• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Start Here
  • About me
  • Parenting
    • All Things Parenting
  • Twins
    • Baby Twins Tips
    • Toddler Twins Tips
    • Twin Schedules
    • Breastfeeding Twins: Your Ultimate Resource Guide
    • Twin Sleep
    • Twin Mom Tips
  • STEM and Learning Activities with Kids
    • STEM Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers
    • Simple Sensory Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers
    • Toddler Learning Activities: Easy and Fun Educational Games for Toddlers
    • Childhood Learning Basics
    • Holiday Activities
      • Halloween STEM and Learning Activities
      • Christmas STEM and Learning Activities
  • Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Free Printables
  • Shop

Team Cartwright

STEM Activities for Kids, Twins +1, and Practical Parenting

January 11, 2018 By Kim 14 Comments

Home Office Deductions for Bloggers

Home Office Deductions for Bloggers

Let’s talk the business of blogging today.  If you are a mom blogger and trying to make some money off of your blog, there is a good chance part of why you want to do that is so you can work at home.  What does that mean?  You might have a home office.  If you are treating your blog as a business, that means you get to take some additional tax deductions.  (Not sure if you are a business or a hobby? I can help you with that.)  One of those deductions to keep in mind is your home office.  Here are the basics you need to know about home office deductions for bloggers.

How to determine if you qualify for and how to calculate home office deductions for bloggers. #blog #bookkeeping #smallbusiness #taxes

What's In This Post?

  • Home Office Deductions for Bloggers
    • Does Your Space Qualify
      • Good News!  I know that bloggers have a ton of questions about the tax and business side of running a blog.  It’s a small business after all. To help out I have a new resource for all things blogging and taxes: SimpleBlogTaxes.com
      • This site has everything you need to know about filing your taxes as a blogger.  It has easy to understand explanations along with best practices for running your small business.  
      • Regularly
      • Exclusively
      • Principal Place of Business
    • How To Calculate the Deduction
      • Actual Expenses Method
      • Simplified Method
    • Limitations
    • Conclusion
  • How useful was this post?

Home Office Deductions for Bloggers

Does Your Space Qualify

The first thing you need to do is figure out if your work area qualifies as a home office.  Sadly you can’t just decide I work from home, therefore my entire home is my office.  The IRS is pretty specific about what they will and will not allow.  There are two main tests to see if your workspace can get you deductions.  These are if you space is used regularly and exclusively.


SimpleBlogTaxes.com  Where to go to get all the blogging tax help you need.  Easy to understand explanations and best practices for running your money making blog.

Good News!  I know that bloggers have a ton of questions about the tax and business side of running a blog.  It’s a small business after all.

To help out I have a new resource for all things blogging and taxes: SimpleBlogTaxes.com

This site has everything you need to know about filing your taxes as a blogger.  It has easy to understand explanations along with best practices for running your small business.  


Regularly

Do you use this workspace regularly?  (I know, I’m defining it with the word, helpful.) The IRS doesn’t give specifics on what this means, so you need to use your own best judgment.  But basically is this space where you do most of your work?  It can’t be a place where you work once or twice a year, or even just once or twice a month while you normally work somewhere else.  If you are a mom blogger chances are you meet this requirement because, well, you’re at home as it is.

Exclusively

This one is a bit more specific.  Your home office needs to be used for your business only.  It can’t be a guest room you vacate when your in-laws come to visit.  It can’t be the playroom because you work in there sitting on the floor while your kiddos play.  If the space has an alternate use, it is out.  So if you are like me and blog at the kitchen table, or on the couch, or in bed- you can’t deduct that space as a home office.  You would have and utilize that area of your home anyway, so it is not an exclusive business space.

One thing to keep in mind though is that there is no rule saying a home office has to be a certain size to qualify for a deduction.  So if you have a desk that is used solely for your business, you can use the square footage of that desk space to determine your home office deduction.  This means your teens don’t do their homework at the desk and you take over after bedtime, and it can’t be where your spouse catches up on work over the weekend.  If only you use it and it is only for your business, it can count.

