Home Business Office Deductions May be Taxable Upon Resale

Come tax time, most home owners who work out of the house are relieved they can count on certain home business office tax deductions.

Those tax deductions can come back to bite you, though. There is no free lunch in this country. Most people believe they will pay no taxes when selling their home as long as the gain falls below the maximum of $500,000 for a married couple and $250,000 for a single person, providing the owner has lived in the home two of the last five years, and that's not true in its entirety. Here’s a question that About.com contributor and tax attorney Julian Block received:

Q. Within the next few years, I plan to sell my home. I use one of its rooms only as a home office for my business. I have been claiming office-at-home deductions for a proportional share of depreciation and other expenses associated with the room’s business use, just as I have been writing off all the equipment and furniture stuffed into the office. How do the tax rules work when I sell my home?

You might be astonished at what the I.R.S. has to say about selling after maintaining a home office and writing off those expenses. Fortunately, remedies are available to you . . . read more about Home Business Office Tax Deductions.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• Preparing Your House for Sale
  
• How to Market Your Home
  
• Before You Sign a Listing Agreement

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