, if your home office takes up 20% of your living area (square footage), you can deduct 20% of your electricity expense as a tax deduction.
Is it possible to deduct the cost of power from your taxes?
Mortgage payments are not deductible. Only the percentage of your mortgage interest and rent payments that apply to your home office can be deducted.
The IRS includes a worksheet that will assist you in calculating this deduction (scroll to the bottom of the document).
In order to calculate your rent, divide the square footage of your home office by the overall square footage of your home. Then double that number by the entire amount of rent paid over the course of the year.
The interest on a mortgage is computed in the same way. Divide the total interest paid by the percentage of your home that is used for business. A second mortgage’s interest can also be deducted.
What is the maximum percentage of utilities that I can deduct for my home business?
You can deduct 10% of the cost of your mortgage interest or rent, utilities (such as electric, water, and gas bills), and homeowners insurance if your home office is one-tenth of the square footage of your home. Other whole-house expenses, such as cleaning and exterminator services, can be deducted at a rate of 10%.
Is it possible to deduct power expenditures from your taxes?
Certain expenses are deductible by taxpayers. Mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs, upkeep, depreciation, and rent are all included.
Is it possible to deduct house utilities?
The IRS allows you to deduct connected rent, utilities, real estate taxes, repairs, maintenance, and other relevant expenses if you utilize part of your house frequently and exclusively for business-related activity.
What upgrades to your home are tax deductible in 2021?
“Until December 31, 2021, you can claim a tax credit for energy-efficient modifications to your home, such as energy-efficient windows, doors, skylights, roofs, and insulation,” Washington adds. Air-source heat pumps, central air conditioning, hot water heaters, and circulating fans are among the other changes.
On Schedule C, what utilities may I deduct?
It’s extremely simple to deduct utilities on your Schedule C.
Utilities are the costs of delivering public services to your place of business. The location of the utilities determines where these charges are subtracted. Are they in your home, where you have a home office, or are they at a commercial location?
Separate Location for Business:
Schedule C deducts the costs of utilities for a business that is not located in the home.
Utilities include things like:
- Propane, natural gas, or oil are fuels that are used for heating and cooking.
- Telephone service on a fixed line, as well as
- Connection to the internet
Even if you have a qualified home office, these goods are deducted as utilities.
Sarah, for instance, works largely from her home office.
She also splits the expense of a conference room’s rent and utilities with many other agents.
This arrangement enables her to meet with customers in a professional atmosphere when it is more convenient.
On Schedule C, the amount she pays for her part of the utilities is deducted as utilities.
Utilities for the Home Office:
The majority of real estate agents work from their homes.
On Schedule C, do not include utilities for a home office.
When claiming actual home office expenses, home office utilities are subtracted on Form 8829.
Even if the office is a different structure on the same property as the agent’s home, use Form 8829. Please see our article on Deducting Actual Home Office Costs for additional information on deducting utilities on Form 8829.
There are a few charges that aren’t deducted as utilities on Schedule C or Form 8829 when an agent has a qualified home office. Here’s a quick rundown:
- A shared landline phone between the home and the office is not deductible as a business expense. This law predates cell phones and requires that the first phone line entering a residence must be human – there are no exceptions. Only long-distance business calls are subtracted when there is only one phone line in the house. On Schedule C, they are frequently listed as Other Expenses. Other Expenses include the expense of a second phone line or number (such as a fax line). On Form 8829, the second phone line might potentially be argued to be a “direct home office utility cost.” The distinction, in my opinion, is purely conceptual. Either site will suffice.
- Other Expenses are deducted for internet shared between the home and the home office.
- The percentage of cost that most closely represents business use is the deductible amount.
- Note that if you use the same connection to stream television and other non-business services, your business use may be limited.
- Phones aren’t necessities.
- Based on the percentage of business vs. personal use, they are deducted as Other Expense on Schedule C.
Summary & Invitation: We trust that this post has clarified the utilities deducted by sole owner Real Estate Agents. We invite you to download our Real Estate Agent Tax Organizer if you’d want some help minimizing a Real Estate Agent’s largest cost – taxes.
Check out our Real Estate Agent Tax-Cut Library if you’re serious about lowering your taxes.
