “home” for purposes of this deduction:
    • Includes a house, apartment, condominium, mobile home, boat or similar property.
    • Also includes structures on the property. These are places like an unattached garage, studio, barn or greenhouse.
    • Doesn’t include any part of the taxpayer’s property used exclusively as a hotel, motel, inn or similar business. Read More
Turn Your Home Office Into A Tax Deduction

If you are working from home for the first time in 2020, you may be wondering if your home office is tax deductible. The bad news? If you’re working from home for an employer, you normally can’t deduct your home office expenses.

Here’s a quick look at the basic requirements to be able to deduct your home office expenses, along with some suggestions for how to qualify for the deduction if you’re currently working for your company as an employee.

The Basics

There are two requirements for having a tax-deductible home office:

Read More

Home Office Deductions In The Age Of Covid-19

With so many taxpayers working from home—some indefinitely—do to Covid-19, many are likely wondering whether they can deduct their home office expenses. In short, traditional W-2 employees cannot deduct their home office expenses regardless of whether they would otherwise qualify for the deduction. The 2017 tax reform legislation eliminated this deduction for 2018-2025. Self-employed taxpayers can deduct expenses associated with maintaining a home office if the office is used regularly and exclusively as the taxpayer’s principal place of business (if the office is within the dwelling unit). A home office deduction is permitted for self-employed taxpayers with separate structures if the office/workspace is used “in connection with” the trade or business.

When is a taxpayer entitled to deduct expenses incurred in maintaining a home office?

A taxpayer is only entitled to deduct expenses for a home office if the taxpayer is able to meet the restrictive requirements imposed by the IRC and the courts with regard to this business deduction. A deduction for use of a part of the taxpayer’s residence as an office will not be allowed unless a portion of the dwelling is used exclusively and on a regular basis as (a) the principal place of business for any trade or business of the taxpayer; or (b) the place of business used by the taxpayer for meeting patients, clients or customers in the normal course of the taxpayer’s business.1 If the taxpayer uses a separate structure as a home office, the use requirements are less restrictive and the use must only be “in connection with” the taxpayer’s trade or business.2 A home office will qualify as a taxpayer’s principal place of business if both of the following are true:
Read More

Home Office Deduction

IRS Notice: Business owners may be able to benefit from the home office deduction.

Taxpayers who use their home for business may be eligible to claim a home office deduction. It allows qualifying taxpayers to deduct certain home expenses on their tax return. This can reduce the amount of the taxpayer’s taxable income.

Here are some things to help taxpayers understand the home office deduction and whether they can claim it:

The home office deduction is available to both homeowners and renters.

There are certain expenses taxpayers can deduct. They include mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs, maintenance, depreciation, and rent.

Taxpayers must meet specific requirements to claim home expenses as a deduction. Even then, the deductible amount of these types of expenses may be limited.
Read More

Home Office Business Deduction

If you use part of your home for business, you may be able to deduct expenses for the business use of your home. The home office deduction is available for homeowners and renters, and applies to all types of homes.

Simplified Option
For taxable years starting on, or after, January 1, 2013 (filed beginning in 2014), you now have a simplified option for computing the home office deduction (IRS Revenue Procedure 2013-13, January 15, 2013). The standard method has some calculation, allocation, and substantiation requirements that are complex and burdensome for small business owners.

This new simplified option can significantly reduce the burden of recordkeeping by allowing a qualified taxpayer to multiply a prescribed rate by the allowable square footage of the office in lieu of determining actual expenses.

Regular Method
Taxpayers using the regular method (required for tax years 2012 and prior), instead of the optional method, must determine the actual expenses of their home office. These expenses may include mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs, and depreciation.

Generally, when using the regular method, deductions for a home office are based on the percentage of your home devoted to business use. So, if you use a whole room or part of a room for conducting your business, you need to figure out the percentage of your home devoted to your business activities.

Requirements To Claim The Home Office Deduction
Regardless of the method chosen, there are two basic requirements for your home to qualify as a deduction:
Read More

IRS LOGO

Taxpayers who use their home for business may be eligible to claim a home office deduction. It allows qualifying taxpayers to deduct certain home expenses on their tax return. This can reduce the amount of the taxpayer’s taxable income.

Here are some things to help taxpayers understand the home office deduction and whether they can claim it:

  • The home office deduction is available to both homeowners and renters.
  • There are certain expenses taxpayers can deduct. They include mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs, maintenance, depreciation and rent.
  • Taxpayers must meet specific requirements to claim home expenses as a deduction. Even then, the deductible amount of these types of expenses may be limited.

Read More

If you use a part of your home for your business or for your employer’s business, you can claim a deduction for the business use of your home. This deduction is also referred to as the home office deduction.

There are some tests that you must meet to be eligible for this deduction; these are as follows:

• To claim this deduction, the part of your home used for business, must be used regularly and exclusively for that purpose.
• This part of your home should be the place where you meet or deal with customers, patients, or clients in the normal course of your business. Read More

To claim a home office deduction the IRS requires that the location be used 100% exclusively for business. If any of it is used for personal use, the deduction will be disallowed. This does not mean that part of a home can’t be used for personal use but the part used for business must be exclusively used for that purpose.

Recent Case

In a recent situation, a taxpayer was the account director for a New York public relations firm based in Los Angeles and was the only employee in the New York office. The company did not provide an office and required her to use part of her apartment for an office which included a desk, file cabinets, shelves, a bookcase and a sofa. Her home address, business phone number and business email address were listed in the Read More

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), it will hold two free webinars for small businesses on this year’s “Small Business Week,” May 12 to 16. The Webinars focus on several key tax benefits and a special relief program for employers who reclassify their workers as employees.

The webinars will cover payments to independent contractors and filing requirements for Form 1099 on Tuesday, May 13, and avoiding common mistakes on Thursday, May 15. Both webinars will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and last an hour. To register visit the IRS Webinars for Small Businesses page.

Voluntary Classification Settlement Program

Read More

The IRS reminded people with home-based businesses that this year for the first time they can choose a new simplified option for claiming the deduction for business use of a home.

In tax year 2011, the most recent year for which figures are available, some 3.3 million taxpayers claimed deductions for business use of a home (commonly referred to as the home office deduction) totaling nearly $10 billion.

The new optional deduction, capped at $1,500 per year based on $5 a square foot for up to 300 square feet, will reduce the paperwork and recordkeeping burden on small businesses by an estimated 1.6 million hours annually. Read More

TaxConnections Picture - home officeIf you use your home for business, there are expenses you can deduct on your tax return. The home office deduction is available to both home owners & renters alike. The home must be used by a self-employed individual or an employee who works from home for his employer’s convenience.

This deduction has been available for a few years now, however with the tax year beginning January 1st, 2013 (filing starting January 1st, 2014), the Internal Revenue Service issued Rev Proc. 2013-13. This revenue procedure details an optional safe harbor available to individual tax payers for calculating a home office deduction.

The individual can claim the Home Office Deduction based on either the Simplified Method or the Regular Method (Details Follow).

Simplified Method: 

•  A standard deduction of $5 per sq foot for a home used for business up to a maximum of 300 sq feet.

•  No home office depreciation deduction is allowed nor is a later recapture for the years the simplified option was used.

•  Allowable home related expenses, such as, Mortgage Interest or Property Taxes is claimed in full on Schedule A. Read More

%d bloggers like this: