Feeling the Pinch? Cut Your Tax Bill if You Work From Home

With inflation driving up everyday costs and tariffs squeezing small business margins, any opportunity to save counts.

If you’re self-employed or run a side hustle from your living room, the IRS has a little-known tax break that could help you keep more of your earnings: the home office deduction.
 

What Qualifies as a Home Office?

Not every kitchen table setup will pass IRS scrutiny. To qualify:

• The space must be used only and consistently for business.

• It should be your main base of operations—where you handle admin, meet clients, or store inventory.

Even if you're running an online store from your garage or offering childcare services in your living room, you may be eligible—if the space is used exclusively for business.

It’s getting more expensive to live—but you may qualify for financial relief!
 

Two Ways to Claim It

1. Quick & Easy Route
   The simplified method lets you deduct $5 for every square foot used for work, maxing out at 300 square feet.
   
   That’s a potential $1,500 tax break, no receipts or calculations needed.

2. The Detailed Path
   Prefer to get more granular?
   
   The standard method lets you write off a percentage of actual expenses like rent, utilities, and insurance—based on how much of your home is dedicated to business. It takes more paperwork but can yield higher savings if you’ve got big bills.

 

What to Keep in Mind

This isn’t for W-2 employees working remotely—only self-employed individuals or partners qualify. And the IRS is clear: multi-use spaces don’t count.

That spare bedroom has to be an office first, not a Netflix lounge by night.

 

Bottom Line

In a time of rising prices and tighter margins, this deduction is one of the simplest ways to protect your profit.

Start documenting now and let your workspace at home help reduce your next tax bill.

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