Thank you @RobertB4444 for the assistance.
Regarding carryover, I'm confused - I have used TT for years and the carryover of expenses from that business (primarily home office expenses) has come over automatically every year - starting in 2018 it put excess deductions on my Form 8829 (line 43), which of course was taken into 2019 and so on. Am I misunderstanding how that works? Is it that I can carry it over until that home office is no longer in use, as is the case here?
In terms of actual expenses, the new home office occupies a lower % of the home but the expenses this past year for the whole home are much higher (whole lot of repairs).
Lastly, it does not appear that either home is using the simplified method. Changing it on the 8829 for either home increases the tax due significantly.
