That awkward moment I realized my home office lease was killing my deductions

I've been renting this spare room as an office for like 2 years and just assumed the full rent counted. Then my tax guy asked if I actually had a separate lease agreement for the space... which I didn't. He explained that without a formal sublease or dedicated room used only for work, you can't claim the full amount on your Schedule C. Has anyone else gotten tripped up by the home office deduction rules with a rental situation?

3 comments

3 Comments

ruby_bell478d ago

Wait, so you've been paying full rent on a room that wasn't even a dedicated office space? That's wild, I can't believe the tax guy just casually dropped that bomb on you after two years. @the_nancy's right, those rule changes sneak up on everyone.

jackson.max5d ago

Wait, wouldn't that mean a lot of people are probably getting burned on this stuff without even knowing it until it's too late? Sounds like these rule changes are designed to slip right past you.

the_nancy8d ago

Twelve tax rules change every year and nobody reads them until they get burned.