Tax Time: What You Need to Know About the Home Office Deduction

Published On: March 13, 2017|Categories: Blog, Taxes|Tags: , , |

Home Office Deduction for Tampa Bay Homeowners Tampa Bay Homes for Sale

If you’re one of the 24 percent of Americans who do some—or all—of your work from home, you could be eligible to claim your office space as a tax write-off.

Remember, this isn’t tax advice; we’re Realtors®, not tax professionals. If you have questions bout your specific tax situation, you should talk to a qualified tax professional.

With that said, though, you could be eligible for a tax credit based on the amount of space in your home that you use exclusively for work.

What’s the Home Office Tax Credit?

Many people fear writing off a part of their home as a workspace because they believe it’ll trip an audit trigger with the Internal Revenue Service.

However, the IRS created a new method of claiming home office space to make things easier on people who work out of their houses.

Under the home office deduction, you can claim up to 300 square feet of your home, and it’s worth $5. The maximum you can claim, then, is $1,500.

Who Can Claim the Home Office Tax Credit?

You can only claim the home office tax credit if you meet two requirements: the office area must be your principal place of business and you must use it only for work.

You can’t count your kitchen, and you can’t even count a designated office if it doubles as a guest room. You can only count it if it’s only an office that you only use to conduct business.

If you’re thinking about claiming a home office deduction, it’s a good idea to talk to a tax professional who can help.

Are You Selling a Home in Tampa Bay?

Call us at 727-584-8480 or 813-961-6000. If it’s easier, get in touch with us online. We have what it takes to help you sell your home quickly and at the right price.

Check out these links, which are packed with great information to help you sell: