Do You Run A Business From Home?

The pandemic changed the landscape of work for a lot of people, including the numerous business owners who began running their businesses from their homes. Many are still working from their home offices, whether full-time or on a hybrid basis. If you’re self-employed and run your business from home, or perform certain functions there, you might be able to claim deductions for home office expenses against your business income.

 

How to qualify

In general, self-employed taxpayers qualify for home office deductions if part of their home is used “regularly and exclusively” as the principal place of business.

If your home isn’t your principal place of business, you may still be able to deduct home office expenses if:

1. You physically meet with patients, clients or customers on your premises, or

2. You use a storage area in your home (or a separate free-standing structure, such as a garage) exclusively and regularly for business.

Keep in mind the requirement that the space be used exclusively for business. For example, if your home office is also a guest bedroom, you can’t deduct the entire space as a home office expense. But if you use the desk area of the room exclusively for business, you can deduct that portion of the room, as long as you otherwise qualify.

 

Expenses you can deduct

Many eligible taxpayers deduct actual expenses when they claim home office deductions. Deductible home office expenses may include:

• Direct expenses, such as the cost of painting and carpeting a room used exclusively for business,
• A proportionate share of indirect expenses, including mortgage interest, rent, property taxes, utilities, repairs and insurance, and
• Depreciation.

 

But keeping track of actual expenses can take time, and it requires organized recordkeeping.

 

The simpler method

Fortunately, there’s a simplified method: You can deduct $5 for each square foot of home office space, up to $1,500.

The cap can make the simplified method less valuable for larger home office spaces. Even for small spaces, taxpayers may qualify for bigger deductions using the actual expense method. So tracking your actual expenses can be worth it.

When claiming home office deductions, you’re not stuck with a particular method. For instance, you might have chosen the actual expense method when you filed your 2022 return, but then use the simplified method when you file your 2023 return next year, and the following year switch back to the actual expense method. The choice is yours.

 

More considerations

The amount of your deductions is subject to limitations based on the income attributable to your use of the office. Other rules and limitations may apply. But eligible home office expenses that can’t be deducted because of these limitations can be carried forward and may be able to be deducted in later years.

Also be aware that, if you sell a home on which you claimed home office deductions, there may be tax implications. Contact us for more information.

 

A valuable deduction

You might be wondering why only business owners and the self-employed have been addressed here. Unfortunately, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended home office deductions from 2018 through 2025 for employees, even if you’re currently working from home because your employer doesn’t provide office space.

But the home office deduction can be valuable to those who’re eligible for it. We can help you determine if you’re eligible and the best method for claiming the deduction in your situation.

 

The Deductibility Of Medical Expenses

Individual taxpayers may be able to claim medical expense deductions on their tax returns. However, the rules can be challenging, and qualifying can be difficult.

 

5 key points

Here are five points to keep in mind:

1. You must itemize to claim the deduction and have a lot of expenses. The medical expense deduction can be claimed only to the extent your unreimbursed costs exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. If your total itemized deductions in 2023 will exceed your standard deduction, moving or “bunching” nonurgent medical procedures and other controllable expenses into this year may allow you to exceed the 7.5% floor and benefit from the deduction.

2. Health insurance premiums may help. These can total thousands of dollars a year. You may be able deduct the portion of the premiums that you pay for employer-provided health coverage, but only if they aren’t taken out of your paycheck pre-tax. Long-term care insurance premiums are also included as medical expenses, subject to limits based on age.

3. Transportation counts. The cost of getting to and from medical appointments counts as a medical expense. This includes taxis, public transportation or using your own vehicle. Vehicle costs can be calculated at 22 cents a mile for miles driven in 2023, plus tolls and parking. Alternatively, you can deduct certain actual costs (such as for gas and oil) that directly relate to your medical transportation.

4. Controllable costs are key. These include the costs of glasses, hearing aids, dental work, mental health counseling and other ongoing expenses in connection with medical needs. Purely cosmetic expenses generally aren’t eligible. Prescription drugs (including insulin) qualify, but over-the-counter medications and supplements such as aspirin and vitamins don’t. The services of therapists and nurses can qualify if they relate to medical conditions.

5. Don’t overlook smoking-cessation and weight-loss programs. Amounts paid for participating in smoking-cessation programs and for prescribed drugs designed to alleviate nicotine withdrawal are deductible. However, nonprescription nicotine gum and patches aren’t. A weight-loss program is deductible if undertaken as treatment for a disease diagnosed by a physician. Deductible expenses include fees paid to join a program and attend periodic meetings. The cost of diet food isn’t deductible.

 

Still unsure?

IRS Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses, provides complete details on this topic. Or contact us with questions.