The profit/loss number that is used to decide whether the home office expense is allowed comes from Schedule C line 7 minus Schedule C line 28. If the result is positive, then that is the first step to get the simplified home office deduction.
However, the Business Conducted in the Home Office comes into play too. If that number is not entered, then it is assumed to be zero. Zero times the income on Schedule C line 7 minus Schedule C line 28 gives a negative number, which means no home office deduction in the current year (carryover if using actual expense method).
If the Business Conducted in the Home Office percentage is any number less than 100%, then the amount on Schedule C line 7 is adjusted by that percentage before the expenses are subtracted. So even with what you expect to be a positive profit situation, the percentage of business conducted in the home office can drop the income to a level where the profit is negative instead of positive. This means that the simplified home office method is not allowed. If this is the case, using the actual expense method can work, but the home office expense is carried over to a future year.
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