Additional tests for employee use.   If you are an employee and you use a part of your home for business, you may qualify for a deduction for its business use. You must meet the tests discussed earlier plus: If the use of the home office is merely appropriate and helpful, you cannot deduct expenses for the business use of your home.

To qualify under the exclusive use test, you must use a specific area of your home only for your trade or business. The area used for business can be a room or other separately identifiable space. The space does not need to be marked off by a permanent partition.

You do not meet the requirements of the exclusive use test if you use the area in question both for business and for personal purposes.

To qualify under the regular use test, you must use a specific area of your home for business on a regular basis. Incidental or occasional business use is not regular use. You must consider all facts and circumstances in determining whether your use is on a regular basis.

To qualify under the trade-or-business-use test, you must use part of your home in connection with a trade or business. If you use your home for a profit-seeking activity that is not a trade or business, you cannot take a deduction for its business use.

You can have more than one business location, including your home, for a single trade or business. To qualify to deduct the expenses for the business use of your home under the principal place of business test, your home must be your principal place of business for that trade or business. To determine whether your home is your principal place of business, you must consider:

Your home office will qualify as your principal place of business if you meet the following requirements.

If, after considering your business locations, your home cannot be identified as your principal place of business, you cannot deduct home office expenses. However, see the later discussions under Place To Meet Patients, Clients, or Customers and Separate Structure for other ways to qualify to deduct home office expenses.

If you meet or deal with patients, clients, or customers in your home in the normal course of your business, even though you also carry on business at another location, you can deduct your expenses for the part of your home used exclusively and regularly for business if you meet both the following tests.

Doctors, dentists, attorneys, and other professionals who maintain offices in their homes generally will meet this requirement.

Using your home for occasional meetings and telephone calls will not qualify you to deduct expenses for the business use of your home.

The part of your home you use exclusively and regularly to meet patients, clients, or customers does not have to be your principal place of business.

You can deduct expenses for a separate free-standing structure, such as a studio, workshop, garage, or barn, if you use it exclusively and regularly for your business. The structure does not have to be your principal place of business or a place where you meet patients, clients, or customers.

Rental to employer.   If you rent part of your home to your employer and you use the rented part in performing services for your employer as an employee, your deduction for the business use of your home is limited. You can deduct mortgage interest, qualified mortgage insurance premiums, real estate taxes, and personal casualty losses for the rented part, subject to any limitations. However, you cannot deduct otherwise allowable trade or business expenses, business casualty losses, or depreciation related to the use of your home in performing services for your employer.

To find the business percentage, compare the size of the part of your home that you use for business to your whole house. Use the resulting percentage to figure the business part of the expenses for operating your entire home.

You can use any reasonable method to determine the business percentage. The following are two commonly used methods for figuring the percentage.

Use lines 1-7 of Form 8829, or lines 1-3 on the Worksheet To Figure the Deduction for Business Use of Your Home (near the end of this publication) to figure your business percentage.

You cannot deduct expenses for the business use of your home incurred during any part of the year you did not use your home for business purposes. For example, if you begin using part of your home for business on July 1, and you meet all the tests from that date until the end of the year, consider only your expenses for the last half of the year in figuring your allowable deduction.

If your gross income from the business use of your home equals or exceeds your total business expenses (including depreciation), you can deduct all your business expenses related to the use of your home.

If your gross income from the business use of your home is less than your total business expenses, your deduction for certain expenses for the business use of your home is limited.

Your deduction of otherwise nondeductible expenses, such as insurance, utilities, and depreciation (with depreciation taken last), that are allocable to the business, is limited to the gross income from the business use of your home minus the sum of the following.

If you are self-employed, do not include in (2) above your deduction for the deductible part of your self-employment tax.

If your home office qualifies as your principal place of business, you can deduct your daily transportation costs between your home and another work location in the same trade or business. For more information on transportation costs, see Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses.

The part of a home operating expense you can use to figure your deduction depends on both of the following.

Table 1, next, describes the types of expenses you may have and the extent to which they are deductible.

Form 8829 and the Worksheet To Figure the Deduction for Business Use of Your Home have separate columns for direct and indirect expenses.

Certain expenses are deductible whether or not you use your home for business. If you qualify to deduct business use of the home expenses, use the business percentage of these expenses to figure your total business use of the home deduction. These expenses include the following.

Other expenses are deductible only if you use your home for business. You can use the business percentage of these expenses to figure your total business use of the home deduction. These expenses generally include (but are not limited to) the following.

