You'll need to divide up the space and enter it as if you had 2 separate offices. The IRS doesn't provide explicit direction on how to do this, stating only that the method you choose be "reasonable."
The most important thing to remember is that the total amount of your home office square footage, when added together, should not exceed the total you would claim if you had just 1 business use.
In your case, you used a home office for 16 months. One would be 4/16 and the other 12/16. That's one possible allocation to use.
For example, if you have 2 businesses and 1 office measuring 100 square feet that you use equally for both businesses, you could enter 50 square feet for each home office. Or if you use your home office more for 1 business than the other, you could enter 75 square feet and 25 square feet, respectively.
Enter home office expenses for each office separately. If the expense is shared with your home (for example, property taxes), enter the total amount twice. Because you have split the home office space between two businesses, each home office will have an allocated share of the total.
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
