Sassy Baskets, EA wrote:
- quote -

Also consider that the vast majority of clients inquiring
about "home office" are employees whom I usually discourage
by quickly calculating the tax effect of the possible
deduction in light of the 2% floor, plus the fact that
depreciation would be subject to recap, plus I factor in
(my) additional fees just for keeping up with the
calculations, and am usually able to convince them to
"fugedaboudit".. (Did I pronounce that right?)

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

- quote -

Certainly I was not saying that it is not possible to have
such an arrangement (hmmm. sort of like two households in
one house!) but I speak from experience.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

Harlan Lunsford wrote:

- quote -

I'd bet that a client who maintains he uses ANY part of his
house regularly and exclusively for business is usually
lying--but I'm not going to tell him that what he describes,
if accurate, would not qualify as deductible home office
expense.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

- quote -

How about the space taken up by his desk (plus maybe another
foot or so to allow the drawers to open, him to sit in his
chair, etc.)? I can believe the desk is used exclusively
for business.

Seth

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

Sassy Baskets, EA wrote:
- quote -

an EA) who used a part of a dining room "regularly and exclusively"
for business purpose?

- quote -


ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA in LA

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

Harlan Lunsford wrote:

- quote -

If I recall, it does not have to be a room, separated from
the rest of the house with walls and a door, as long as it
is a designated space that is used regularly and exclusively
for business. So part of the dining room counts as long as
that part is not used for personal purposes. The square
footage of that part would be used in calculating the
percentage.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

"Anthony Giorgianni" <pleasepostbacktothetgroup[at]postbacktogroup.invalid
- quote -

A) seems the room method would be deceptive

B) use the square footage of the space you used exclusively
for business; this means100% for business - not even
preparation of a personal income tax return in your home
office according to the irs in a real old case - or if
children played or ran through the area - the home office
was denied in cases for those reasons also, if memory serves
me correctly

since your answer may wind up being based on how courts
decided yours or a similar issue, consider the services of a
professional in resolving the issues

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

"Anthony Giorgianni" wrote:

- quote -

Perhaps you should have though about resolving your tax
questions before the last minute. And, as the answer was
posted on April 12, there was still time before the filing
deadline to use the answer.

--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

Anthony Giorgianni wrote:

- quote -

The publication is very specific. You must use one room in
your residence exclusively for business purposes, and just
using the dining room doesn't qualify. Sorry.

- quote -

You're welcome. That's what we're here for.

ChEAr$$$$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA]
13 Apr 2005
ONLY two days more!

(yea! I know!)

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

Anthony Giorgianni wrote:

- quote -

Why don't you give it up.

The next time you need a tax question answered, go a local
tax pro and pay $150 or $200 per hour.

That said, I'm not sure there's any help for someone who
cannot use a tape measure and a 4-function calculator.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

Forget it. Too late now. Four days to get this on the Usenet?
Give it up.

--
Regards,
Anthony Giorgianni

The return address for this post is fictitious.
Please reply by posting back to the newsgroup.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

"Anthony Giorgianni" wrote:

- quote -

You maybe skipped past the stuff in the pub about "exclusive
use." A dining room will be presumed to have been used
personally. So, is there dining room furniture there? You
said "tiny kitchen," implying maybe no room for even a
dinette table. And occasional dinner gusts would deny the
deduction also. If the "dining room" space has office
furniture, and is a separately identifiable area, then the
numerator is the square feet of that area.

For the denominator, the example in the Pub uses total
square footage of the house, which is everything. Doesn't
make it "law," but it's reasonable. The mere fact that the
basement is unfinished I think doesn't matter, especially if
used for personal storage. However, if substantially unused
and too dreadful for even storage, just as mildew damage to
your stuff, I'd exclude it.

Fred F.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

Hello All

I'm hoping someone has the answer to this because the tax
publications seem to be silent on it.

Being self-employed, I'm trying to calculate the percentage
that my exclusive home office takes up of the small condo I
rent. But I'm not sure how to calculate it.

Details: My condo is basically three living spaces -

1st floor - a tiny kitchen and combination wide-open
dining room/living room (plus tiny bathroom)
2nd floor - a single large bedroom. (plus large bathroom)
There also is an unfinished basement

M`y office takes up the dining room, which is about one THIRD the size of the
dining room/living room combo, or perhaps slightly less than 20 percent the
square footage of the living spaces (not including unfinished basement, 2
bathrooms, stairways, entryway and closets.)

So........

A) If I use the room method, can I say my office is one
third (33 percent) of my home (one of three rooms), even
though the dining room square footage is about 20 percent of
both floors?

B) If I use the square footage method, what do I include the
unfinished basement, bathrooms, stairways, entryway and
closets?

I sure wish the publication gave guidance on how to do this.
(Is there anything that I'm missing on the IRS site that
explains this in detail?) Anyone know for sure? I want to be
honest and pay my fair share, but I don't want to rip myself
off either.

Thanks for any help.

--
Regards,
Anthony Giorgianni

The return address for this post is fictitious. Please reply
by posting back to the newsgroup.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->