We had to tear up our kitchen to remove the mold from a leak. Are the coutertops a whole home expense for my home office deduction, as it was related to the remediation?

[Whysteriastar]

I know a kitchen remodel wouldn't be deductible for my home office, but the mopd remediation affected the ait quality of our whole home. So does replacing the counters and cabinets count since we couldn't remove the mold without scraping the old ones?

[TomK2023]

Yes, you may deduct mold mitigation remediation costs as a home office expense, but only if you use the Regular method to compute your home office expenses.

You would allocate the indirect total expenses of the home to the percentage of the home floor space used for business. 

For example, if your home is 2,000 sq. ft., and your home office is 150 sq. ft., the percentage of whole house expenses that you may deduct is:  150/2,000 = 0.075 or 7.5%

Thus, if your mold mitigation remediation expense is $1,000, you may only deduct $75 of this cost as a home office expense.

For more information, please see the 2024 IRS Pub. 344 Tax Guide for Small Business (pg. 39)

[Whysteriastar]

Thanks for that reply. So to be clear, that would still apply if we are renters who paid for the counter tops because the landlord couldn't afford the full cost of repairs. Correct?

[DaveF1006]

Yes, that is correct. the home office deduction applies to renters as well as home owners.