Who takes a home office deduction?

[ODB]

Any of you fellas take a home office deduction for a side gig, etc? Would appreciate any info on your experience. Should be straight-forward as my side-gig desk/area is dedicated - but always willing to learn if you are willing to share...

 

[displacedtexan]

I don't.

I have a full time business, and even for me the office space isn't dedicated.

 

[DB29]

I do. I work from home 100% of the time and have a dedicated office. I use TurboTax to file and just answer the questions honestly. I haven’t had any issue.

 

[ODB]

I do. I work from home 100% of the time and have a dedicated office. I use TurboTax to file and just answer the questions honestly. I haven’t had any issue.

Do you do the $5 sq ft method or itemize things out?

 

[DB29]

I am not sure but my guess is the $5/sqft as I remember TurboTax asking for the sqft of the office.

 

[cjdewese]

I have been since 2020. My tax guy does it, so not sure how he does though. Supposed to do mine Friday or early next week. I'll ask him how he does it and reply here if I get an answer worth sharing.

 

[Silveroddo]

Some info on it, we’ve been taking it for quite awhile. If I understand it correctly it’s a form of depreciation and when you sell your house you have to declare it as a capital gain and pay capital gains on the depreciation you took, so you still get 75% of the deduction overall.

How to Calculate Depreciation for Your Home Office Deduction - Michele Cagan, CPA

Depreciation is the most confusing part of the full home office deduction, but it can be quite valuable when it comes to minimizing your tax bill.

michelecagancpa.com

 

[Trial153]

My wife and I both work from home a substantial amount of time. My accountant advised us not to take the deduction, he stated it huge flag and seems to garner more scrutiny then it should. He advise other ways to take liberal deductions that has less chance to trigger audits and yet save more in taxes.

 

[ODB]

My wife and I both work from home a substantial amount of time. My accountant advised us not to take the deduction, he stated it huge flag and seems to garner more scrutiny then it should. He advise other ways to take liberal deductions that has less chance to trigger audits and yet save more in taxes.

I work from home 100% but since it’s a w2-based job I can’t take it for that job. It’s only for the side gig I’m thinking. Might not be worth it at the moment. May have to find a little office somewhere anyway for my sanity. We have 5 office areas in our house at the moment. Ridiculous!

 

[MallardSX2]

I asked my tax guy about this, and he said absolutely don't do it. Especially since I am in a conservation tax saving program. It could open up a huge can of worms for me.

 

[ODB]

I thought I would add this... I happened to look at the Intuit, yes Turbo-Tax website about this. I found this little gem:

There are so many new industries that popped up as a result of the pandemic. One industry that exploded is the Creator Economy which includes influencers on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, OnlyFans, and Streamers. For many influencers, what started out as something fun to get them through the stay-at-home orders is now helping them earn a substantial income.


That's right, Roksliders, TurboTax is encouraging those who take money for twerking on camera to take the home office deduction.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I mean I'd imagine a stripper pole and a good camera would be business expenses, a long with a room your kids can't get into because you wouldn't wanna be interrupted.

 

[2blade]

I do and have been since 2009 without any problems. Both the wife and I work from home and our office space amounts to 10% of the square footage. So, its 10% on everything, household maintenance, taxes, insurance, you name it. My taxes are done by a CPA and he's got no problems with it. I do have paper copies of all expenses just in case.

 

[cnelk]

I do too.
A small sf office home designated and also included is a portion of my shop for tools/equipment storage.

 

[11boo]

We used to when the wife was WFH. Never got an audit triggered from that.

 

[TSAMP]

Just to add clarity here, are the folks doing this also business owners? There seems to be a difference WFH employees and WFH owners.

 

[nritzell]

I don't - I WFH twice a week so not sure if I'd be able to?

 

[cnelk]

Just to add clarity here, are the folks doing this also business owners? There seems to be a difference WFH employees and WFH owners.

I get 1099s from my side gig doing carpentry as a subcontractor. So yeah I’m a business owner

 

[180ls1]

I do. Never been audited or had an issue for over a decade now.

I'd be leery of anyone telling me not to do legitimate activities because of audit risks. You know what else is a huge audit risk? A high income.

 

[Silveroddo]

I did it for my 1099 side business for 7-8 years, I quit my w2 job and now I’m fully self employed. My wife has a side business in addition to her w2 job as well.