Can I deduct total rent paid for spare room as home office

[jda-online]

Hello,

I am self-employed and a renter. I live in a 3-bedroom apartment with roommates. For part of the year, one of the rooms was unoccupied; I rented it and used it exclusively as a home office. I would like to claim the home office deduction. Can I deduct the amount I paid in rent for this extra room (i.e., the additional expenses I incurred renting this room for my home office), or only the amount that corresponds to the share of the apartment that the room makes up (i.e., my total rent times the percent that is the home office)?

Thank you!

[AmyC · Accepted solution]

You can deduct the full rent paid for the office provided you used it regularly and exclusively during that time period. See A-Z Index for Business and IRS Video Portal for more business answers.