I've always done freelance work. No matter what my "real" job was, I always did design work on the side. So I've always gotten 1099's. Well, not always. But I've always included the extra income on my taxes. I've also always claimed a home office. B/c I had one. Well, last January, I got my last freelance check. It wasn't much. Probably $1500 maybe for some work I did in December of '21. After that work was done, I started disassembling my home office as I didn't plan on doing any more freelance.

So my question is should I claim my home office on my taxes this year? Yes, I had extra income. Yes, I had a home office. But I DID start taking it down last year. But the work I got paid for and am claiming DID occur in said home office.

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Seems like a no-brainer to say "yes".

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

Claim it.

You had for part of last year, it does not matter if it was 1 minute or the whole year. Just like a dependent - a baby born at 11:59 on December 31st counts as much as one born the previous January.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

Will your deductions for Schedule C be more than the Standard Deduction? If not, then the answer is "no".

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Disclaimer: This post is checked for correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Any attempts at humor are solely the responsibility of the author and bear no claim that any and all readers will approve or appreciate said attempt at humor.
My name is DP, and I approve this message.

"Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime."- Lavrentiy Beria

So my question is should I claim my home office on my taxes this year?

your taxes for this year (2023): NO
for your taxes in the previous year (2022): probably yes, but I am not a CPA

How do they verify thats its a home office? As long as you can put it back into that state.

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mattkime
How do they verify thats its a home office? As long as you can put it back into that state.

only would come up if you were flagged for an audit and even then they want you to come in to their facility. they aren't coming to your house unless your deductions are seriously out of whack.

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If you want to fix our country, work with us in the states. statesproject.org

"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

You earned that money while you had your home office. Assuming you're going to claim the income, then I say claim the office use (along with any other related office expenses) without a second thought.

You last worked Dec. ‘21 so you can claim for 2021, not 2022.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

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Speedy
You last worked Dec. ‘21 so you can claim for 2021, not 2022.

You're not wrong. But I didn't get paid until 2022. So I couldn't claim income on my '21 taxes from '22.

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Just to be clear, when is the last time you performed work in your home office? If you didn't perform work in it in 2022, even if you left it set up, it would be tougher to defend it as a home office in 2022, even if you got a check in 2022.

You did the work in 2021, and claimed the office in 2021. If you had been paid then your income would have been higher. You should not claim the expense twice for that work.

If you did any work in 2022, you may claim the office in 2022 even though you were not paid for it in 2022. Neo work, no claim.

You claim the work/costs in the year they occurred. You report the income in the year it occurs.

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Ed (modelamac)

I think I will just put an OUT OF ORDER
sticker on my head and call it a day.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2023 10:26AM by modelamac.

Oops, I didn't notice the 2021/2022 thing in the OP. I retract my answer. You can't claim that expense in 2022 if you only used it in 2021.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan