Job Related Expenses - Home Office

[KS2010]

I have seen mixed posts about deducting job related expenses (i.e. mortgage interest, utilities, etc). I have been required to work from home by my employer since MAR 2020 (and until further notice). I have a separate room for my office in my home and spend 100% of my time there for work. We were also informed that after COVID, most will be coded as permanent full-time telework employees with no office at our agency. Can I deduct these expenses since it is required to work from home by my employer (not intermittent or my convenience?). I live in Virginia but cannot find anything about the deduction in Virginia. However, TurboTax is deducting it somewhere in my state return (I'm assuming it is being pulled from my federal return). Since TurboTax pulls it into my state return I'm assuming Virginia is one of the states that allows this deduction? Thank you!

[xmasbaby0]

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-re...

[Emeneker2016]

can i deduct office space in my home in Georgia

[DawnC]

Employees (receive a W-2) working from home can't take the home office deduction, even if you've been asked to work from home due to COVID-19.  This has been in place since 2018, when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law.  Prior to that, employees who worked from home at the convenience of their employer were allowed to deduct home office expenses under the 2% rule.   Some states do allow it, but Georgia does not allow the employee deduction on the GA state return.  

If you're self-employed (receives Form 1099), however, housing-related expenses such as mortgage interest, rent, utilities, repairs, and depreciation for the portion of your home or rental that you use to run your business are allowable expenses under the home office deduction.

You may be able to claim the home office deduction if your office is:

• Used regularly and exclusively for your business, and
• Is your principal place of business (both conditions must apply).

When you enter your home office information in TurboTax, we'll ask some questions to determine if you can claim the deduction and how much the deduction is worth. You’ll need information like the square footage of your residence and the rooms you worked in.

Related Information:

• Where do I enter the home office deduction for my business?
• Can I claim the home office deduction for two or more businesses?
• What qualifies as "Principal Place of Business" for the home office deduction?      @Emeneker2016