I moved mid year and am self employed and home office. The transition from one home office to another was pretty seamless. How do I let Turbo tax know this? It seems to think I had 2 offices at once!

[Carl]

You *WILL* have two home offices (HOs) when done, listed on the return.

First, you must close the hold home office. The program asks something like "Did you stop using this asset in 2017?" Answer yes and work it through. Note that the date you stopped using it must be at least one day "BEFORE" you moved out. When it comes to your HO expenses, you only enter those expenses paid while that HO was open - usually the "whole house" expenses. So if you closed the HO on June 30th, you only enter your whole house expenses paid January through June.

When done closing the old HO, you will click the button to "Add Another Home Office" for the new residence. Note that your "in service" (start of use) date for the new home office must be at least one day "AFTER" you closed the old home office (those dates can't overlap) and must also be at least one day "AFTER" your move in date. Again, expenses for the new home office need to be those paid for the period of time *THAT* HO was open.

[brennan-kj]

For the 2019 self-employed version of TurboTax, it does not ask "Did you stop using this asset?" How can I fill out information for my second home office (where I moved to)?

[Carl]

You mean 2018 version. TTX 2018 doesn't exist yet. The program does ask specifically, "Did you stop using this Asset in 2018?". I just tested it. However, this is weird.
From the "Home Office Asset Summary" Screen, elect to EDIT it and work it through. Now the first time I worked it through I had already indicated I used it for the entire year, as this is true for me in my particular situation with my business. For this test, I had previously filled in everything for the entire year (mortgage interest, property insurance, other expenses, etc.). So for this test, on my first run through I didn't have to change a thing. It's true, I was ***NOT*** asked if I stopped using the asset.
Upon completion working it through I was returned to the Home Office Asset Summary screen. I clicked EDIT again and started working it through. This time, I "WAS" asked if I stopped using the asset in 2018. I clicked YES of course. For my "sale or disposition date" I entered 6/1/2018 and continued on through.
When asked if I sold the home that home office was in, I selected YES and was asked for sales information as expected.
So after you do this, please do a printout of your return before you actually e-file it, so you can check the figures on the SCH D and 4797 are correct.
@TurboTaxColeen , I can duplicate this issue.

[grizz2]

I also moved mid year, including my office office. I am having an issue with the percentage of business conducted in each home office.  Had I not moved, I would enter 75% as I spend 75% of time there and the other 25% on the road.  My situtation is still the same even after I've moved. However, TurboTax adds the two together and tells me the total can't be over 100%.  I think it is wrong to enter 50% for my old home and 50% for my new home.  What am I missing? I entered an end date for that asset, by the way.

[ThomasM125]

If you were only in the first office for part of the year, then that would effect the business use percentage. For instance, if you had a home office for half the year, then moved and did not have a home office for the rest of the year, and you used the office 100% for business, your use percentage would be 50% since you were only there half the year.

[grizz2]

Hi, thank you for your reply!

I am concerned that if I enter utilities, taxes, etc. for HALF the year for each house and then enter 50% for time spent at each house, that it will be taking an additional 50% off of my expenses. Does my question make sense? Any way to know that that's not happening? 

Thank you again!

[ThomasM125]

The home office deduction issues are pretty complicated. I suggest you do as you said in the last post, then before you submit your tax return, print it out and look on schedule 8829 "Expenses for Business Use of Your Home." On line 36 you will see the allowable expenses for the business use of your home amount. You can do a ruff calculation on your own to make sure you are getting the full deduction that you are entitled to. You can go back and edit the entries as necessary before your file your tax return.

[tomb5]

I too have moved mid-year with a home office in both homes. There wasn't any time overlaps and the percentages on the TT  calculations don't look right. It looks like that there isn't a way to enter full time home office use: Home Office one (8 months) and Home Office Two (4 months). Is there a way to calculate this in the program? Or I have to manually manipulate the the form 8829 to get the correct amounts on the form?

Thanks,

Tom

[Cynthiad66]

The simplified method can make it easier for you to claim the deduction but might not provide you with the biggest deduction. TurboTax makes it easy to determine if you qualify and how much you can write off by asking you simple questions about your unique tax situation.  TurboTax has you covered whether your tax situation is simple or complex. We’ll help you find every deduction you qualify for and get you every dollar you deserve.

Your home office business deductions are based on either the percentage of your home used for the business or a simplified square footage calculation.

The most exact way to calculate the business percentage of your house is to measure the square footage devoted to your home office as a percentage of the total area of your home. If the office measures 150 square feet, for example, and the total area of the house is 1,200 square feet, your business percentage would be 12.5%.

An easier calculation is acceptable if the rooms in your home are all about the same size. In that case, you can figure out the business percentage by dividing the number of rooms used in your business by the total number of rooms in the house.

Special rules apply if you qualify for home office deductions under the day care exception to the exclusive-use test.

• Your business-use percentage must be reduced because the space is available for personal use part of the time.
• To do that, you compare the number of hours the child care business is operated, including preparation and cleanup time, to the total number of hours in the year (8,760).

Assume you use 40% of your house for a daycare business that operates 12 hours a day, five days a week for 50 weeks of the year.

• 12 hours x 5 days x 50 weeks = 3,000 hours per year.
• 3,000 hours ÷ 8,760 total hours in the year = 0.34 (34%) of available hours.
• 34% of available hours x 40% of the house used for business = 13.6% business write-off percentage.

[uclaroger]

I understand what you Are telling regarding moving from one home to another.  But I had two separate businesses that I ran both home offices...the old house and the new house.  How do I enter these two different properties for both businesses?

[Vanessa A]

You will enter them as they were used without concern for the other.

So if you had 2 businesses that you had a home office in both your old home and your new home, you would enter the home office the same way for each business.  You will enter that you used XYZ address for business A home office for the first X months of the year, then when askes if you lived in the same home all 12 months say no and a drop down will appear and allow you to enter the second home. Then  enter the address of the new home and the number of months you used it for the rest of the year.  

You will then repeat for the second business.  

You will allocate the expenses to each business based on usage.  Meaning, if you use the office 20% for business A and 805 for business b, business A will get 20% of the expenses and business B will get 80%.  Both offices will be reported on the corresponding Schedule C. 

Can I claim the home office deduction for two or more businesses?