Adjusted basis defined.   The adjusted basis of your home is generally its cost, plus the cost of any permanent improvements you made to it, minus any casualty losses or depreciation deducted in earlier tax years. For a discussion of adjusted basis, see Publication 551.

Permanent improvements.   A permanent improvement increases the value of property, adds to its life, or gives it a new or different use. Examples of improvements are replacing electric wiring or plumbing, adding a new roof or addition, paneling, or remodeling.

   You must carefully distinguish between repairs and improvements. See Repairs , earlier, under Deducting Expenses. You also must keep accurate records of these expenses. These records will help you decide whether an expense is a deductible or a capital (added to the basis) expense. However, if you make repairs as part of an extensive remodeling or restoration of your home, the entire job is an improvement.

Adjusting for depreciation deducted in earlier years.   Decrease the basis of your property by the depreciation you deducted, or could have deducted, on your tax returns under the method of depreciation you properly selected. If you deducted less depreciation than you could have under the method you selected, decrease the basis by the amount you could have deducted under that method. If you did not deduct any depreciation, decrease the basis by the amount you could have deducted.

  If you deducted more depreciation than you should have, decrease your basis by the amount you should have deducted, plus the part of the excess depreciation you deducted that actually decreased your tax liability for any year.

  If you deducted the incorrect amount of depreciation, see Publication 946.

Fair market value defined.   The fair market value of your home is the price at which the property would change hands between a buyer and a seller, neither having to buy or sell, and both having reasonable knowledge of all necessary facts. Sales of similar property, on or about the date you begin using your home for business, may be helpful in determining the property's fair market value.

If you began using your home for business before 2012, continue to use the same depreciation method you used in past tax years.

If you began using your home for business for the first time in 2012, depreciate the business part as nonresidential real property under the modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS). Under MACRS, nonresidential real property is depreciated using the straight line method over 39 years. For more information on MACRS and other methods of depreciation, see Publication 946.

To figure the depreciation deduction, you must first figure the part of the cost of your home that can be depreciated (depreciable basis). The depreciable basis is figured by multiplying the percentage of your home used for business by the smaller of the following.

Figuring the deduction.   If you regularly use part of your home for daycare, figure what part is used for daycare, as explained in Business Percentage , earlier, under Figuring the Deduction. If you use that part exclusively for daycare, deduct all the allocable expenses, subject to the deduction limit, as explained earlier.

  If the use of part of your home as a daycare facility is regular, but not exclusive, you must figure the percentage of time that part of your home is used for daycare. A room that is available for use throughout each business day and that you regularly use in your business is considered to be used for daycare throughout each business day. You do not have to keep records to show the specific hours the area was used for business. You can use the area occasionally for personal reasons. However, a room you use only occasionally for business does not qualify for the deduction.

Meals.   If you provide food for your daycare recipients, do not include the expense as a cost of using your home for business. Claim it as a separate deduction on your Schedule C (Form 1040). You can never deduct the cost of food consumed by you or your family. You can deduct as a business expense 100% of the actual cost of food consumed by your daycare recipients (see Standard meal and snack rates , later, for an optional method for eligible children) and generally only 50% of the cost of food consumed by your employees. However, you can deduct 100% of the cost of food consumed by your employees if its value can be excluded from their wages as a de minimis fringe benefit. For more information on meals that meet these requirements, see Meals in chapter 2 of Publication 15-B, Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits.

  If you deduct the actual cost of food for your daycare business, keep a separate record (with receipts) of your family's food costs.

  Reimbursements you receive from a sponsor under the Child and Adult Care Food Program of the Department of Agriculture are taxable only to the extent they exceed your expenses for food for eligible children. If your reimbursements are more than your expenses for food, show the difference as income in Part I of Schedule C (Form 1040). If your food expenses are greater than the reimbursements, show the difference as an expense in Part V of Schedule C (Form 1040). Do not include payments or expenses for your own children if they are eligible for the program. Follow this procedure even if you receive a Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, reporting a payment from the sponsor.

Standard meal and snack rates.   If you qualify as a family daycare provider, you can use the standard meal and snack rates, instead of actual costs, to compute the deductible cost of meals and snacks provided to eligible children. For these purposes:

  You can compute the deductible cost of each meal and snack you actually purchased and served to an eligible child during the time period you provided family daycare using the standard meal and snack rates shown in Table 3, later. You can use the standard meal and snack rates for a maximum of one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner, and three snacks per eligible child per day. If you receive reimbursement for a particular meal or snack, you can deduct only the portion of the applicable standard meal or snack rate that is more than the amount of the reimbursement.

