Home Office Deduction

[thegenius]

For those who just have a 1099 just from ER work. I'm not addressing this those who also have other side businesses. This is for the ER doc who is a 1099 or an S-Corp (as I think the distinction doesn't matter much here) and just goes to work week in and week out.

Do you claim a home office deduction on your taxes? I've always felt it's a little shady and not clear cut. Work doesn't provide me an "office", but my principle work doesn't occur at home, it occurs at the hospital. At home I would do charting, attend zoom meetings (we have 1-2/month), answer work emails, and do other admin/work stuff. I'm wondering if that would qualify for home office deduction.

From the WCI post here, need to satisfy three conditions:
1. Must be the principal place of your business
2. Must be regularly used
3. Must be for the exclusive use of your business

I can easily do #2 and #3, but I just don't know how the IRS would consider #1 here. I've asked CPA's in the past and they have eschewed it, but I also hear and read regularly about other docs in my same position who take the deduction, and presumably at their CPA's blessing.

I used to take the home office deduction from 2014-2018, but I stopped because I didn't want the potential for IRS scrutiny.

However now I want to buy a Tesla, and I want to expense it via Section 179. To use Section 179, it must be used > 50% for work. I can't count regular commuting miles from home to ER. However if I have a home office at home, then I can count those commuter miles.

I currently work at three hospitals. 50% of time is 1099 at two hospitals (same hospital system though) and 50% of time is W2. although by income it's like 70% 1099, 30% W2.

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[RustedFox]

I claim 10% of my mortgage as home office expense.

It is 100% for work.

My account was upset that I wasn't already doing this when I met him.

 

[thegenius]

I claim 10% of my mortgage as home office expense.

It is 100% for work.

My account was upset that I wasn't already doing this when I met him.

You 1099? Like a routine 1099? You go to work 12-16 times/month. At in your home office what do you do? Charting, emails, admin, CME, stuff like that?

 

[PianoMedic]

For those who just have a 1099 just from ER work. I'm not addressing this those who also have other side businesses. This is for the ER doc who is a 1099 or an S-Corp (as I think the distinction doesn't matter much here) and just goes to work week in and week out.

Do you claim a home office deduction on your taxes? I've always felt it's a little shady and not clear cut. Work doesn't provide me an "office", but my principle work doesn't occur at home, it occurs at the hospital. At home I would do charting, attend zoom meetings (we have 1-2/month), answer work emails, and do other admin/work stuff. I'm wondering if that would qualify for home office deduction.

From the WCI post here, need to satisfy three conditions:
1. Must be the principal place of your business
2. Must be regularly used
3. Must be for the exclusive use of your business

I can easily do #2 and #3, but I just don't know how the IRS would consider #1 here. I've asked CPA's in the past and they have eschewed it, but I also hear and read regularly about other docs in my same position who take the deduction, and presumably at their CPA's blessing.

I used to take the home office deduction from 2014-2018, but I stopped because I didn't want the potential for IRS scrutiny.

However now I want to buy a Tesla, and I want to expense it via Section 179. To use Section 179, it must be used > 50% for work. I can't count regular commuting miles from home to ER. However if I have a home office at home, then I can count those commuter miles.

I currently work at three hospitals. 50% of time is 1099 at two hospitals (same hospital system though) and 50% of time is W2. although by income it's like 70% 1099, 30% W2.

For the car, you should be able to designate one of the hospitals as your primary employment, and the other as secondary. Count mileage to secondary for tax purposes. Talk to your accountant though. I’m 50:50 split between two sites, slightly more at one site, but W-2 overall (eventually K-1). My employer allows us to deduct business expenses, and reimburses us a portion for our salary pre tax for these expenses. This is apparently grandfathered in from prior rules (cleared it with my accountant). I count the mileage to my secondary site where I work slightly less as that isn’t “commuting”, commuting is only to my primary site.

I don’t know anything about home office deduction.

 

[thegenius]

For the car, you should be able to designate one of the hospitals as your primary employment, and the other as secondary. Count mileage to secondary for tax purposes. Talk to your accountant though. I’m 50:50 split between two sites, slightly more at one site, but W-2 overall (eventually K-1). My employer allows us to deduct business expenses, and reimburses us a portion for our salary pre tax for these expenses. This is apparently grandfathered in from prior rules (cleared it with my accountant). I count the mileage to my secondary site where I work slightly less as that isn’t “commuting”, commuting is only to my primary site.

I don’t know anything about home office deduction.

Yea I deduct a lot of expenses to my 1099, but not the home office one.

 

[RustedFox]

You 1099? Like a routine 1099? You go to work 12-16 times/month. At in your home office what do you do? Charting, emails, admin, CME, stuff like that?

All of those things.

 

[medninja]

I used to deduct for an office. It’s been a while, but I also think I partially deducted my utilities, prorated for percent of my house the office occupied. I don’t chart at home at my latest job.

It worked fine. I think it raises your risk of getting audited. In those days, I was a single person with a dog and I suspect the IRS figured they’d already had their way with me. I also have someone do my taxes and always have post residency. Most CPAs are pretty subdued, risk averse types. If they’re encouraging you to do it, as my was, you likely should.

 

[em1234]

I'm also 1099 with S corp, though i also do some tele-utilization stuff for my hospital that solidifies my need for the office, but to your question, you need to chart, attend meetings and answer emails as conditions of your employment. These are central elements of your job and still count towards satisfying the requirement for #1.

I have used 2 different accountants, both of which have blessed the move. The office space comes out to about 7% of the sqftage of my house.

Before someone says "it's a huge audit red flag"...per both my accountants, it isn't. Hasn't been in probably 20 years and with the explosion of gig economy and tele commute employees, home offices are so common and pervasive that no one at the IRS bats an eye as long as the sq footage and the expenses associated are reasonable. So unless you're saying 50% of your house is your office or youre trying to write off your kitchen remodel, I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[deuist]

I'm 1099 and I deduct the office where I chart, a part of the utilities to power said office, and mileage from my office to the hospital. My accountant takes care of all of it.