If you’re legitimately working at home and aren’t trying to con the system, you should be able to claim your home office deduction fair and square without fear of an audit red flag. More and more people are working from home so the IRS has tried to take the fear out of this deduction by making things a little easier. The important points are:

• You must designate a specific area of your home to be used as your principal place of business.
• This area must be used exclusively, 100% for work.

To learn the finer points of what is required and how to file, read realtor.com’s article The Home Office Tax Deduction: One of the Most Misunderstood (and Dangerous) Tax Breaks by Margaret Heidenry.

 

The Home Office Tax Deduction: One of the Most Misunderstood (and Dangerous) Tax Breaks
Realtor.com, Margaret Heidenry, Feb 24, 2017