Principal Place of Business

One last thing is that your home office needs to be your main place that you work.  This kind of goes along with the regularly rule, and if you are a blogger this usually isn’t an issue.  Bloggers tend to be sole proprietors that don’t have an office outside the home.  But if you have another location where you actively work your business, you can’t take a home office deduction.  Again, bloggers, mom bloggers specifically, tend to work at home.  That’s often the point of the job, so this usually isn’t an issue.

How To Calculate the Deduction

Once you determine if your workspace qualifies or not you need to decide how to calculate your deduction.  There are two methods to determine what your deduction is.  These are the Actual Expenses Method and the Simplified Method.  As you can tell from the name the simplified method is a lot easier to calculate.  Both methods require you to know how big your home office actually is. So you will need to determine the square footage of your workspace.  The Actual Expenses needs the percentage of your home your office space takes up.  Take the square footage you measured and divide it by the square footage of your entire home.  Then multiply that number by 100.  This is the percentage of your home your home office takes up.

Example: Your home is 1000 square feet.  Your workspace takes up 50 square feet.  (50/1000)x100=5.  Your home office is 5% of your home.

Actual Expenses Method

The IRS isn’t super creative in naming, so you can guess that this method requires you to determine the actual amount spent on your home office compared to your home.  In our example, that means 5% of all your expenses need to be calculated.  This means you need to calculate 5% of your mortgage (or rent), home insurance, utilities, etc.  These are your indirect expenses.

You also need to calculate all your direct expenses.  What’s the difference between indirect and direct expenses?  Indirect expenses are things like your utilities, rent, home insurance.  Things that are paid for the entire home, but you use a portion because your workspace is there.  Direct expenses are costs made on your actual workspace.  So if you have to make a repair or you paint your office, that amount can be deducted.

If you use the Actual Expense Method you will need to use a separate form, Form 8829.  There are limits on what you can take as well.  To be honest, if this is the route you are taking you need to talk to your tax professional.  There are a lot of factors at play and it is in your best interest to get help with it.

Simplified Method

The Simplified Method is just that, simplified.  For this one, you need the square footage of your home workspace.  In our example that was 50 square feet.  Take that number and multiply it by $5.  In our example 50x$5= $250.  Your home office deduction is $250.  Much easier, huh.  The one caveat here is that it is limited to home offices that are 300 square feet or less.  If your workspace is bigger than that you cannot use this method.  This deduction can be reported right on your Schedule C.

Limitations

There are of course limitations to home office deductions.  If your business operates at a loss for the year (you lost money, you didn’t make a profit) then you can’t take a home office deduction.  If you opt to use the Simplified Method you cannot also deduct things like mortgage or insurance as a business deduction.  Basically, you can’t double dip.  You pick one method, and that is what you can deduct.

How to determine if you qualify for and how to calculate home office deductions for bloggers. #blog #bookkeeping #smallbusiness #taxes

Conclusion

 If you consider your blog to be a business and you have a dedicated home workspace, you need to determine if you qualify for the home office deduction.  These are some basic guidelines to help you out.  But with all things tax-related, you need to talk to your tax professional to answer questions specific to your situation.  I am a bookkeeper, but I am not your bookkeeper.  You are ultimately responsible for your filing decisions.  That being said, if you do have general questions I can definitely try to guide you in the right direction.  Just comment or send me an email and I will do my best to help you out.

If your blog is your business, you need to treat it as such and examine all possible tax deductions when filing.  That’s just smart business.

If you want to read the official explanation for business use of the home, here is Publication 597 from the IRS website: Publication 587: Business Use of the Home

Looking for more blog bookkeeping help?  Check out these posts:

How To Organize Your Blog Bookkeeping

Is My Blog a Business or a Hobby?

15 Tax Deductions for Bloggers

 

Do you work from home? (Bloggers, this is for you too!) Your work space might qualify for a home office deduction. Find out if it does and how to calculate it. Blogger Tax Deductions | Home Office | Small Business Taxes #tax #deduction #home #office #bloggers Team-Cartwright.com

 

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Let us improve this post!

Thanks for your feedback!

Filed Under: Blog Bookkeeping Basics, Team Cartwright

About Kim

Hi, I'm Kim! I'm the mom of three and a former chemist turned bookkeeper and mom. I am passionate about helping kids (and parents!) embrace STEM fields by sharing easy and fun learning activities. I also like to help twin moms and just moms in general by sharing the practical parenting methods I have found to work. My motto is you don't need all the answers in life, you just need to be willing to wonder.

