For U.S. federal taxes, you may deduct expenses for business use of your home only if your use qualifies under IRS rules. If you qualify, choose between the simplified method and the regular method: the first uses a prescribed square-foot rate, while the second allocates eligible actual home expenses. The method affects calculations, records, depreciation, and carryovers; it does not change the eligibility test.
Who can claim the home office deduction?
The rules below cover U.S. federal income taxes. A typical home office must be used regularly and exclusively for business, and it generally must be either your principal place of business or a place where you regularly meet clients, customers, or patients in the normal course of business. The client-meeting route can qualify even if the home office is not your principal place of business, provided the other conditions are met. See IRS Publication 587 (2025).
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Exclusive use generally means the area is not also used personally. Occasional meetings or telephone calls alone do not meet the test. The IRS also recognizes qualifying use of a separate structure, certain inventory or product-sample storage, and daycare. These categories have distinct requirements: for example, a separate structure need not be the principal place of business or a place where you meet clients, and inventory and daycare use have special rules. Do not assume every category is subject to the standard exclusive-use test in exactly the same way.
Which home expenses may be deductible?
Regular method: allocate eligible actual expenses
Under the regular method, you generally calculate the business-use share of eligible home expenses. Common expenses include rent, utilities, insurance, maintenance, mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and depreciation, when applicable and subject to allocation and limits. A direct expense relates only to the business area; an indirect expense benefits the home generally and is allocated between business and personal use. The treatment of an item can depend on whether it would otherwise be deductible personally.
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Keep business-use calculations and records for actual expenses. If you claim depreciation, retain records supporting the home’s basis and depreciation, including acquisition details, original purchase price, improvements, and depreciation allowed. The IRS discusses documentation in Publication 587 and its simplified-method FAQs.
Simplified method: use the prescribed area rate
The simplified method uses $5 per allowable square foot, up to 300 square feet, for a maximum square-foot calculation of $1,500 before the business-income limit. That is not a guaranteed deduction: the limit may reduce it. The IRS describes the rate and calculation on its simplified-option page.
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This rate replaces actual home-use expenses for that business use. You may still claim otherwise-deductible mortgage interest, property taxes, and casualty losses under personal tax rules when applicable, but not as business expenses for the same home use under this method. Keep records supporting eligibility and the area calculation even though the method requires less expense allocation.
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| Decision point | Simplified method | Regular method |
|---|---|---|
| Calculation | $5 per allowable square foot, capped at 300 square feet | Allocate eligible actual expenses using the business-use percentage |
| Home depreciation | No home depreciation deduction for a year using this method | May include depreciation for the business portion, subject to applicable rules |
| Mortgage interest and real estate taxes | If otherwise eligible, generally claimed as personal itemized deductions without allocating a business portion under this method | Allocated between personal and business treatment under applicable rules |
| Records and calculation | Less expense calculation, but eligibility and area support still matter | Actual expense records, allocation, and basis and depreciation records matter |
| Amount disallowed by income limit | Excess simplified amount is not carried forward | Some disallowed expenses may be carried forward under regular-method rules |
| Later sale of home | No depreciation recapture for years using the simplified method | Depreciation can affect gain and recapture treatment |
These distinctions follow IRS guidance in the simplified-method comparison, IRS FAQs, and Publication 587. The simplified option reduces calculation of actual home costs; it does not relax the qualification rules.
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What the business-income limit means
The home-use deduction generally cannot exceed gross income from the business use of the home after specified business expenses. As a result, the simplified method’s $1,500 maximum square-foot calculation may be reduced. Under the regular method, some expenses barred by the limit may be carried forward subject to IRS rules; the simplified method’s excess is not. Prior regular-method carryovers are subject to special rules if you switch to simplified treatment.
How to choose and report a method
You choose the method on a timely filed original federal return for the year. You can make a different choice for a later tax year, but you cannot change the method for the same year after filing that return. A later switch from simplified to regular requires use of the applicable optional depreciation table. Review the IRS simplified-option guidance and FAQs before filing.
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For a sole proprietor filing Schedule C, the IRS directs taxpayers to report the home-use deduction on Schedule C, using Form 8829 where applicable for the regular method; Schedule C instructions include a simplified-method worksheet. Partners and farmers filing Schedule F use different worksheets and may have additional qualification details. The current Form 8829 instructions are for 2025.
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What if you are an employee?
For federal tax years beginning after 2017, employees generally cannot deduct unreimbursed employee expenses, including home office expenses. Using the simplified method does not create eligibility. IRS guidance also says an employee’s qualifying home use must be for the employer’s convenience. A statutory employee with box 13 of Form W-2 checked follows the self-employed Schedule C rules identified by the IRS. See the IRS FAQs and Publication 587.
Records worth keeping
- Evidence supporting regular and exclusive business use, where those tests apply, and the area used.
- For the regular method, records of eligible home expenses and the business-use allocation.
- Home acquisition information, original purchase price, improvement costs, and depreciation allowed for business use.
- A copy of Form 8829 or the applicable worksheet and supporting calculations.
These records support the figures and basis calculations described in IRS Publication 587 and the IRS home office FAQs. The rules here are federal; state tax treatment is not established by these federal sources.
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