Tax Relief - Deductions for Your Home Office

If you have or hold office in your home, you can getor building, but must be a defined space.
tax deductions for it. The deduction depends mainly onA percentage of your home's expenses can be
how much space you use as office, or how often youdeductible, including mortgage or lease expenses,
use it.improvements, general repairs, utilities like electricity,
The qualifying indicators are:phone bills and garbage pick-up, insurance fees and
- You are self-employed, work-at-home employee orproperty taxes. Portions of your home's purchase
has no other workplaceprice can also be allowed depreciation costs. The
- Considers an exclusive part of your home as 'office'percentage for deduction is computed by dividing the
- It is where you regularly (often, nor rarely) receiveacquisition cost by 39.5 then again dividing the obtained
visitors, patients, customers or clients in the normalamount by the portion used as office in terms of floor
conduct of businessarea. The area can include bathrooms if those are
- Your business gross income exceeds the deductionsused exclusively by clients.
As an office, the space should be your mainDeductible amounts can be 100% for expenses
workspace, where you do or conduct your businessdirectly related to the office such as repairs, painting,
or your administrative or management work. The lattercleaning, insurance rider, and utilities like phone if the line
definition encompasses the space used byis separate and electricity if there is a meter separate
salespeople, plumbers and repairmen, veterinarians, andfrom that of the household. Otherwise, the percentage
others who work outside but do their paperwork inrule applies.
their homes. The space need not be a separate room