The Coupon Challenge

Hampton Roads (Virginia) Coupon Blog

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Coupons 101
    • Couponing Basics
    • Stock-up Price Guide
    • Printable Coupon Planner
  • Shop Smart
    • Amazon Deals
    • Retail Deals
    • Freebies >>
      • Birthday Freebies
      • Free eBooks
  • Find Coupons
    • Coupon Database
    • Printable Coupons >>
      • Coupons.com
      • RedPlum.com
      • SmartSource.com
      • Hopster.com
  • Frugal Living
    • Budgeting 101
    • Eliminate Debt & Curb Spending
    • How to Save Money at…
    • “Other Uses” Articles
    • Crafts
  • Recipes

Ask an Accountant: Home Office Space

by Dana Zeliff on April 10, 20112011-04-10
in Worth Reading

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Thanks to Mom on Dealz for sharing her new series, Ask an Accountant!  Sharon is married to an experienced accountant, so if you’re looking for a professional to help out with taxes this year, give him a call.

Question:
How do I determine the amount of office space to use for a write off?

Answer:

A home office is defined by IRS guidelines as “any area of your home used exclusively for business”. This means, it cannot serve any other purpose other than business use. If an area of you home qualifies, the easiest way to determine the area is to estimate the suare footage of the business area of the home as a percentage of the entire square footage of the home.

This is reported on Form 8829, then you are able to apply that percentage to mortgage interest, real estate taxes, hazard insurance, repairs, and utilities and get a better deduction than you would normally get from those items on schedule A. The remaining percentage of the mortgage interest & real estate tax then goes on the appropriate line on Schedule A.

Here is an example
: Your home is 1,000 sqaure feet and your home office is 100 square feet. Therefore your business percentage is 10%. You would then apply the 10% to your mortgage interest, real estate taxes, hazard insurance, repairs, and utilities. Your remaining percentage of mortgage interest and real estate tax would be 90% and would go on your scedule A.

*Please keep in mind this post is for informational purposes only and answers given are very general. Many things depend on individual circumstances. Please contact your personal accountant or financial advisor for your particular situation
.

photo credit: austinpost.org

Filed Under: Worth Reading Tagged With: Ask an Accountant

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


BGt

Shop Amazon

Let’s Cook








Categories

Join Me on Pinterest!

About The Coupon Challenge

Hi! I'm Dana, the writer behind the scenes of The Coupon Challenge, a Hampton Roads, VA based coupon blog. I'm a wife and mother of 2. After getting out of debt we started using our savings to travel together as a family and create memories.

Are you looking for ways to save your family money? I strive to help you save on the products you need, so you can spend more on the things you want. Read More about Dana & Family

Best of…

:: Weight Watchers Banana Bread Recipe
:: 16 Other Uses for Listerine
:: Quick Easy Chocolate Frosting Recipe
:: Busch Gardens Williamsburg Discount Tickets
:: Yankee Candle Printable Coupons
:: Printable Snack Coupons

Copyright 2015 The Coupon Challenge. All Rights Reserved.

Proudly Hosted by WP Covered using the Genesis framework.
Disclosure & Privacy Policy