I don't know why this is so hard to figure out - but how do you deduct rent for an office that is NOT a home office? I.e. an office space outside of the house?

This is not for self-employment. I worked remotely for a company based out of Chicago (I'm in California) and rented an office space in our town's center. TurboTax keeps trying to funnel me down a path to declare this as "home office space" which it is not. Thanks!

221

Level 15

May 5, 2021 4:34:36 PM

Sorry, but employee business expenses are no longer deductible.

Level 15

May 5, 2021 5:53:41 PM

Sorry---W-2 employees cannot deduct expenses for working from home. Job-related expenses were eliminated as a deduction for W-2 employees by the tax laws that changed for 2018 and beyond. Your state tax laws might be different.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4482873-which-federal-tax-deductions-have-been-suspended-by-tax-reform

Level 15

May 5, 2021 5:57:36 PM

Maybe for future you can ask them to change you to a 1099 independent contractor instead of a W2 employee. Then you can deduct all your expenses. But then you will also pay self employment tax on your Net Profit, but you can deduct a loss.

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I don't know why this is so hard to figure out - but how do you deduct rent for an office that is *NOT* a home office? I.e. an office space outside of the house?

I don't know why this is so hard to figure out - but how do you deduct rent for an office that is NOT a home office? I.e. an office space outside of the house?