@McCool wrote:
I would think that claiming for a home office would be applicable. As previously mentioned, I would do this principally to be able deduct mileage for travel to and from private clients.
Claiming an office in your home would not make the mileage to and from your home deductible. The mileage would only be deductible if your home is your principal place of business.
@McCool wrote:
I was originally under the impression that one could claim for the home office deduction even though my house is not my primary place of business.
Your original impression was correct. It is possible to claim business use of your home even if it's not your principal place of business.
As I said earlier, business use of your home and principal place of business are two different things, with overlapping but different sets of requirements. In an earlier post I gave you a link to the requirements for principal place of business. Here is a link to the requirements for business use of your home, in IRS Publication 535.
Business use of your home
These definitions are confusing. Read the rules carefully, and watch the ANDs and ORs. To claim business use of your home you have to satisfy both test 1 and test 2. Test 2 has three criteria (a, b, and c), and meeting any one of three criteria satisfies test 2.-
