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IRS Tax Tip 2013-36: Home Office Deduction: a Tax Break for Those Who Work from Home
If you use part of your home for your business, you may qualify to deduct expenses for the business use of your home. Here are six facts from the IRS to help you determine if you qualify for the home office deduction.
1. Generally, in order to claim a deduction for a home office, you must use a part of your home exclusively and regularly for business purposes. In addition, the part of your home that you use for business purposes must also be:
• your principal place of business, or
• a place where you meet with patients, clients or customers in the normal course of your business, or
• a separate structure not attached to your home. Examples might include a studio, workshop, garage or barn. In this case, the structure does not have to be your principal place of business or a place where you meet patients, clients or customers.
2. You do not have to meet the exclusive use test if you use part of your home to store inventory or product samples. The exclusive use test also does not apply if you use part of your home as a daycare facility.
3. The home office deduction may include part of certain costs that you paid for having a home. For example, a part of the rent or allowable mortgage interest, real estate taxes and utilities could qualify. The amount you can deduct usually depends on the percentage of the home used for business.
4. The deduction for some expenses is limited if your gross income from the business use of your home is less than your total business expenses.
5. If you are self-employed, use Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home, to figure the amount you can deduct. Report your deduction on Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business.
6. If you are an employee, you must meet additional rules to claim the deduction. For example, in addition to the above tests, your business use must also be for your employer’s convenience.
For more information, see Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home. It’s available at IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
Additional IRS Resources:
- Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home
- Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business
- Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home
Related articles
- A Home-Office Tax Deduction Refresher (businessweek.com)
- When Work at Home Yields Tax Deductions (forbes.com)
- How to Determine Your Home Office Qualifies for a Tax Deduction (business2community.com)
Tax Deductions for Unemployed Persons Looking For Work
By Stacie Kitts, CPA
There are so many people looking for work, I agree it’s was a good idea to remind people that there is a tax deduction waiting for taxpayers. Although – I think some of the restrictions here are totally bogus as it applies to this economy. I think the restrictions should be lifted. But that’s just my opinion.
Here are seven things the IRS wants you to know about deducting costs related to your job search.
- To qualify for a deduction, the expenses must be spent on a job search in your current occupation. You may not deduct expenses you incur while looking for a job in a new occupation. [This restriction irks me. Rather than wasting away on unemployment, any attempt to get a job should be rewarded]
- You can deduct employment and outplacement agency fees you pay while looking for a job in your present occupation. If your employer pays you back in a later year for employment agency fees, you must include the amount you receive in your gross income, up to the amount of your tax benefit in the earlier year.
- You can deduct amounts you spend for preparing and mailing copies of your résumé to prospective employers as long as you are looking for a new job in your present occupation.
- If you travel to an area to look for a new job in your present occupation, you may be able to deduct travel expenses to and from the area. You can only deduct the travel expenses if the trip is primarily to look for a new job. The amount of time you spend on personal activity compared to the amount of time you spend looking for work is important in determining whether the trip is primarily personal or is primarily to look for a new job.
- You cannot deduct job search expenses if there was a substantial break between the end of your last job and the time you begin looking for a new one. [In this economy, I think this restriction is stupid also]
- You cannot deduct job search expenses if you are looking for a job for the first time. [Okay well maybe I can go along with this one]
- The amount of job search expenses that you can claim on your tax return is limited. You can claim the amount that is more than 2 percent of your adjusted gross income. You figure your deduction on Schedule A. [bogus – these should not be limited – all attempts to find employment – again in this economy – in my opinion should be fully deductible]
For more information about job search expenses, see IRS Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions. This publication is available on www.irs.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
Stacie's Tax Stuff 