Yes but you would only be able to add this expense to the cost basis on your home as a capital improvement. You would then be able to take an additional depreciation deduction on this capital improvement as part of your home office expense (but only your home office proportionate share).
Qualifying for the home office deduction is hard to do
for an employee. In addition to satisfying the ordinary requirements for
the home office deduction and you must meet the convenience of the employer
test.
Convenience of Employer Test
- 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.
For
any home office to be deductible, you must (1) use a part of your home
regularly and exclusively for work, and (2) your home office must be your
principal workplace or you must regularly perform administrative or management
tasks there. Whether you work at home or are an employee, you will need to
satisfy these basic requirements to claim a home office deduction.
The Home Office Deduction is a job-related expense subject to the 2% AGI limitation and is only available as a deduction if you itemize on your tax return.
To enter your Home Office expenses as a job-related
travel expense in TurboTax Online or Desktop, please follow these steps:
- Once
you are in your tax return, click on the “Federal Taxes” tab
- Next click on “Deductions
& Credits”
- Next click on "jump to
full list" or “I’ll choose what I work on”
- Scroll down the screen until
to come to the section “Employment Expenses”
- Choose "show more",
then Job-related expenses and follow the onscreen instructions
- Say "yes" to
question "Did you have any of these expenses in 2015 for your W-2
income?" under the screen titled "Employment Expenses Related
to a W-2".
- A few screens in, you will get to a screen titled "Home Office Expense", you can put for home office expenses here (screenshot)
