Course Description

Each year the U.S. Census Bureau publishes what it refers to as nonemployer statistics that may provide information about the increased importance of the business use of taxpayers’ homes. A “nonemployer,” for purposes of the statistics, is defined as a business that has no paid employees, has annual business receipts of at least $1,000 and is subject to federal income taxes. These nonemployers may be organized as corporations, partnerships or sole proprietorships. Because they have no paid employees, nonemployers are more likely than others to operate their businesses from their homes and seek a home office tax deduction.

This course will examine the federal income tax deduction for business use of a home and will discuss:

• Qualifying for a home office tax deduction;
• Determining a taxpayer’s home office deduction using the actual expense and simplified methods;
• The special home-office deduction rules that apply to daycare facilities;
• The taxpayer’s home-office deduction record keeping requirements; and
• Where to take the deduction and the forms a tax preparer must use in connection with it.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the home-office deduction qualification rules
• Identify the types of home office use to which the exclusive use requirement does not apply and the various types of taxpayer expenses that may be used to support a deduction for business use of a home
• Identify the rules applicable to the simplified method of figuring the home-office deduction
• Identify the tax forms on which a home-office deduction should be taken
• Recognize the recordkeeping requirements applicable to documents supporting a taxpayer’s home-office deduction