Can I deduct a snow blower if I have a home office

[Bsch4477]

If you see clients in your home then the percentage of business use of your home that you use to calculate your home office deduction could be applied and used as an expense. Otherwise it might be a hard sell to an auditor. 

[LeonardS]

@Bsch4477 is correct that it may be a hard sell to an auditor to claim your snow thrower as an office expense deduction.

The expense for a snow blower is similar to that of lawn care which the IRS has specifically ruled on,  The IRS ruled that lawn care expenses are expenses that benefit only the part of the home, that is not used for business, and aren’t generally deductible as home office expenses, So that makes your snow blower similar to lawn care, which means it’s not a deductible home office expense.

[dok1376]

Thank you. 

There is a section under home office deductions for repair and maintenance or other expenses for the whole home.  Can I add it there?  The other expenses section says that snow removal is allowed. 

[PattiF]

Snow removal expenses are allowed if you pay to have the snow removed. Your personal snow blower is not a home office deduction.

@dok1376

[mwarney]

I disagree...  Lawn care and snow removal are completely different things.  Lawn care is primarily for asthetics.  Snow removal is necessary to have acess to the property.   Whether an auditor would "baulk" at it or not is another issue, but snow removal is just as essential as utilities and should be prorated on square footage like any other maintenance.  If you pay for plowing, then a percentage of that cost is for HO.  However, buying a snow blower would need to be depreciated, and the depreciation itself would then be prorated.  Depending on the cost of the snow blower, it would probably not amount to a significant difference in your deduction.

[DaveF1006]

It depends. Section 162 of the IRS code states "There shall be allowed as a deduction all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business". 

Given this context, you may be able to deduct part of the cost of a snow blower if you use part of your home for business and have clients, but it depends on how you use the snow blower and the nature of your business.

If you use part of your home for business, you might also be able to deduct a portion of the snow blower’s cost under the home office deduction rules in Section 280A. Specifically, if you use part of your home for business purposes (e.g., maintaining a parking area or driveway used by clients), you could deduct the business portion of expenses for tools and equipment used to maintain that area.