If your office space is in a rented house or apartment where you live deduct the percentage of the rent and any maintenance costs you paid that relate to the work space.
Can you deduct home office expenses if you are an employee. Home office tax deduction for self employed workers before we dive further into this topic unfortunately if you are an employee you are not eligible for this deduction. If you don t qualify for the home office deduction but regularly use your office for work try to get your employer to reimburse you for your home office expenses. Gail rosen before the 2018 tax reform bill you could deduct employee business expenses such as the home office expenses for employees who telecommute as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on schedule a. The sorts of expenses you can claim for a home office depend on your work situation dawson says.
The irs allows you to deduct unreimbursed employee business expenses including use of a home office space if the expense is considered to be both ordinary and necessary an ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your trade or profession. For a full explanation of tax deductions for your home office refer to publication 587 business use of your home. In past years if you were an employee who worked from home you could deduct your home office expenses as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on line 21 of schedule a. The amount you can deduct for work space in the home expenses is limited to the amount of employment income remaining after all other employment expenses have been deducted.
If the use of the home office is merely appropriate and helpful you cannot deduct expenses for the business use of your home. An expense does not have to be required by your employer in. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your business. To be entitled to deduct home office expenses an employee must be required by the contract of employment to maintain such an office as certified by the employer on the t2200.
Required by the contract of employment an employee may deduct home office expenses only if the employee is required by the contract of employment to supply and or pay for them. The rules vary for those who are employees employees who make commission and those who are self. In addition to deduct office space expenses the employee s work space at home must be the place where the employee principally performs her duties. In this publication you will find.