Overview

The U.S. Census Bureau shows an increasing number of self-employed businesses, from a total of 19.5 million in 2004 to 25.7 million in 2017. Clearly, the likelihood that any tax return preparer will be required to prepare a taxpayer’s tax return with a home office deduction is becoming more likely each year.

This course examines the deduction for business use of a home and:
• 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;
• Home-office deduction recordkeeping requirements; and
• Where to take the deduction and the forms used with this deduction.

Learning objectives

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to understand:

• Apply the home-office deduction qualification rules;
• Identify the types of home office use to which the exclusive use requirement does not apply;
• Describe the various types of taxpayer expenses that may be used to support a deduction for business use of a home;
• Apply 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; and
• Recognize the recordkeeping requirements applicable to documents supporting a taxpayer’s home-office deduction.