It is divided into twenty-nine searchable volumes and offers almost eight hours of tax-cutting material. It’s tax-deductible, covers all of a Real Estate Agent’s possible deductions, and pays for itself in avoided taxes. Check out our Broker Version if you want to share the tax savings with your entire agency.
Can you deduct a portion of your cell phone bill?
Cellphones have become as important to business as a land line, making them a genuine, tax-deductible business expense. However, because cellphones are intricately linked to our personal lives for most of us, the IRS scrutinizes this deduction closely to ensure that personal electronics aren’t claimed as a business expenditure.
Your cellphone as a small business deduction
You can claim the commercial usage of your phone as a tax deduction if you’re self-employed and use your mobile for business. You might properly deduct 30% of your phone cost if you spend 30% of your time on the phone on business. Writer Kristin Edelhauser of “Entrepreneur magazine” suggests acquiring an itemized phone bill so you may track your company and personal usage and justify your deduction to the IRS. You might also get a second phone number and use it solely for business purposes.
Deductions for employees
Even if you work for someone as an employee, you may be required to use your personal smartphone for business purposes for tax years prior to 2018. If you itemize your deductions, the IRS permits you to claim depreciation on your phone as a “unreimbursed business expense” if you use it for work on a regular basis and it’s a typical, accepted business practice.
Unreimbursed business expenses that total more than 2% of your adjusted gross income can be deducted. Professional association dues, legal costs, and other expenses indicated in IRS Publication 529 are included in this category.
These and other unreimbursed employee expenses are no longer deductible as of 2018.
Cellphone depreciation
According to Schneider Downs, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 affects the way you compute cellphone depreciation. If you used your cellphone for business less than 50% of the time, you could only depreciate it on a straight-line 10-year depreciation schedule under the prior regulations. However, the law now permits you to deduct depreciation (the decrease in value caused by wear and tear) over a seven-year period, as well as making bonus depreciation easier to claim.
Your cellphone as fringe benefit
If your company provides you with a cellphone as part of your job, your taxable income could increase. According to Schneider Downs, using your cellphone for personal calls even significantly counts as a fringe benefit that must be factored into your gross compensation.
If you can show that you use a personal cellphone during business hours and make all of your personal calls on it, the IRS may find that the business phone is used solely for business purposes, in which case your income will not be affected.
What will the standard deduction be in 2021?
The standard deduction is the amount that taxpayers can deduct from their income if they don’t itemize their deductions on Schedule A for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, state and local taxes, and other items. The term “itemizing” refers to the process of listing these deductions separately.
The standard deduction for solo filers in 2021 is $12,550, and for married couples filing jointly, it is $25,100. Singles will pay $12,950 in 2022, while married couples will pay $25,900.
What may you deduct from the value of your home?
Let’s take a look at some of the tax incentives available to homeowners.
- Interest on a mortgage. The mortgage interest deduction is available if you have a mortgage on your house.
- Interest on a home equity loan.
- Improvements to the house that are required.
- Expenses for a Home Office
- Mortgage insurance is a type of insurance that protects borrowers
How much can I deduct for living expenses?
Invest in You: Invest in You: Invest in You: Invest in You:
In order to claim the home-office deduction in 2021, taxpayers must use a portion of their home or a separate structure on their property as their primary place of business exclusively and regularly. This could be a location where you greet clients or customers, conduct business, store products, rent out, or use as a daycare center.
According to the IRS, you don’t have to be a homeowner to take the deductionapartments, mobile homes, boats, and other comparable properties are all eligible.
It’s also feasible to deduct only a portion of the cost. According to Wilson, you may be able to claim the deduction for part of the year if you quit your 9-to-5 job, started your own business in 2021, and utilize your house as your primary office space.
How the deduction works
The home-office deduction can be calculated in two ways for qualifying taxpayers.
The basic option allows you to take $5 per square foot of your home office up to 300 square feet, for a total of $1,500.
This home office must be utilized exclusively for your business (i.e., it cannot be a guest room with a desk) and you must be able to demonstrate that you require an office for your work. The taxpayer bears the burden of proof for this deduction, so if you’re audited, you’ll have to prove your claim to the IRS.
The regular deduction is a little more difficult because you must keep track of all of your actual expenses. Some expenses for your home office, such as the cost of renovations to the premises, can be deducted entirely.