Tax Year Prior to 2020: Can I deduct garage as "home office" deduction since I do woodworking?

[findnaomi]

I have a home woodworking business on the side and use about 90% of the space in our 2 car garage for my business. How would I go about getting the deductions for this space on my taxes?

[KarenL2]

Yes, absolutely, if you have designated space inside the garage for your business.  You can add the square footage of the garage to the total square footage of the home, then take the deduction for the dedicated business space.

How to get to the area to enter your home office :   While inside the software and working on your return, type Schedule C in the Search at the top of the screen (you may see a magnifying glass there).  There will be a popup that says Jump to Schedule C.  Select that to get to the general area. 

Then:

• select Edit next to your business (if it is there)
• scroll to Business Expenses
• then Home Office

Follow through all the areas in the Business section of the TurboTax software and it will provide you with a lot of assistance. You'll notice blue links that have more information and details about the particular sections that will be extremely helpful. 

Also, this link may be helpful to you IRS Small Business Help Center .

[dbs630]

What if it's a detached garage structure used for holding my inventory as a warehouse? 

[DaveF1006]

Yes, you can use a detached garage as a home office. To determine your square footage, you will add the total square footage of the garage to the total square footage of your home.

Then you will report the total square footage of the garage and home and then your garage space is a ratio of garage sq footage/overall sq footage of garage and home. Make sense?

[GiresTheDasher]

Question,

Like my name suggests I'm a rideshare driver.  Would the home office deduction apply to a garage used for storing and maintenancing my vehicle?  I do routine oil, filter, and fuse changes in this garage.  

I also base from my home to take orders on nights where I'm not traveling longer distances into better markets.

[SweetieJean]

@GiresTheDasher Is your vehicle used solely for ride sharing?

[Carl]

Would the home office deduction apply to a garage used for storing and maintenancing my vehicle?

It could. But probably not. I would think the vehicle is not 100% business use. Therefore the garage space would not be 100% business use either. Two basic (very basic) criteria that must be met to claim a home office.

- The space must be 100% business use. You might use that space for only one hour a week. But for that hour the space is 100% business use.

- The space must be your primary place of business. (this includes storage space for storing items/equipment that is also 100% business use.) 

So while you may (and can) conduct less than 100% of your business from that space, that space still has to be for 100% business use.

For example, if you take care of business paperwork at the dining room table for a total of 7 hours a week (one hour a day), that would not qualify for a home office deduction since the space is not 100% business use. You and the family eat meals at that table too, and it some cases, the kids may use that space for doing their homework as well.

[GiresTheDasher]

But I am confused ,

I use my car for personal use probably less than 20% of the time

Ive delegated all the hours where I’m out of the house to be time where I’m available for work. And the time when I’m in the house is when I’m usually offline. 

But while at home and offline , I do Car Maintenance in the garage. Yesterday I made many trips to autozone and many purchases , spent all day in my garage ,

how is that not a home office ?

while I’m gone that space in the garage doesn’t get used as it’s my delegated space, meaning 

I park there everyday. 

Alternatively, I receive tax papers from Twitch as I’m an affiliated streamer. Could I apply for the home office Deduction if I moved my streaming equipment to the garage ? I would be using the garage for Twitch and fixing my car at that point ….

[Carl]

how is that not a home office ?

See https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-reminds-taxpayers-of-the-home-office-deduction-rules-during-small-b...

The IRS clearly states;

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There are two basic requirements to qualify for the deduction. The taxpayer needs to use a portion of the home exclusively for conducting business on a regular basis and the home must be the taxpayer's principal place of business.

To claim the deduction, a taxpayer must use part of their home for one of the following:

• Exclusively and regularly as a principal place of business for a trade or business
• Exclusively and regularly as a place where patients, clients or customers are met in the normal course of a trade or business
• As a separate structure that's not attached to a home that is used exclusively and regularly in connection with a trade or business
• On a regular basis for storage of inventory or product samples used in a trade or business of selling products at retail or wholesale
• For rental use
• As a daycare facility

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Your garage, or the space where you park it in the garage is not used "exclusively" for business. It can't be since the car is not 100% business use.