- quote -

Anybody who would mix Macallan cask strength with Drambuie
(or anything else besides a splash of mineral water) would
double words in a post.

Mixing is for the cheap stuff.

Seth

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- quote -

Try Line 30.

__
Art Kamlet ArtKamlet [at] AOL.com Columbus OH K2PZH

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Bill Brown <brownwp[at]longwood.edu> wrote:
- quote -

But does it need a formal electric company meter with a
separate bill, or would using a Radio-Shack grade amp-hour
meter suffice?

Seth

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sethb[at]panix.com (Seth Breidbart) wrote:

- quote -

But the cabinet is storage space, so it qualifies even if
it's not used solely and exclusively for business.

Stu

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- quote -

As Dick said, it would have to be separately metered. The
after tax effect of that strategy would probably be
negative.

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- quote -

What about, say, the electricity used by his business-only
computer (and the air conditioner to keep it alive)?

Seth

Moderator:
Electricity should be separately metered should he get
audited. A rider on his Homeowner's equipment for
computer, office furniture and fixtures, etc. is definitely
deductible. I would not advice trying to 179 the alcohol
cabinet.

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- quote -

Brand? What is this "brand" of which you speak?

Macallan cask strength.

Seth

Moderator:
Keep the Scotch and the Drambuie in a refrigerator so you
won't need ice. If two double Rusty Nails doesn't relax
relax you, you may need Valium. LoL

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Seth Breidbart wrote:
- quote -

(balance snipped.)

My only question is, what brand of Scotch?

Scotch ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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Steve Pope wrote:

- quote -

If the TP doesn't have a qualified home office then the TP
cannot deduct a fraction of utilities, casualty insurance,
maintenance, etc. Other expenses (office supplies, for
example) are deductible whether the TP has a qualified home
office or not.

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- quote -

Sure, my point here is that there's no line on Schedule C
called "home office deduction". If TP is a homeowner and
files a Sched C and does not include any depreciation for a
fraction of his home on the Sched C, then I *think* the TP's
position must be that whatever expenses are on his schedule
C have some justification other than a "home office" that
meets the regular/exclusive/priciple place of business
definition.

Similarly if TP is a renter and doesn't deduct a fraction
of their rent.

Steve

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- quote -

Do you mean that ordinary and necessary business expenses
are not deductible if you have a home office but it doesn't
qualify for the home office deduction? I doubt that's the
case.

Stu

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Stuart A. Bronstein <spamtrap[at]lexregia.com> wrote:
- quote -

Actually, impossible rather than merely difficult. (Prove
that on April 16th I didn't relax with a glass of scotch and
a good book and enjoy the fact that I was sitting in my
spare bedroom with no work to do.)

- quote -

What I'm not sure of (and doesn't matter in reality) is
whether a home office is something that has to be claimed in
order to exist. If so, depreciation isn't allowable if it
isn't claimed, even if it could have been.

Seth

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- quote -

That would be deducting all the eligible home office
expenses (a percentage of insurance, maintenance, utilitiles,
property taxes, mortgage interest, etc) EXCEPT depreciation
on Schedule C.

Failing to do that means the tax payer pays not only more
income tax but more self-employment tax as well. A taxpayer
in the 15% bracket could pay almost 30% of the foregone
depreciation in extra taxes.

Later, when selling the house, the taxpayer would pay a
MAXIMUM of 25% in taxes on the recaptured depreciation.
Taking depreciation on a qualified home office seems like
a no-brainer to me but since the question keeps coming up it
is clear that some people have some goal in mind other than
maximizing their own after-tax dollar wealth.

By the way, the income tax hit for failing to deduct
depreciation can be cured by a change in accounting method
in the year of sale to deduct all the previously undeducted
depreciation. There is no cure for failing to reduce SE tax.

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- quote -

It means exactly what it says. Someone deducts the cost of a
home office but doesn't include any deduction for rent or
depreciation. Happens all the time.

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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Seth Breidbart <sethb[at]panix.com> wrote:
- quote -

Can you provide an example of what constitutes for this
purpose "claiming a home office", with no depreciation
taken?

Steve

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The day the IRS successfully asserts on audit that a
taxpayer failed to take a home office deduction (not just
depreciation but the entire deduction) when he was entitled
to do so is the day I buy drinks for regular posters to this
group at the Penny Lane Pub in Richmond VA.

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"Stuart A. Bronstein" <spamtrap[at]lexregia.com> wrote:

- quote -

Based on the discussions I have read here it seems to be
hard to prove that the area claimed as a home office was
used ONLY for business purposes, not even 1% use allowed for
personal activities. Therefore it would seem that if the
home office deduction is NOT claimed it would be exceedingly
difficult to prove that now personal activity took place in
that space. I am not suggesting that anyone "hide" their
home office, but I doubt there is any home office in which
some personal activities do not take place. Put another
way, the IRS has made it so difficult to claim the home
office deduction, I don't see how they could claim a home
office exists and is used 100% for business activities if
the home owner has not claimed that to be the case.

Not having a space devoted 100% to business activities seems
to be the default condition.

Disclaimer - I do not take the home office deduction for the
space I use for my home-based consulting business since I
also use the space for personal activities.

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

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sethb[at]panix.com (Seth Breidbart) wrote:
- quote -

I think you mean that if you don't claim a home office, it
would be difficult for them to prove that you actually had
one. But if you actually had one and could have claimed it
and didn't, technically you are required to recapture the
depreciation that you could have claimed.

Stu

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Steve Pope <spope33[at]speedymail.org> wrote:
- quote -

If you don't claim to have a home office, there's no
deduction or depreciation allowable. If you claim a home
office and take deductions but not depreciation, you get hit
for the allowable depreciation anyway.

Seth

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Arthur Kamlet <ArtKamlet[at]aol.REMOVE.com> wrote:

- quote -

Isn't it true that even if you don't claim any home office
deduction, you will have to recapture the depreciation
(because it was allowable)?

Steve

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