Home Office

Definition of home office

The definition of home office in a home business owner is as follows. Home office is simply a name assigned to a category of deductible home business expenses.

For example, a home business owner may use his or her garage to do mechanical repairs, or a greenhouse to grow plants for sale. The home business expenses related to these home business uses may be treated as home office expenses.

Home office tax deduction and the IRS

Some tax payers believe that claiming a home office deduction for his or her home business is an automatic red flag for an IRS audit. There are no statistics to show that claiming a home office deduction for a home business leads to an IRS audit. If a home business owner meets the home business taxes deduction tests for claiming a home office tax deduction and there are proofs of the home office expenses, the tax payer should not fear for an IRS audit, even if the tax payer 's tax return is questioned. 
More information about home office deductions for home businesses can be found in IRS Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home.