Who, how and how much continue to be questions regarding deducting your Home Office. You will find a worksheet that will help with many of the details as a free download on my website at www.wendybarlin.com.
Employees cannot deduct their home office period. The law changed on this in 2018 and continues this way until 2025. I know it doesnt seem fair, expecially as during COVID and even through today, many employees are asked to work from home. But, fair has not ever really been a line item in tax law. It is what it is at this point. Again, employees cannot deduct their home office.
Business owners however can deduct their home office if they use an area in their home regularly and exclusively as the principal place of business. This fine line often trips up business owners. Read this fine print again. Regularly, exclusive and principal place of business. Do you qualify under that requirement?
So, to be clear, occasional use is not regular use. We see many court cases every year where business owners check email at home in the morning before heading to their office or they come home and do invoicing at night and they want to claim a home office deduction. The IRS is an emphatic no on these cases. This is not a principal place of business.
Take a look at your home office and make sure that you qualify for this deduction. If you do, then yes yes yes, please take the deduction to the full extent of the law.
Note; You can use a space for storage of inventory or samples but this must be a “regular” practice.