You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for even more fast and fun learning activities!

Related

Reader Interactions

Christmas Survival Guide
Pacifiers: Are You Ruining Your Baby?

Comments

  1. Tara says

    January 11, 2018 at 9:49 pm

    Wow! Great information here! I didn’t even think about this being a business in my home. Since I am a new blogger, I will definitely need to save this for next year.

    Reply
    • kimcartwright says

      January 12, 2018 at 5:06 pm

      There is so much to consider when you decide if you are a hobby or a business. Let me know if you have any questions about how filing is different between the two, I’d be happy to help!

      Reply
  2. Tiffany Barry says

    January 12, 2018 at 1:26 am

    Thank you so much for these! I’m an early filer, and these deductions will definitely come in handy this year.

    Reply
    • kimcartwright says

      January 12, 2018 at 5:05 pm

      Yay for filing early! It’s such a relief to have it done. Go you!

      Reply
  3. Rachel says

    January 12, 2018 at 4:35 pm

    I work from home often but I have never been able to designate a space. If I ever have a home business or contract out I will definitely keep this in mind.

    Reply
    • kimcartwright says

      January 12, 2018 at 4:59 pm

      My workspace is the kitchen table, for both my blog and my bookkeeping business. So I can’t take it either. But it is something to keep in mind and another reason why a dedicated workspace can be so important!

      Reply
  4. Amy says

    January 13, 2018 at 5:51 pm

    This is a great resource, thank you!

    Reply
  5. Sophie says

    January 15, 2018 at 7:04 am

    This is super helpful! I’ll be referring to it soon. Thanks! P.S. I love the set up of your blog. It’s super clean and as easy to use + fun. I need to work on my blog 😉

    Reply
  6. Brittany says

    January 15, 2018 at 12:42 pm

    This is my first year filing taxes with blog income and I have been researching this a lot! I love your post and will definitely be saving this

    Reply
  7. Emily says

    January 16, 2018 at 9:18 am

    Taxes as a blogger can be… interesting. Thanks for this amazing guide to the ever confusing world of the IRS!

    Reply
  8. magen says

    January 16, 2018 at 11:52 am

    I am going to bookmark this for later. I am pretty good about keeping up with blogging expensive but it is always nice to have a quick checklist just in case.

    Reply
  9. Allie says

    January 16, 2018 at 8:29 pm

    I just stared my blog but I am definitely saving this for next year! Such great information! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  10. Angelle says

    January 17, 2018 at 4:21 pm

    This post is so good. Thanks for sharing these tips.

    xoxo,
    Angelle
    http://www.dashingdarlin.com

    Reply
  11. Lori | Choosing Wisdom says

    January 18, 2018 at 9:34 am

    I was just collecting my expenses yesterday – this is a huge help!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

* Checkbox GDPR is required

*

I agree

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Search

Hi, I'm Kim! I'm a mom of three and STEM enthusiast. I love coming up with simple and fun learning and STEM activities for kids. And don't worry, I give the science behind it all! My goal is to encourage moms, find practical parenting solutions, and help moms with the unique challenges twins bring! I'm so happy you're here!!

Top Posts

  • No Cry Sleep Training: How To Gently and Effectively Teach Your Baby To Sleep
  • Flying Reindeer: Christmas STEM for Kids
  • Christmas Science Experiments: 5 Minute Holiday STEM Activities
  • 6 Positives to Potty Training Late
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Privacy Policy

Footer

All of the material on this blog is copy written by Kimberly Cartwright. Ideas, photographs, and concepts cannot be reproduced without the written consent of the blog author. Do not use without permission. Clicking on some links within blog posts can result in compensation for the blog author. This site does not share personal information with third parties, nor do we store any information about your visit other than to analyze and optimize the content through the use of cookies. Cookies can be turned off at any time by changing your specific browser settings.

This blog is a source of income for the author. Clicking on some links might result in compensation for the author. Receipt of product or other compensation does not guarantee a good review. All opinions are my own. Please see the disclosure page for more information.

This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

  • Disclosure
  • Contact Me

Copyright © 2019 · Pretty Happy On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in