  You can use either the standard meal and snack rates or actual costs to calculate the deductible cost of food provided to eligible children in the family daycare for any particular tax year. If you choose to use the standard meal and snack rates for a particular tax year, you must use the rates for all your deductible food costs for eligible children during that tax year. However, if you use the standard meal and snack rates in any tax year, you can use actual costs to compute the deductible cost of food in any other tax year.

  If you use the standard meal and snack rates, you must maintain records to substantiate the computation of the total amount deducted for the cost of food provided to eligible children. The records kept should include the name of each child, dates and hours of attendance in the daycare, and the type and quantity of meals and snacks served. This information can be recorded in a log similar to the one shown in Exhibit A, near the end of this publication.

  The standard meal and snack rates include beverages, but do not include non-food supplies used for food preparation, service, or storage, such as containers, paper products, or utensils. These expenses can be claimed as a separate deduction on your Schedule C (Form 1040). 
 

Ownership and use tests.   To qualify for the exclusion, you must meet the ownership and use tests. This means that during the 5-year period ending on the date of the sale:

If you use property partly as a home and partly for business, the treatment of any gain on the sale varies depending on whether the part of the property used for business is part of your home or separate from it.

If you were entitled to deduct depreciation on the part of your home used for business, you cannot exclude the part of the gain equal to any depreciation you deducted (or could have deducted) for periods after May 6, 1997. This means that when figuring the amount of gain you can exclude, you must reduce the total gain by any depreciation allowed or allowable on the part of your home used for business after May 6, 1997.

If you can show by adequate records or other evidence that the depreciation you actually deducted (the allowed depreciation) was less than the amount you were entitled to deduct (the allowable depreciation), the amount you cannot exclude (and must subtract from your total gain when figuring your exclusion) is the amount you actually deducted.

You do not have to reduce the gain by any depreciation you deducted (or could have deducted) for a separate structure for which you cannot exclude the allocable portion of the gain.

If you used any part of your home for business, you must adjust the basis of your home for any depreciation that was allowable for its business use, even if you did not claim it. If you deducted less depreciation than you could have under the method you properly selected, you must decrease the basis by the amount you could have deducted under that method. If you deducted more depreciation than you should have under the method you properly selected, you must decrease the basis by the amount you should have deducted, plus the part of the excess deducted that actually decreased your tax liability for any year. For more information on reducing the basis of your property for depreciation, see Publication 551.

Do not report the 2012 sale of your main home on your tax return unless:

If any of these conditions apply, report the gain or loss as explained in the Instructions for Schedule D.

If you used the home for business, you may have to use Form 4797 to report the sale of the business part. See the Instructions for Form 4797.

This section covers only the basic rules for the sale or exchange of your home. For more information, see Publication 523.

If you use certain types of property, called listed property, in your home, special rules apply. Listed property includes computers and related equipment and any property of a type generally used for entertainment, recreation, and amusement (including photographic, phonographic, and video recording equipment).

If you bought certain property during 2012 to use in your business, you can do any one of the following (subject to the limits discussed later).

If you use property in your home office that was used previously for personal purposes, you cannot take a section 179 deduction for the property. You also cannot take a special depreciation allowance for the property. You can depreciate it, however. The method of depreciation you use depends on when you first used the property for personal purposes.

If you began using the property for personal purposes after 1986 and change it to business use in 2012, depreciate the property under MACRS.

The basis for depreciation of property changed from personal to business use is the lesser of the following.

If you began using the property for personal purposes after 1980 and before 1987 and change it to business use in 2012, you generally depreciate the property under the accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS). However, if the depreciation under ACRS is greater in the first year than the depreciation under MACRS, you must depreciate it under MACRS. For information on ACRS, see Publication 534, Depreciating Property Placed in Service Before 1987.

If you began using the property for personal purposes before 1981 and change it to business use in 2012, depreciate the property by the straight line or declining balance method based on salvage value and useful life.

If you are self-employed and file Schedule C (Form 1040), complete and attach Form 8829 to your return.

If you file Schedule F (Form 1040), report your entire deduction for business use of the home (line 33 of the Worksheet To Figure the Deduction for Business Use of Your Home ), up to the deduction limit discussed under Figuring the deduction , earlier, on line 32 of Schedule F (Form 1040). Enter “Business Use of Home” on the dotted line beside the entry.

