In today's presentation we are going to continue our hiring and managing series with a look thorough overview of how to deduct the home office tax for your small business. So let's get started

1. Home Office Tax Deduction
by FitSmallBusiness.com

2. If you use your home for business
purposes, the home office
deduction will lower your taxes
substantially. Many taxpayers have
overlooked this deduction in the
past, because they thought it was
too much work. For 2013 taxes IRS
has made this tax deduction much
simpler to use.

3. Instead of calculating the percentage
of utilities allocable to the office, the
amount of paint you used to update
this space, or the amount of home
mortgage interest allowed, the IRS is
giving the option of choosing a
standard deduction amount

4. The rules for use of a home office
For 2013, there are two ways to do this: complicated and easy.

5. You need to qualify for what is
known as “exclusive” and
“regular” use tests. These two
words are very important to the
IRS in determining your eligibility.
You must:

6. •Use
your home office as your
exclusive place for conducting
business. If you have an office or desk
elsewhere, you do not qualify for this
deduction.

7. •This area must be used exclusively
for business purposes. It cannot also
serve as a playroom, kitchen, den or
other household use. It must be a
separate, identifiable space, but does
not need to be partitioned.

8. •You
must conduct your
business on a regular basis. A
business operated on an
occasional business, or a nonbusiness use does not qualify.

9. If you have more than one business,
and use your office for both
businesses you can deduct the space
only once--no double dipping allowed
with the IRS. If one of the businesses
has another principal office, you can
deduct the home office for the other
business without a principal place of
business.

10. Exceptions

11. •
Even though you have a
principal place of business, you
can still use the home office
deduction if you use your home on
a regular basis to meet with
clients.

12. • If you have a separate structure,
located on your home property for
business needs, even though you have
an office elsewhere, you can deduct
the expenses. Remember - it must be
used exclusively and regularly for
business.

13. • You may use a space for storage of
materials, and deduct that space, if
there is no other storage space
available. Remember the exclusive
use test - this space must only be for
storage and inventory or business
materials.

14. Figuring the deduction

15. The Easier Way
You simply measure the square footage
of your home office space. That’s the
only figure you need to measure for the
2013 tax year. You can now use this
figure as a basis for your deduction.
You are allowed $5 per square feet, up
to 300 feet, with a $1500 maximum per
year.
For 2013, there are two ways to do this-- complicated, and easy.

16. So simply multiply the square footage
of the area by $5.00 (240 sq. ft. x $5 =
$1200). The IRS made this simplified
option to reduce the recordkeeping
burden on small businesses.
For 2013, there are two ways to do this-- complicated, and easy.

17. The Complicated Way
You may continue to keep track of
utilities, maintenance, mortgage
interest or rent, and deduct the business
percentage on your Schedule C. For this
you would take the total square footage
of your home, and divide it by the
percent used for business. The business
percentage is what you use to calculate
the business usage for the home office.

18. More information is available about the
Business Use of Your Home in IRS
Publication 587 at www.irs.gov . A great
YouTube video, put out by the IRS,
explains the new simplified option. Visit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=zfY9zSZw2dI

19. And Finally...

20. To learn how to be a more successful
entrepreneur visit us at....

21. (Click The Link Below)
www.FitsmallBusiness.com