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Starting 2013 Claiming a Home Office on
Your Taxes Will Get Easier
If
you claim your home office as a tax deduction,
the IRS has good news for you.
Starting in 2013, taxpayers who work primarily from home will have
the option to use a simplified
form based on their office's square footage.
The
new optional deduction, capped at $1,500 per year based on $5
a square foot for up to 300 square feet, will reduce a lot the
paperwork and record keeping burden on eligible small businesses. No
longer will taxpayers who claim the home-office deduction have to
keep such detailed records throughout the year, fill out lengthy
forms, and calculate related expenses. However, depending on your
Tax situation, it could cost you more money to use the new form,
according to the "Wall Street Journal."
The
new option provides eligible taxpayers an easier path (but
not necessarily the most Tax benefit method) to claiming the home
office deduction. Currently, they are generally required to fill out
a 43-line form
(Form 8829) often with complex calculations of allocated
expenses, depreciation and carryovers of unused deductions.
Taxpayers claiming the optional deduction will complete a
significantly simplified form.
Business expenses unrelated to the home, such as advertising,
supplies and wages paid to employees are still fully deductible.
Current restrictions on the home office deduction, such as the
requirement that a home office must be used regularly and
exclusively for business and the limit tied to the income derived
from the particular business, still apply under the new option.
The new simplified option is available starting with the 2013 Tax
return which most taxpayers file early in 2014.
Check
with your tax professional to determine which option, the new
simplified form or the regular method, is right for you.
For more advice on maximizing your tax deductions, read "Make
this year less taxing" from the January/February 2012
"Texas REALTOR®" magazine.
To see other Hot Topics and changes in Year 2013, especially related
to the Mortgages and Residential Loans, that affect the
affordability and qualification of the residential home purchasers,
please visit my site at
http://www.texasfivestarrealty.com/index.asp |