As an employee, you must itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040) to claim a deduction for the business use of your home and any other employee business expenses. This generally applies to all employees, including outside salespersons. If you are a statutory employee, use Schedule C (Form 1040) to claim the expenses. Follow the instructions given earlier under Self-Employed Persons . The statutory employee box within box 13 on your Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, will be checked if you are a statutory employee.

If you have employee expenses for which you were not reimbursed, report them on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 21. You also generally must complete Form 2106 if either of the following apply.

However, you can use the simpler Form 2106-EZ, instead of Form 2106, if you meet the following requirements.

When your employer pays for your expenses using a reimbursement or allowance arrangement, the payments generally should not be on your Form W-2 if all the following rules for an accountable plan are met.

If you meet the accountable plan rules and your business expenses equal your reimbursement, do not report the reimbursement as income and do not deduct the expenses.

You may be allowed to deduct unreimbursed ordinary and necessary expenses you paid on behalf of the partnership (including qualified expenses for the business use of your home) if you were required to pay these expenses under the partnership agreement.

Use the Worksheet To Figure the Deduction for Business Use of Your Home , near the end of this publication, to figure the deduction for the business use of your home.

If you are an employee or a partner, or you file Schedule F (Form 1040), use the Worksheet To Figure the Deduction for Business Use of Your Home . The following instructions explain how to complete each part of the worksheet.

If you file Schedule C (Form 1040), use Form 8829 to figure the deductions and attach the form to your return.

Free help with your tax return.   Free help in preparing your return is available nationwide from IRS-certified volunteers. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is designed to help low-moderate income, elderly, disabled, and limited English proficient taxpayers. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program is designed to assist taxpayers age 60 and older with their tax returns. Most VITA and TCE sites offer free electronic filing and all volunteers will let you know about credits and deductions you may be entitled to claim. Some VITA and TCE sites provide taxpayers the opportunity to prepare their return with the assistance of an IRS-certified volunteer. To find the nearest VITA or TCE site, visit IRS.gov or call 1-800-906-9887 or 1-800-829-1040.

  As part of the TCE program, AARP offers the Tax-Aide counseling program. To find the nearest AARP Tax-Aide site, visit AARP's website at www.aarp.org/money/taxaide or call 1-888-227-7669.

  For more information on these programs, go to IRS.gov and enter “VITA” in the search box.

Taxpayer Advocate Service.   The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is your voice at the IRS. Its job is to ensure that every taxpayer is treated fairly, and that you know and understand your rights. TAS offers free help to guide you through the often-confusing process of resolving tax problems that you haven’t been able to solve on your own. Remember, the worst thing you can do is nothing at all.

  TAS can help if you can’t resolve your problem with the IRS and:

  If you qualify for help, they will do everything they can to get your problem resolved. You will be assigned to one advocate who will be with you at every turn. TAS has offices in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Although TAS is independent within the IRS, their advocates know how to work with the IRS to get your problems resolved. And its services are always free.

  As a taxpayer, you have rights that the IRS must abide by in its dealings with you. The TAS tax toolkit at www.TaxpayerAdvocate.irs.gov can help you understand these rights.

  If you think TAS might be able to help you, call your local advocate, whose number is in your phone book and on our website at www.irs.gov/advocate. You can also call the toll-free number at 1-877-777-4778. Deaf and hard of hearing individuals who have access to TTY/TDD equipment can call 1-800-829-4059. These individuals can also access the IRS through relay services such as the Federal Relay Service at www.gsa.gov/fedrelay.

  TAS also handles large-scale or systemic problems that affect many taxpayers. If you know of one of these broad issues, please report it through the Systemic Advocacy Management System at www.irs.gov/advocate.

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs).   Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) are independent from the IRS. Some clinics serve individuals whose income is below a certain level and who need to resolve a tax problem. These clinics provide professional representation before the IRS or in court on audits, appeals, tax collection disputes, and other issues for free or for a small fee. Some clinics can provide information about taxpayer rights and responsibilities in many different languages for individuals who speak English as a second language. For more information and to find a clinic near you, see the LITC page on www.irs.gov/advocate or IRS Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List. This publication is also available by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) or at your local IRS office.

Free tax services.   Publication 910, IRS Guide to Free Tax Services, is your guide to IRS services and resources. Learn about free tax information from the IRS, including publications, services, and education and assistance programs. The publication also has an index of over 100 TeleTax topics (recorded tax information) you can listen to on the telephone. The majority of the information and services listed in this publication are available to you free of charge. If there is a fee associated with a resource or service, it is listed in the publication.

  Accessible versions of IRS published products are available on request in a variety of alternative formats for people with disabilities.