This could be good news for the some 20 million of us who work from a home office and would like to have a simple way to take a deduction for that office. Two bills now before Congress would simplify the home office tax deduction. It appears they may actually relax the law’s silly limitations regarding personal use of the home office space.
The two bills can be found here:
Under the current tax code, even if a taxpayer muddles through the home office deduction work sheet, they find the deduction cannot be taken if they have used the home office for non-business purposes, like making a personal phone call or surfing the Internet. About.com
Rep. Charles Gonzales, sponsor of HR 7074 said “The bill would bring clarity to the process of claiming the tax deduction for a home office and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish an optional standard deduction.” Gonzales went on to further state,
“Home businesses already make up 53 percent of all small businesses, and, in our ever-changing economy, technological advances are allowing the ranks of home businesses to grow year after year. This is one issue facing Congress that can and should be solved with a clear, reasonable, and relatively simple fix.” Press Release
HR 7074 also seems to take into consideration the fact times have changed with technology since the code was written concerning home office deduction. This bill would “modernize the deduction.”
It would allow a taxpayers to take the home office deduction they used their home to interact with clients, regardless of whether the clients were physically present.
And that is exactly how some are able to work from a home office, when in the past it would have been impossible. Contact your congressman and encourage them to vote for both of these bills.
