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Just realized I was wrong about the home office deduction for years
For like 4 years straight I took the simplified $5 per square foot route because everyone in every forum said the regular method was a nightmare with audits. Then my cousin who does taxes for a living came over for dinner in Denver and looked at my numbers. She pointed out I was leaving about $1,200 on the table because my home office is 15% of my house and my internet and utilities are way higher than the standard calculation covers. The regular method only took me 30 extra minutes with a spreadsheet and I got a way bigger deduction. Has anyone else found the simplified method actually costs you money in the long run?
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rowan_ross5d ago
Simplified method is fine for most people unless their setup is an outlier like yours. 15% of the house plus sky high utilities isn't the norm. The real question is whether that extra $1,200 is worth spreadsheet time to you. For a lot of folks it's not.
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brooke_murray5d ago
Ha, I've been overcomplicating my coffee expenses for years so I feel your pain!
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