What can I deduct when I have a home office?

Question

I am going to chiropractic school and when I graduate i would like to have an office w/ an apartment upstairs and live upstairs? Will this constitute a "home office" if so what can I deduct? What about if I rent the upstairs apartment out and do not live there can I deduct anything then? I mean deduct for tax purposes...heating/cooling, phone, internet, water, etc

Answer 1

You can only deduct the portion of the home that is actually used for business purposes. If you have 1 room dedicated to your home office, but you have a kitchen, bedroom, etc., you can not deduct the entire rent or mortgage, just the amount you use for business. Same with utilities.

There are many variables. I strongly recommend looking at the IRS website, they have all the information you'll need to calculate the correct percentages for deductions.

Here's the page you need:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p587/ar02.html

Answer 2

Yes you can claim a home office but only if used for the business no private use. If you rent out the space then you will be a landlord and you can claim/tax dduct anything you pay for.