Qualifying for the Home Office Deduction

The IRS home office deduction requires a space used "regularly and exclusively" for business — a spare bedroom used only as your office qualifies; a kitchen table where you sometimes work does not. You can use the simplified method ($5 per square foot, up to 300 sq ft = max $1,500 deduction) or the regular method (actual expenses allocated by percentage of home used for business). The regular method produces larger deductions for homeowners with high mortgage interest or property taxes.