Form 8829: Expenses for Business Use of Your Home
There are numerous benefits to working from home: no commute, increased productivity, and flexible hours just to name a few. Plus, if you’re self-employed or a small business owner, you may be able to deduct expenses related to the business use of your home. Form 8829 is used to determine what expenses you can or cannot claim.
Who can claim the home office deduction?
The home office deduction cannot be claimed by employees. It’s only available to those who are business owners, freelancers, and gig economy workers. Generally, you can use Form 8829 to claim the home office deduction if:
- The workspace is your principal place of business. This should be where you take care of management and administrative duties such as billing customers, ordering supplies, setting up appointments, etc.
- The area is regularly and exclusively used for running your business. It cannot double as a guest room, playroom, or anything else when you’re off the clock.
Note: There is an exception to the exclusivity rule for certain daycare facilities.
Using Form 8829
Form 8829 is one page long and contains four parts.
- Part I is used to calculate the percentage of your home used for business. To get your business percentage, simply divide the square footage of your home office by the total square footage of your home.
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Part II is used to figure out your allowable deduction. Deductible home office expenses include:
- Mortgage interest
- Real estate taxes
- Insurance
- Rent
- Repairs and maintenance
- Utilities
- Part III is used to calculate the depreciation of your home.
- Part IV is used to calculate any operating expenses, excess casualty losses and depreciation that can be carried over to next year.
How to file Form 8829
File your self-employed taxes the fast and ez way with ezTaxReturn. Just answer our simple questions and we’ll complete Part I and II of Form 8829, as well as your Schedule C.
