Simplified Home Office Deduction: English / Spanish / ASL

IR-2014-24, March 7, 2014

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today 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.

The new option is available starting with the 2013 return taxpayers are filing now.  Normally, home-based businesses are required to fill out a 43-line form (Form 8829) often with complex calculations of allocated expenses, depreciation and carryovers of unused deductions.  Instead, taxpayers claiming the optional deduction need only complete a short worksheet in the tax instructions and enter the result on their return. Self-employed individuals claim the home office deduction onSchedule C Line 30, farmers claim it on Schedule F  Line 32 and eligible employees claim it onSchedule A Line 21.

Though homeowners using the new option cannot depreciate the portion of their home used in a trade or business, they can claim allowable mortgage interest, real estate taxes and casualty losses on the home as itemized deductions on Schedule A. These deductions need not be allocated between personal and business use, as is required under the regular method.

Business expenses unrelated to the home, such as advertising, supplies and wages paid to employees, are still fully deductible.

Long-standing restrictions on the home office deduction, such as the requirement that a home office be used regularly and exclusively for business and the limit tied to the income derived from the particular business, still apply under the new option.

Further details on the home office deduction and the new option can be found in Publication 587, posted on IRS.gov.

If you contribute to a retirement plan, like a 401(k) or an IRA, you may be eligible for the Saver’s Credit. The Saver’s Credit can help you save for retirement and reduce the tax you owe. Here are five facts from the IRS that you should know about this credit:

1. The Saver’s Credit is the short name for the Retirement Savings Contribution Credit. It can be worth up to $2,000 for married couples filing a joint return. The credit is worth up to $1,000 for single taxpayers.
2. Eligibility depends on your filing status and the amount of your yearly income. You may be eligible for the credit on your 2013 tax return if you’re:
   • Married filing separately or a single taxpayer with income up to $29,500
   • Head of household with income up to $44,250
   • Married filing jointly with income up to $59,000
3. Other special rules that apply to the credit include:
   • You must be at least 18 years of age.
   • You can’t have been a full-time student in 2013.
   • You can’t be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return.
4. You must have contributed to a 401(k) plan or similar workplace plan by the end of the year to claim this credit. However, you can contribute to an IRA by the due date of your tax return and still have it count for 2013. The due date for most people is April 15, 2014.
5. File Form 8880, Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions, to claim the credit. Tax software will do this for you if you e-file.

The Saver’s Credit is in addition to other tax savings you can get if you set aside money for retirement. For example, you may also be able to deduct your contributions to a traditional IRA.

Visit IRS.gov for more information about this important tax credit.

Additional IRS Resources:

• 1040 Central
• IRS Tax Map
• Tax Topic 610 – Retirement Savings Contributions Credit
• Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements
• Publication 4703, Retirement Savings Contributions Credit