If a taxpayer filing Schedule C for their business wishes to deduct expenses for business use of their home, they have the option of calculating the deduction using either the simplified method or Form 8829, Business Use of Home. (For the latter, see the knowledgebase article below.)
To select the simplified method in the TaxSlayer ProWeb, from the Income menu of the tax return select:
- Schedule C
- Expenses for Business Use of Your Home
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Simplified Method for Business Use of Your Home
- Home was used as Day Care Facility - Select Yes or No as appropriate. If yes, you'll also be asked to enter the number of hours a day the home was used as a day car facility, how many days per year it was used as a day care facility, and how many days it was available to be used as a day care facility. Additionally, you'll need to indicate if the area used as a day care facility included areas used exclusively for that purpose and/or partially used for that purpose.
- Part of Your Home Used for Business - Enter the amount of the home used exclusively for business purposes; partially for business purposes, if queried; and the total square footage of the home.
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Enter any net gain or loss NOT reported on this Schedule C - Enter here the net of these two items, if any:
- Any gain derived from the business use of the home and shown on Form 8949 (and included on Schedule D) or Form 4797;
- The total amount of any losses (as a positive number) shown on Form 8949 (and included on Schedule D) or Form 4797 that are allocable to the business, but not allocable to the business use of the home.
- Carryover of operating expense from prior year's Form 8829 - Enter the carryover of operating expenses, if any, showing in Part IV of the last Form 8829 filed.
- Carryover of excess casualty losses and depreciation from prior year's Form 8829 - Enter the carryover of excess casualty losses and depreciation, if any, showing in Part IV of the last Form 8829 filed.
Note that if the taxpayer used more than one home for the same business during the tax year, they can elect to use the simplified method for only one home and must file a Form 8829 to claim a business use of the home deduction for any additional home..
Note: The Simplified Method is only available when first selecting Business Use of Your Home. If the Simplified Method option is not available, delete the existing Business Use of Home entry.
Additional Information:
IRS: Schedule C instructions for the simplified method
IRS: Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home
ProWeb: Form 8829 - Business Use of Home