Employees may only take the home office deduction if they maintain the home office for the convenience of their employer.
Home office deduction w2 employee. I have worked from home all of 2015. The easiest way to calculate your home office tax deduction is called the simplified method the irs allows taxpayers to deduct 5 per square foot up to 300 square feet of home used in. According to the irs if you are a w 2 employee but not listed as a statutory employee which means that the employer did withhold federal income taxes then you are only eligible to deduct your necessary but unreimbursed business expenses as schedule a form 2106 expenses and that none of those expenses can be allocated to schedule c home office expenses. Before 2018 employees could deduct unreimbursed employee business expenses including the home office deduction if eligible as miscellaneous itemized deductions on schedule a.
In this publication you will find. What tax reform did to the home office deduction tax reform eliminated the employee home office deduction by taking away the ability to claim miscellaneous itemized deductions. Requirements for qualifying to deduct expenses including special rules for storing inventory or product samples. The short version is that if you are a w 2 employee you are no longer able to benefit from the home office deduction even if you work from home full time.
You need to figure out the percentage of your home devoted to your business activities utilities repairs and depreciation. An employee s home office is deemed to be for an employer s convenience only if it is. Necessary for the employer s business to properly function or. Home office tax deduction changes for employees.
Let s start with how tax reform affects deductions for w2 employees. If you use part of your home exclusively and regularly for conducting business you may be able to deduct expenses such as mortgage interest insurance utilities repairs and depreciation for that area. For tax years 2018 through 2025 tax reform has eliminated the itemized deduction for employee business expenses. A condition of employment.
Currently you need to have self. I have entered my w 2 info under personal wages and salaries but i do not see where how to add info that work from home. I have the qualifying space that is set up with computer printer filing cabinet and is used exclusively for my w 2 job.