Maximizing Home Office Deduction

Many taxpayers who are entitled to the home office deduction don't claim it because they fear the IRS will disallow it. If part of your home is used exclusively and regularly for business, you may be able to deduct a share of expenses such as mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs and depreciation.

This 60-minute home office deduction webinar explains the tests for qualifying, how separate structures are handled, and the two methods for calculating the deduction, including working out the business-use percentage of your home. You'll also learn the special rules for daycares, business limits, where and how to report the deduction, and what happens when you sell the property, including the Section 121 exclusion. The session finishes with red flags to watch for.

• Explain what the home office deduction is
• Apply the tests to see whether a taxpayer qualifies
• Calculate the deduction using either method
• Identify where and how to report the deduction
• Apply the special rules for daycares
• Handle a sale of the property, including the Section 121 exclusion

• Tests for qualifying for the deduction
• Handling separate structures
• The two methods for calculating the deduction
• Special rules for daycares
• Selling the office property, including the Section 121 exclusion
• Business limits
• Red flags

Fear of an audit leads many eligible taxpayers to skip a legitimate deduction. Knowing the qualification tests, calculation methods and reporting rules lets you claim it with confidence and avoid red flags.

This session suits office managers, HR professionals, bookkeepers, accountants, business owners, financial planners and tax professionals.

• Office managers
• HR professionals
• Bookkeepers
• Accountants
• Business owners
• Financial planner
• Tax professionals

Jason Dinesen is the President of Dinesen Tax & Accounting, P.C., a public accounting firm in Indianola, Iowa. His practice focuses on accounting and bookkeeping services, tax preparation and business advising to individuals with a business focus ranging from home-based businesses to multistate corporations and not-for-profits. Dinesen has extensive experience working with a third-party administrator of retirement plans and is a prior presenter of multiple 1099 seminars. Dinesen majored in corporate communications with a minor in management from Simpson College