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Health & Fitness

Should You Take the Home Office Deduction on Your Taxes?

Running your small business out of your home? Wondering if you should or could take the Home Office Deduction on your taxes? The answer may be yes.

You’ve decided to start a small business working out of your home. Life is great and you can’t beat the commute. Now, how will this affect your income taxes? Can you deduct expenses for use of your home? The answer is that it depends…on a lot of things.

First of all, the business must be for profit or an expectation of profit. Next, you must set aside an area that is used exclusively for this business. Perhaps you’ve set up a room with a desk, computer, file cabinets, and storage for your product. Use the room entirely and exclusively for business purposes and it will be deductible. Beware, however, that as soon as you add a sofa bed in the corner for your in-laws to use when they come to visit, the space is no longer exclusive and you lose the deduction.

 You must show that you use your home as your principal place of business. If you conduct business at a location outside of your home, but also use your home substantially and regularly to conduct business, you may qualify for a home office deduction. For example, if you have in-person meetings with patients, clients, or customers in your home in the normal course of your business, even though you also carry on business at another location, you can deduct your expenses for the part of your home used exclusively and regularly for business. You can deduct expenses for a separate freestanding structure, such as a studio, garage, or barn, if you use it exclusively and regularly for your business. The structure does not have to be your principal place of business or the only place where you meet patients, clients, or customers. 

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If you are an employee and you use a part of your home for business, you may qualify for a deduction for its business use. You must meet the tests discussed above plus your business use must be for the convenience of your employer, and you must not rent any part of your home to your employer and use the rented portion to perform services as an employee for that employer.  If the use of the home office is merely appropriate and helpful, you cannot deduct expenses for the business use of your home.

What is eligible for a deduction? This is where the math comes in. You must determine the total square footage of your home and the total square footage of the office. Example: Total house is 2000 square feet and the office area is 200 square feet. This will give you a 10% office usage equation. You will then be allowed to deduct 10% of your costs for the upkeep and maintenance of your home, which includes insurance, taxes, mortgage interest (or rent if you do not own), electricity, gas, and repairs for the entire house. Additionally, you can take specific fix-up and maintenance costs in full if they are solely for the business space.

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Also available is a deduction for depreciation on the home. To determine this figure, use the cost of the house, less the value of the land, and depreciate this value over 39 years (commercial use value). When you sell the home, you must make an adjustment for the amount of the depreciation taken.  

Be sure you fully understand the home office deduction and subsequent depreciation recapture before using it. Rules for the home office deduction can be tricky; therefore it is wise to get professional tax help from an enrolled agent, America’s tax expert.

I hope I cleared up a few things about the home office deduction.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  My contact information is available at www.christaaiani.com

Christa Aiani, Enrolled Agent

Christa Aiani, EA – Income Tax & Accounting

www.christaaiani.com

Remember, Enrolled agents (EAs) are America’s tax experts. They are the only federally licensed tax practitioners who specialize in taxation and also have unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS. You can view my information at www.christaaiani.com.

IRS Circular 230 Disclaimer: To ensure compliance with IRS Circular 230, any U.S. federal tax advice provided in this communication is not intended or written to be used, and it cannot be used by the recipient or any other taxpayer (i) for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the recipient or any other taxpayer, or (ii) in promoting, marketing or recommending to another party a partnership or other entity, investment plan, arrangement or other transaction addressed herein. 

The author is an enrolled agent, licensed by the US Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before the IRS for audits, collections and appeals. To attain the enrolled agent designation, candidates must demonstrate expertise in taxation, fulfill continuing education credits and adhere to a stringent code of ethics. 

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