Instructions For Form 8829 - Expenses For Business Use Of Your Home

2012

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Instructions for Form 8829

Expenses for Business Use of Your Home

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless

You use it exclusively and regularly for administrative or

otherwise noted.

management activities of your trade or business.

You have no other fixed location where you conduct

General Instructions

substantial administrative or management activities of your trade

or business.

Future Developments

Administrative or management activities. There are many

activities that are administrative or managerial in nature. The

For the latest information about developments related to Form

following are a few examples.

8829 and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they

Billing customers, clients, or patients.

were published, go to

Keeping books and records.

Purpose of Form

Ordering supplies.

Setting up appointments.

Use Form 8829 to figure the allowable expenses for business

Forwarding orders or writing reports.

use of your home on Schedule C (Form 1040) and any carryover

to 2013 of amounts not deductible in 2012.

Administrative or management activities performed at oth

er locations. The following activities performed by you or

You must meet specific requirements to deduct expenses for

others will not disqualify your home office from being your

the business use of your home. Even if you meet these

principal place of business.

requirements, your deductible expenses may be limited. Part IV

You have others conduct your administrative or management

is used to figure any allowable carryover of expenses that are

activities at locations other than your home. (For example,

more than the limit. For details, see Pub. 587, Business Use of

another company does your billing from its place of business.)

Your Home (Including Use by Daycare Providers).

You conduct administrative or management activities at

Who cannot use Form 8829. Do not use Form 8829 in the

places that are not fixed locations of your business, such as in a

following situations.

car or a hotel room.

You are claiming expenses for business use of your home as

You occasionally conduct minimal administrative or

an employee or a partner, or you are claiming these expenses

management activities at a fixed location outside your home.

on Schedule F (Form 1040). Instead, complete the worksheet in

You conduct substantial nonadministrative or

Pub. 587.

nonmanagement business activities at a fixed location outside

All of the expenses for business use of your home are

your home. (For example, you meet with or provide services to

properly allocable to inventory costs. Instead, figure these

customers, clients, or patients at a fixed location of the business

expenses in Schedule C, Part III.

outside your home.)

Who Can Deduct Expenses for

You have suitable space to conduct administrative or

management activities outside your home, but choose to use

Business Use of a Home

your home office for those activities instead.

Generally, you can deduct business expenses that apply to a

More information. For information on other ways to qualify to

part of your home only if that part is exclusively used on a regular

deduct business use of the home expenses, see Pub. 587.

basis:

Storage of Inventory or Product Samples

As your principal place of business for any of your trades or

businesses,

You can also deduct expenses that apply to space within your

As a place of business used by your patients, clients, or

home used on a regular basis to store inventory or product

customers to meet or deal with you in the normal course of your

samples from your trade or business of selling products at retail

trade or business, or

or wholesale. Your home must be the only fixed location of your

In connection with your trade or business if it is a separate

trade or business.

structure that is not attached to your home.

Daycare Facilities

As explained later, exceptions to this rule apply to space

If you use space in your home on a regular basis in the trade or

used on a regular basis for:

business of providing daycare, you may be able to deduct the

Storage of inventory or product samples, and

business expenses even though you use the same space for

Certain daycare facilities.

nonbusiness purposes. To qualify for this exception, you must

Principal Place of Business

have applied for (and not have been rejected), been granted

(and still have in effect), or be exempt from having a license,

In determining whether the office in your home qualifies as your

certification, registration, or approval as a daycare center or as a

principal place of business, you must consider the following two

family or group daycare home under state law.

items.

The relative importance of the activities performed at each

Expenses Related to TaxExempt Income

place where you conduct business, and

Generally, you cannot deduct expenses that are allocable to

The amount of time spent at each place where you conduct

tax-exempt income. However, if you receive a tax-exempt

business.

parsonage allowance or a tax-exempt military housing

Your home office will qualify as your principal place of

allowance, your expenses for mortgage interest and real

business if you meet the following requirements.

Jan 04, 2013

Cat. No. 15683B

Instructions For Form 8829 - Expenses For Business Use Of Your Home - 2012

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