J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2013: For Preparing Your 2012 Tax Return

40.12 Home Office Deduction

If you operate your business from your home, using a room or other space as an office or area to assemble or prepare items for sale, you may be able to deduct expenses such as utilities, insurance, repairs, and depreciation allocated to your business use of the area. Collectively, these expenses are deducted as a single write-off, called the home office deduction.

Exclusive and regular use.

To deduct home office expenses, you must prove that you use the home area exclusively and on a regular basis either as:

1. A place of business to meet or deal with patients, clients, or customers in the normal course of your business (incidental or occasional meetings do not meet this test), or

2. Your principal place of business. Your home office will qualify as your principal place of business if you spend most of your working time there and most of your business income is attributable to your activities there.

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Filing Tip

Using a Home Office for Administrative Tasks

A home office deduction may be claimed if you regularly and exclusively use part of your home as the only place for conducting the administrative or management activities of your business, or if only minimal administrative work is done outside your home. The home area qualifies as your principal place of business even if you spend most of your working time providing services ...