Do you want to simplify your tax return, yet still claim a deduction for your home office? Beginning in tax year 2013 (returns that we will file in 2014), taxpayers may use a simplified option when figuring the deduction for business use of their home.
Even if you have never before qualified for a home office deduction, you may be able to now. Starting a few years ago, the IRS began to apply more liberal rules, allowing more people to qualify for the write-off. Specifically, the old, hard-to-meet “principal place of business” standard was made much more taxpayer-friendly. But there are other scenarios that allow you to claim deductions as well.