The home office
deduction lets you deduct things like mortgage interest, insurance, utilities,
repairs, and depreciation for the portion of your home used for business. It's
available to homeowners and renters alike.
You may be able to
claim the home office deduction if your office is used regularly and
exclusively for your business and is your principal place
of business. In addition, if you're working at home for an employer,
your home office must be for the convenience of your employer – not just you.
This means if your
employer lets you telecommute as an option, you can't take the deduction.
However, if your employer doesn't have their own office or workplace, forcing
you to work from home, you may be able to claim the deduction.
When you enter your
home office information in TurboTax, we'll determine if you can claim the
deduction and how much the deduction is worth.
If you rent
the home you occupy and meet the requirements for business use of the home, you
can deduct part of the rent you pay. To figure your deduction, multiply your
rent payments by the percentage of your home used for business. If you own your
home, you cannot deduct the fair rental value of your home, in this case you
would depreciate the portion of your home that pertains to the Home Office.
To enter your Home
Office deductions in Turbo Tax, follow these steps:
- Open the software and click
on the "Business" tab, then click continue, or "I'll choose
what I work on"
- Next, click on the "Home
Office Expense" tab under the Business Expense heading
- From here Turbo Tax will
guide you through the process of getting these expenses to their proper
place on the tax return.
The two screenshots
correspond to 1. and 2. above.
